N.V. Domaine Paul Buecher et fils Crémant d'Alsace Brut Prestige (Crémant d'Alsace, Alsace, France) 12.5% – appears pale wheat yellow, lots of streams of tiny bubbles, smell fresh, hint of biscuit, pine needles, woods, mouthfeel great depth, a bit on the heavier side but with wondrous bubbles, quite pleasant, taste awesome spiced-up version of apple cobbler, definite apple and tart apple skin, but with spices that go beyond simple cinnamon and nutmeg towards spicier Indian varieties, refreshing, the tart and spicy goes on like a great handshake making this an incredibly interesting and tasty wine, great deal for 7 euros.
From producer: The cuvee Prestige is basically a blending of Pinot Auxerrois (70%) and Riesling (30%), sometimes a few percents of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir can be added. After the bottling, it is aged between 15 and 24 months in our cellars before the disgorging. The Cremant grapes come from two different vineyards. One in Walbach : a sandy hillside in the Munster valley. This late area avoids the Pinot grapes to ripen too fast, so they keep a good acidity. The second is in the Harth in Colmar, a dry and warm plain where the Riesling get ready early
2000 Strappelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Abruzzi, Central Italy) 13.5% – appears blood red purple, incredibly dark, lighter maroon rim, quite viscous, sediment at end of bottle, smell lively raspberry, softer spice, very slight fine-grained wood, soft yet spiffy, mouthfeel very viscous, but not too much, nicely holds together, taste fun and lively spice upfront, soft very fresh fruit, spice floats in and out, gnarly old feel to it, left to breath while cooking, really opened up and acidity pumped up a bit, fabulous match with some steaks and new potatoes off the grill, def needed an hour or so to open up and the acidity as we finished the bottle was quite refreshing and memorable, most certainly the wine to go with food I was looking for
