WTN: Sekt, Alto Adige Gewürz, Lagrein

2000 August Kesseler Rheingau Riesling Sekt B.A. Brut (Germany) 12.0% - smell tightly bound grass, some rocks and moss, as opens up more apple and cinnamon, mouthfeel incredible soft wave of light delicate bubbles that fades in mouth to frizzante or even still, enjoy this experience with every sip, taste stone or chalk element, fruit with pits (pit element of cherry or peach), light perky acidity of lime, pleasant, lively, good contrast of sweet, mineral, acidity and changing texture, long strong dry finish of lemon and kiwi, I loved this wine all the way through, one of my top picks for under US$10

2002 Alois Lageder Am Sand Alto Adige/Südtirol Gewürztraminer (Italy) 13.5% –smell lots of apple, bit honeyed as it opens up, mouthfeel slightly thick and chewy at times, taste very light flavor profile at first, soft, almost dull, very muted fruit, finish is dominated by spicy oak that eventually dominates the wine, after about an hour the more honeyed characteristics come forth, but the spicy attack on the tongue is the only thing that leaves an impression and it feels like oak and nothing else, odd, the wine certainly didn’t have this profile when I first tried it 6 months ago, perhaps it has already begun a rapid descent?

2002 Alois Lageder Lindenburg Alto Adige/Südtirol Lagrein (Italy) 13.5% – smell wonderful mustiness, dense fruit, blackberries tightly pressed together, rosemary, slight sweetness but not jammy on nose, feels like halfway between dense fruit and jam, strong herbal presence, mouthfeel superb, medium-thick with strands that slither away in the mouth, what a great medium, taste wonderful rich, somewhat muted fruit, blueberry extreme, wonderful spiciness that is dominant at first, but becomes more playful as wine opens up, tart green apple on finish, this wine went fine with roast pork loin with rosemary and fennel, but I actually preferred it on its own, I adored the experience of this wine—it felt like a kiss the whole way through (appropriate enough as we consumed it on Valentine’s Day), the texture and incredible structure of this wine really made me wish the bottle held more than 750 milliliters, lovely

Very nice notes. They reminded us that we have a CA Lagrein that we need to pop sometime this year. It probably won't taste anything like your Italian one though.

Great notes, Keith.

New small wood would be extremely atypical of the Alto Adige, and indeed Lageder's website says the wine is aged in large Slavonian oak, an old method that seems to be coming back for the best whites of this region.

The '02 appears to be the recent release; it was a good to very good vintage in the AA, unlike most of the rest of northern Italy, and the best whites from there are often aged for a few years. That variety can often show a distinctly yellow color when young which can easily be mistaken for wood or oxidation.

Seems like you had a nice Valentine wine, and great price on the Kessler, is that also from a winery visit? Good times? Did you buy other good stuff? Their prices can be quite high in the US. But the wines are very very seductive to me.

I too love the August Kesseler Sekt. We have it on the shelves here for $15ish, which is quite a steal. Like Rahsaan said, the Pinot Noirs here are quite expensive, but IMO the best in Germany. I had a great trip to Kesseler for harvest '05. I commented that the wines had a Burgundian complexity to them (Even though I hate using 'Burgundian'). I was told that they aren't trying to make Burgundy, only to make spectacular Deutscher Spaetburgunder -which they acheive in spades. I still have a couple downstairs. Will soon post. Thanks for the notes.

Prost!
Bill

I too love the August Kesseler Sekt. We have it on the shelves here for $15ish, which is quite a steal. Like Rahsaan said, the Pinot Noirs here are quite expensive, but IMO the best in Germany.

I was also thinking of their rieslings, which aren't cheap either.

Must have been a fun harvest, I only met August once, at a big tasting, but I understand he's quite a charismatic man, and perhaps even more so during that hectic time of year.

FWIW, I don't have extensive exposure to their pinot noirs, but from my notes I found the 03 "Cuvee Max" QbA trocken, the 03 Assmannshauser Hollenberg QbA trocken and the 04 Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg QbA trocken all shockingly overpriced ($70 - 90) and boring.

No, I have not visited August Kesseler--I ended up grabbing this bottle by chance locally to cart over to a friend's for New Year's and loved it so much I had to revisit it. If the sekt is an indicator of their quality, I guess I'll have to make my way up there (I only wish it were an indicator of their prices as well!).

I'd love to hear your experiences with the Spätburgunders when you consume them, Bill.

FWIW, I don't have extensive exposure to their pinot noirs, but from my notes I found the 03 "Cuvee Max" QbA trocken, the 03 Assmannshauser Hollenberg QbA trocken and the 04 Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg QbA trocken all shockingly overpriced ($70 - 90) and boring.

The '03s are more power than elegance for sure. I still found them very good. Berg Schlossberg is a south-facing vineyard on the immediate bank of the Rhein, and the exposure is geared for horsepower. I much prefer the Assmannshäuser Höllenberg 2002 to the Schlossberg of any vintage (which is more expensive). Oddly enough, the Germans I've talked to have almost universally been very excited with the '03 reds from any region. And in Germany, the wines are marginally better priced and the Riesling is downright cheap. I'll check in on my stash in a few weeks and post.


Prost!
Bill