WTN: Three This Weekend...(short/boring)

Tried these first two at AquaSanta Fri night:
1. Yvette et Michel Beck-Hartweg/Vignerons GWT AC: GrandCru Frankstein (13%) 2006: Med.light gold color; very intense GWT/hair-oil/lychee/classic GWT quite spicy/nutmeg very perfumed nose; big/rich/lush fairly tart intense GWT/lychee/floral/hair-oil mouthfilling spicy classic GWT flavor; very long/lingering fairly tart rich/lush intense GWT/lychee/floral/hair-oil finish; lots of intense GWT fruit but a lively/bright character that keeps the wine from being ponderous or cloying or over-the-top; lovely classic Alsace GWT. $26.00
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2. TheOjaiVnyd Calif Viognier RollRanch (10.0%; 6 brls) 2005: Med.gold color; very intense honeyed/creme brulee/fruity/grapey no-Viognier nose; fairly sweet (15%?) rich/lush/grapey/very honeyed/intense almost botrytis/peachy fairly tart flavor; very long/lingering lush/grapey very honeyed/rich/lush fairly tart finish; great w/ the panna cotta w/ honey syrup & raspberries. $22.00/hlf
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3. WindGap PinotGris WindsorOaksVnyd/ChalkHill (123 cs; #270; 12.8%) 2009: Fairly dark orange/burnishe bronze color; fairly strong flowery/earthy somewhat resinous/orangey very strange little fruit nose; very tart/lean/austere quite earthy/resinous pretty tannic/hard austere/earthy no fruit almost sherry-like (but no oxidation) somewhat lean/tight/thin/acerbic/schreechy very strange flavor; med.long bit orangey/resinous/earthy fairly tannic/hard/bitey little fruit finish; a rather bizarre wine w/ somewhat of a sherry-like character and a paucity of fruit; strange stuff but better w/ food. $32.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. The Beck-Hartweg was an Alsatian wnry I'd never done heer'd about before that I spotted out at WineExpo a few weeks ago. I really liked this GWT a lot, one of the best GWT's from Alsace I've had in several yrs. Interestingly, the back/inporter's label described it as "fruity and sweet". It was not sweet. Though it was pretty big/ripe/lush, I certainly didn't pick up any signs of r.s. Reminded me some of the Weinbach GC GWTs, but with more acid and not quite as over-the-top as some of them. And, of course, far better than most of the Z-H ones.
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2. The Ojai Viognier is supposedly made as a freezer ice-wine. But you couldn't tell it by me. I usually find the freezer ice-wines just simple/grapey and not wines that age very well. This one had a very honeyed/clean character that almost seemed to be botrytis. And, of course, no discernible Viognier character. Easily the best freezer ice-wine I've had in the last few weeks since the '04 Ojai Viognier.
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3. The WindGap was, obviously, made as an orange wine with extended skin-contact in the style of Gravner/Radikon. It has pretty bitey/hard tannins and a rather strange resinous character. Badly needs to go w/ food like tapas or something. Gawd only knows how this wine will develop w/ age. You obviously have to think outside the box to appreciate this wine. An interesting wine but the jury's still out..or not even in the building.
Tom

The WindGap PinorGris really didn't float my boat. Little fruit, pretty tannic/bitter/hard on the palate, really quite weird.
Driving home from work I got to thinking (I know...but it does happen occasionally)....this is an "orange" wine...a white wine made like a red wine...skin contact, lees contact..the whole shebang. Maybe I should serve it like red wine, at room temperature, not like a white wine??
Pulled the leftover btl out of the fridge & set it out on the counter. Tried it again 6 hrs later, at cool room temperature.
It was a whole nuther beast. The floral PinotGris had come out in the nose. On the palate, the tannins had subsided and it was much richer and much less hard/austere. A real pleasure to drink now.
Lesson learned: "Orange" wines are red wines, not white wines. Serve them at room temperature like you would any red wine.
Tom