WTN: Brilliant Uhlen L, Vouvray and Savennières + others.

We have struck it lucky in the last ten days or so. There were exceptionally good examples of Mosel Riesling and Loire Chenin, probably my two favourite white wine types and TNs on two excellent Southern Rhônes appear in Wine Focus.

Uhlen L “Laubach” 2001 – Heymann-Löwenstein - (Winningen Uhlen QbA) – Alc.13%. This bottle was a real beauty. Colour was a darkening yellow and the nose was a wonderful combination of white fruit, exotic spices and flinty petrol tinged minerals. The palate was fuller and more firmly structured than usual from the Mosel, not bone dry, well focused and played variations on the aromas from the nose with lovely bright mouth-watering acidity. I at last understand the widespread admiration for this estate; my previous bottles were probably too young; 17.5/20.

Vouvray moelleux - Cuvée Château Gaillard - Récolte par tries - 1997 – Vigneau-Chevreau – Alc.12% was another real beauty. Naturally more amber than the previous, the nose was equally beautifully with notes of pear, quince, wax and very fine toffee. The palate was generous, long, beautifully focused, sweet and quite full with lovely complex aromas enhanced by minerals and lively acidity which prevented any suspicion of cloying unlike many others from the vintage. Botrytis is quite rare at Vouvray but I would guess that this has seen some. The remains in the fridge improved and refined for two further days; 17.5/20.

Savennières Clos du Papillon 2002 – Domaine du Closel – Alc.14.5%. I have read complaints that this wine is going off but, for me, it was a third beauty if more buxom and not quite so fine as the two previous. Colour was almost as deep as that of the Vouvray but there was no trace of oxidation on the nose or palate. The bouquet seemed to presage a sweet wine and was aromatically quite similar to the Vouvray’s. The palate was full, rich and quite structured, darker in fruit and aroma than the two previous and more demi-sec than dry but well balanced by the minerality and smooth/lively acidity. I was not conscious of burn from the high alcohol but it certainly contributed body and a slight wooziness in this drinker. Again I would guess some botrytis of the noble sort; 17/20

Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie L’Aubinière 2009 – Les Vignerons des terroirs de la Noëlle – Alc. 11.5% - (c.€6) showed a certain roundness and creaminess and less crisp acidity and minerality than I prefer (a function of vintage?) but remained fresh enough to be a good pairing with moules marinières; 15/20.

Bourgueil La Coudraye 2009 – Yannick Amirault – Alc. 13% - (c.€10) was medium/full bodied with riper, richer and rounder fruit and more suave structure (vintage effect?) but less lively acidity and earthy/animal flavours than I like with my Loire CabFranc; drinks well now and may acquire more subtlety with a little time; 15.5/20+.

Alsace Gewurztraminer 2006 - Trimbach - Alc.13.5% - (c.€15).
This bottle of Trimbach's entry level Gewurz turned up at a local delicatessen and, thinking of an Open Mike on another board, I bought a bottle though I guessed that it was about 15% overpriced. This seems to me to give an excellent idea of what Alsatian Gewurztraminer is all about with its well developed aromatics of lychee and rose petal laced with hints of ginger and round body with a certain richness but not a lot of acidity. The aromatics gave a slightly sweet impression but I guess that analytically the wine was quite dry. A good wine of its type; 15.5/20.

The reverse side of the experience was the flack I got from the other side of the table (Germaine and my son) about how the wine was far too scented and an unsuitable pairing for the dish of cod and mussels cooked in a white wine sauce. I do agree that Gewurz is not a very good pairing for most European food except maybe foie gras and stinky Alsatian cheese. On its own as a summer starter or with spicy food it may be much better. This is the main reason why I drink so little of it.

I really like the Heymann-Löwenstein wines. Locally I can get the Blauem Schiefer and Roth Lay for a very good price making those two my go to HL tipples. I note you have this one listed as a QbA, and other than the Auslese from them I never see a Prädikat indication on any of the 10 or so wines available here. They can't all be QbA can they? Do any producers release QmP wines without an indication? Just curious if anyone here knows.

The Amirault wine I love.

I'm down on the Trimbach intro wines at the moment (please see my surrealist review elsewhere of the Riesling).

I really like the Heymann-Löwenstein wines. Locally I can get the Blauem Schiefer and Roth Lay for a very good price making those two my go to HL tipples. I note you have this one listed as a QbA, and other than the Auslese from them I never see a Prädikat indication on any of the 10 or so wines available here. They can't all be QbA can they? Do any producers release QmP wines without an indication? Just curious if anyone here knows.

Lowenstein mostly pushes for a 'harmoniously dry' style - the wines don't fit a pradikat category or a fixed distinction of sweetness (e.g. trocken/halbtrocken), but there's usually a single bottling from one site in that style that's only labelled with the name of the site and nothing else so they can have flexible levels of residual sugar/ripeness depending on vintage, and still be almost dry tasting.

Van Volxem and Peter Lauer are among the other producers making wines in that style - and I find both far more consistent and likely to deliver top quality for the $ than HL. At the lower end, Van Volxem's basic Saar and Saar Alte Reben Rieslings are tremendous values - and I am a huge fan of some of their slightly higher end bottlings from the Wawerner Goldberg, Wiltinger Braunefels and Gottesfuss and Scharzhofberger. Immich Batterieberg is another name coming (back) up on the radar... had a couple of bottles of their Ellergrub and CAI Rieslings recently, and both were tremendous at the price.

