WTN: Alsace, Ruwer, Tuscany

I was at stove on Tuesday, with a bean/kale/yam korma and sauteed mushrooms. Wine was the 2009 Trimbach Gewurztraminer (this is the regular yellow label). Good for level -dry, good typicity with lichee, flowers, and citrus peel, modest finish but a pleasant easygoing wine. B/B-

Wednesday was lamb chops, polenta, and red onions with the 2009 Felsina Fontalloro. Understandably quite primary and big at first, with air gains a bit of complexity. Red fruits, leather, a little cocoa. Good balance, but a lot of tannin here, needs time. B+/B for drinking now, expect to get better.

Thursday was pork bulgogi with an Asian accented (ginger, soy, sesame) slaw and brown rice. Wine was the 2012 von Schubert/Maximin Grunhauser Riesling QbA. Just off-dry, juicy Granny Smith fruit with a squirt of lime juice, minerally, very good length for level. I quite ejoy this! B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

[David M. Bueker]

I've heard tons of good things about 2012 Grunhaus. (im)Patiently waiting for my order to arrive.

For the record this is the one with AP ending in 03 13. On cellartracker there are several QbAs. Looking at Mosel Fine Wines this is listed as the Feinherb, though not on bottle (and Garnet's site lists it as dry). On back the useful International Riesling Foundation chart shows it as medium-dry. It is 11% Abv and screwcap. Just for reference in case anyone else tries, outside of Willi Schaefer I haven't been habitually listing APs, should go back to that I guess.

[David M. Bueker]

I am hearing my kabinetts will also be under screwcap, but that the kabinett magnums will be under cork. We'll see about the rest. Didn't order any QbA. Should have.

For the record this is the one with AP ending in 03 13. On cellartracker there are several QbAs. Looking at Mosel Fine Wines this is listed as the Feinherb, though not on bottle (and Garnet's site lists it as dry). On back the useful International Riesling Foundation chart shows it as medium-dry. It is 11% Abv and screwcap. Just for reference in case anyone else tries, outside of Willi Schaefer I haven't been habitually listing APs, should go back to that I guess.

Usually, Maximin Grünhaus has no "feinherb" designation for their basic non-trocken Qualitätswein (formerly called QbA) for the US market.

I am hearing my kabinetts will also be under screwcap, but that the kabinett magnums will be under cork. We'll see about the rest. Didn't order any QbA. Should have.

Maximin Grünhaus bottles a percentage of their "fruity" Kabinetts under screw cap now. The entry-level Qualitätsweine and former Kabinett trocken bottlings from Abtsberg and Herrenberg are all bottled under screw cap. I, however, don't feel these closures fit to their style of wines, which tend to already have a marked reductive stink. Moreover, some of their dry QbAs and Kabinetts of the past could age incredibly long. At the moment, I'm trying to write an article about this topic in regard to Mosel wine.

[David M. Bueker]

I don't have any issue with the screw caps. As I have mentioned a number of times, I have Rieslings under screw cap dating back to 2001, and have seen a slow, graceful maturation in the wines.

Yesterday, I finally posted my article on the trend towards screw caps for Mosel wine. It's not my best writing, but I did bring up various points.

[David M. Bueker]

And my 2012 Grunhaus arrived this past week. The kabinett 750s are indeed under screwcap. The mags are under cork.

The mags are under cork.

Come to think of it, I can't remember ever having a mag of anything under screwcap.