WTN: Gettin' Spicy!

I was brushing up on my wine intellect with my "Wine For Dummies 3rd edition" the other night in the "Doing France" (chap. 10) section and read the part about Alsatian Gewurztraminer again.

By the way, I think Ed Mcarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan do a helluva job with their publications.

Anyway, they mention that if you've never tried Alsatian "Gewurz" you haven't tasted one of the most unique wines in the world. They even go so far as to call it a "love-it-or-leave-it" wine. The gist to me was - it's so distinctive that it's almost an "aquired taste" kind of wine.

I thought, come on, how distinctive could it be? I definitely know how to appreciate the word "distinctive" in describing a wine but, I mean, "love-it-or-leave-it"? But I'd never tried one so how could I judge, right? Until last night. Talk about "tasting is believing"! It was suggested to drink AG with spicy cuisine. My wife and I had some asian stir fry going on so I thought I'd grab a bottle.--

2003 Trimbach Alsace Gewurtztraminer 13%alc.

Ok, major shocker going on here!
Absolutely, MAJOR contrasting style compared to New World Gewurtz!
Typical nose/flavor descriptor is SPICE for Gewurtz, right? You know - sweet spice - like anise cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, right? These were quite prominent, but there was more going on here. It was a bit peppery to me - black and white. Probably due to the lack af acidity that I'm not necessarily fond of. But that's not even the biggest "weirdo descripto" thing that I discovered. To me, the nose was something of an - hmmm, I don't know - "Irish Stout" maybe?! Yeah, believe it or not, it had a yeast/fruit kind of a nose that reminded me of a good ol' Guiness! Talk about stranger than fiction! Don't really know how else to describe it!

Well, I definitely learned my "distinctive" lesson, but as far as the "love-it-or-leave-it" goes -
I didn't love it, but I'm gonna have to try a few different producers before I decide to leave it.
Very "unique" AND "distinctive". Later!

I didn't love it, but I'm gonna have to try a few different producers before I decide to leave it.

Perhaps more importantly, try some other years from Trimbach (who rocks, BTW) before leaving it. I'm not too fond of the variety either, but Trimbach's Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre is one fantastic wine. Try that in a cooler year to see if it would change your mind.

I didn't love it, but I'm gonna have to try a few different producers before I decide to leave it.

Perhaps more importantly, try some other years from Trimbach (who rocks, BTW) before leaving it. I'm not too fond of the variety either, but Trimbach's Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre is one fantastic wine. Try that in a cooler year to see if it would change your mind.

Thanks for the suggestions Otto.
I've tried reislings from Trimbach and they ABSOLUTELY rock.
Maybe thats my problem, I love the acidity in the dry Alsace reislings and didn't really see this coming necessarily with the Gewurtz. I was aware that Alsatian Gewurtz was lower in acidity, but this was like a class all it's own. But I'll definitely hold out and try a cooler year. By the way, any suggestion on what year I ought to try? What about the producer "Willm" ? How do they rate? Thanks a bunch, later, Aaron.

Willm is ok, but not terribly exciting. I think I've reported on some here (or was it still in the Netscape days?), so a search and some notes will come up. They were correct, pretty nice even, but they aren't a top class property IMO.

For vintages? 98. Or pretty much any recent one apart from 2003 should be fine from Trimbach. They are such a brilliant producer that I expected their '03s to be better. I should still try the CFE as that has recently been discounted here, as I've only tasted the more basic '03 bottlings.

-O-

I have memories of some pretty good reports on the `05 Willm Gewurtz.

Otto, post in Friends and Fun on how to download pics. Should work for you, someone else here recently was bragging on how he made out!!

You might try a German gewurz, too. I've had a couple spatleses that were absolute knockouts--rich lychee fruit, spearmint, apricot...not too expensive, either: Under $20.

Well, I definitely learned my "distinctive" lesson, but as far as the "love-it-or-leave-it" goes -
I didn't love it, but I'm gonna have to try a few different producers before I decide to leave it.

Aaron,
Interesting wine. I am probably one of the few on this board that is not a fan of gewurtztraminer and much prefer Trimbach's riesling. It does indeed seem to be a like it or don't like it variety but with spicey foods much prefer a sparkler.
Walt[/b]

You might try a German gewurz, too. I've had a couple spatleses that were absolute knockouts--rich lychee fruit, spearmint, apricot...not too expensive, either: Under $20.

Thanks Dave! I'll pick one up and post a review.
Any particular German producer I should try that falls under that "under $20" category?

Over the hols, I tasted the Marcel Deiss "Alsace". Nice white, think blend of Riesling and P Gris? Would buy again, even at $25 Cdn.