Salil, I find rarity of indication of dryness/sweetness on labels one of the most annoying aspects of wine buying and it is becoming recurring rant from me.

It is particularly galling in Germany that producers like Heymann-Löwenstein and van Volxem opt out of the QmP system which would oblige them to indicate "trocken" or "halbtrocken". I would rate most "harmonic dry" wines as falling into the definition of "halbtrocken" and I suspect that HL and VV think that putting "halbtrocken" on the label is a commercial turn-off (this Uhlen L 01 might just have fitted the quite liberal definition for "trocken"). Both are now VdP producers and I wonder how often they label their wines GG (= Grosses Gewächs) which, I think, would oblige them under VdP rules to respect the "trocken" definition.

Incidentally I notice that most GG wines which I have seen have VdP style front labelling but use the QbA system when giving the legally mandatory details on a back label.

Savennières Clos du Papillon 2002 – Domaine du Closel – Alc.14.5%. I have read complaints that this wine is going off but, for me, it was a third beauty if more buxom and not quite so fine as the two previous. Colour was almost as deep as that of the Vouvray but there was no trace of oxidation on the nose or palate. The bouquet seemed to presage a sweet wine and was aromatically quite similar to the Vouvray’s. The palate was full, rich and quite structured, darker in fruit and aroma than the two previous and more demi-sec than dry but well balanced by the minerality and smooth/lively acidity. I was not conscious of burn from the high alcohol but it certainly contributed body and a slight wooziness in this drinker. Again I would guess some botrytis of the noble sort; 17/20.

Interesting wine. It is quite big isn't it.

I drank my last bottle about a year ago because I had no idea how it was going to age. There was some more of this available here recently and I was almost tempted to experiment, but decided against it. Still, glad that you've been having good experiences.

Salil, I find rarity of indication of dryness/sweetness on labels one of the most annoying aspects of wine buying and it is becoming recurring rant from me.

The issue is that definitions of dryness such as halbtrocken or trocken are defined by very arbitrary limits - 9 g/l r/s for trockens, 9-18 for halbtrockens if I remember right, and a winemaker shooting for the same sensation of taste/dry perception (particularly with high acid Saar Riesling) could be producing a halbtrocken one vintage, a trocken in another and a wine with maybe 20+ grams residual sugar in a really high acid/less ripe year. Given that there's a consistent estate style at these producers, I have no problems with the labelling - after one bottle of a Van Volxem at any price range, it's fairly easy to figure out how his Volz/Goldberg/etc will taste regardless of labelling.

Labelling problem? I sure do when I help out at wine store near me. Very good selection of German wines and a few shoppers ask if "this wine is dry or sweet?" Sometimes I cannot give an honest answer as I have not tasted it. Same with Alsace but/and my perception of sweetness may differ from others eh.
The `07 Zinck P Gris was labelled a 2/8. No way folks, more a 5/8.

Salil, I find rarity of indication of dryness/sweetness on labels one of the most annoying aspects of wine buying and it is becoming recurring rant from me.

The issue is that definitions of dryness such as halbtrocken or trocken are defined by very arbitrary limits - 9 g/l r/s for trockens, 9-18 for halbtrockens if I remember right, and a winemaker shooting for the same sensation of taste/dry perception (particularly with high acid Saar Riesling) could be producing a halbtrocken one vintage, a trocken in another and a wine with maybe 20+ grams residual sugar in a really high acid/less ripe year. Given that there's a consistent estate style at these producers, I have no problems with the labelling - after one bottle of a Van Volxem at any price range, it's fairly easy to figure out how his Volz/Goldberg/etc will taste regardless of labelling.

Salil, the German definition of "trocken" allows for the effect of acidity on subjective impressions; at 9g/l RS there must be at least 7g/l of acidity, at 7g/l Rs 5g/l of acidity and so on. I need to look up what the similar rule is for "halbtrocken". The EU definitions follow the German for "trocken/sec" but allow member states to fix the acidity levels for "halbtrocken/demi-sec"; a cop out. Nevertheless, in spite of imperfections, I feel so strongly about the issue that I believe that the EU definitions should be mandatory for labelling of EU produced wine.

You are right in saying that, for us wine geeks, one gets to know roughly what to expect from certain key producers but that doesn't prevent me for being cautious about ordering a lot of Alsatian, Loire and German wine untasted in the absence of reliable advice. It is far worse for the less initiated wine drinkers and I'm sure that producers who blur the issue lose a lot of sales in consequence.

Labelling problem? I sure do when I help out at wine store near me. Very good selection of German wines and a few shoppers ask if "this wine is dry or sweet?" Sometimes I cannot give an honest answer as I have not tasted it. Same with Alsace but/and my perception of sweetness may differ from others eh.
The `07 Zinck P Gris was labelled a 2/8. No way folks, more a 5/8.

Bob, I think that it is a truism that very many people buy dry but drink sweet with the consequence that there is a sweetwards drift in perceptions of what is dry. The German definition of "trocken", up to 9g/l of RS allows for quite a bit of this drift. People here say that the descriptor "demi-sec" is a sales turn-off; Foreau's Vouvray demi-sec (sold as such in France) is labelled Les Perruches for the Belgian market .

It wouldn't surprise to come across salespersons who describe my Vouvray here as "off-dry" and the Savennières as "bone dry" .