Some random French wines

Went out to dinner with some friend/Co-Workers to celebrate a few promotions and decided to bring some fun wines. We went to a French restaurant, so I thought I'd stick with the theme.

2014 André-Michel Brégeon Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie
Very crisp, much more than the '13 I had recently. Just a lightning bolt of acidity with lemon and lime aromas. Diminished body, even with the lie aging. Was wonderful with Oysters.

2012 Domaine Ostertag Riesling Muenchberg Grand Cru
Wow of a wine... Medium plus body, bordering on heavy with notes of cinnamon, clove and a big hit of ginger. This was one of the biggest dry Rieslings I think I've ever tasted, reminded me of FX Pichler in sheer weight. Nose was so pretty, jasmine, quince, ripe granny smith. This is beautiful, but if you go in expecting a light Riesling you will be shocked.

2008 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Corton-Bressandes
Drinking beautifully right now. Red fruit with a lot of forest floor aromas. Slight spice, possibly from oak? Medium body with great acidity to work well with food. Wish I had picked up more. Drink in the next 2-5 years

2000 Château Bel-Air-Ouÿ St. Émilion
Just slightly over the hill in my opinion. Not bad, but fruit has dried out a bit too much and the alcohol starts to show through, which is surprising as it is only 13.5% Red and black fruit with a lot of smoke and almost a meaty quality.

[David M. Bueker]

That’s a little better than random!

I need to get more creative with my titles though, maybe 4 Frenchies walk into a bar... I'll work on it

[Jenise]

2012 Domaine Ostertag Riesling Muenchberg Grand Cru
Wow of a wine... Medium plus body, bordering on heavy with notes of cinnamon, clove and a big hit of ginger. This was one of the biggest dry Rieslings I think I've ever tasted, reminded me of FX Pichler in sheer weight. Nose was so pretty, jasmine, quince, ripe granny smith. This is beautiful, but if you go in expecting a light Riesling you will be shocked.

I'm pretty unschooled when it comes to riesling but have recently been seduced by a few dry reislings. Is 'Grand Cru' equivalent to
the GG designation?

I'm pretty unschooled when it comes to riesling but have recently been seduced by a few dry reislings. Is 'Grand Cru' equivalent to
the GG designation?

Grand Cru came first!

Although of course the selectivity and historical tradition varies by region. I believe Alsace didn't start naming Grand Crus until the 1970s.

GG is Germany's attempt to play in that labeling/vineyard hierarchy game. Although I am guessing you knew that!

[David M. Bueker]

Grand Cru (Alsace) and Grosses Gewachs (Germany) have some similarities, but also notable differences. Both classify vineyards, and both are too generous with top tier status. Both restrict the designation to certain grapes.

The major difference is the stylistic boundaries for Grosses Gewachs. GG is all about creating top dry* wines. Grand Cru does not have to be dry. GG also handcuffs producers when they make a selection for the GG wine. They cannot then sell the remainder as the vineyard designated spatlese trocken. No pradikat-designated dry wine is permitted if you sell a GG from a given site. Producers are left with two options. One is to make more of a less good GG by including the deselected grapes (not often, or ever done by top producers). The other is to sell the rest as some un-designated (pradikat or vineyard) trocken bottling.

As for the little * on the word dry, the GG boundaries are 0-9 g/l of residual sugar. At 4 g/l or below it is likely the wine tastes completely dry. Above that there will be greater richness, and ultimately perceptible residual sugar, though not much. Of course a huge percentage of Alsatian Grand Cru wines have notable residual sugar these days, often well past the allowable GG limits.

. Of course a huge percentage of Alsatian Grand Cru wines have notable residual sugar these days, often well past the allowable GG limits.

An increasing number of Alsatian producers are putting dryness/sweetness indicators on their labels or back-labels but that will remain insufficient until they all do it and until the criteria used are identical.

[David M. Bueker]

. Of course a huge percentage of Alsatian Grand Cru wines have notable residual sugar these days, often well past the allowable GG limits.

An increasing number of Alsatian producers are putting dryness/sweetness indicators on their labels or back-labels but that will remain insufficient until they all do it and until the criteria used are identical.

Agreed.

I buy from a few producers that use those scales, and the variance is quite striking.