2002 Schoffit Alsace Pinot Blanc Auxerrois Vieilles Vignes (Alsace AOC, Alsace, France) 13% – appears bright yellow gold, great color, reflective, smell sheep’s wool, exotic funky berry, lively and tangy, very fresh, mouthfeel bit thick, viscous, tiny hint of spritz, taste initial fresh fruit and herbs upfront, wonderful wispy mid-palate, playful spice and acidity, very nice combo, solid wine all way through, refreshing, wonderful pair for grilled sea perch and grilled eggplant. From pjwine.com: The use of Auxerrois as a blending grape in Pinot Blanc-designated wines appears to be unique to Alsace. Auxerrois, a once pooly respected variety, has been gaining prominence and can now be seen on more Pinot Blanc labels. Truth be told, in Alsace, this variety may be the sole grape in many a Pinot Blanc-labeled wine if not the primary grape. When kept to low yields, Auxerrois displays a richness and honeyed character while retaining much of its food-friendly acidity. [snip] As with Chasselas, Schoffit has given prominence to Auxerrois and has elevated it to his Pinot Blanc label. Ironically, Schoffit’s cuvee happens to be 100% Auxerrois.
2004 Schoffit Gewurztraminer Harth Alsace Cuvée Caroline (Alsace AOC, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, France) 13.8% – appears dark gold, heavy grape nose, big and basic, hints of spice, mouthfeel spritzy initially, medium thickness, taste toward sweet, honey, odd funk in there, spice working its way on tongue, for the first two days, I did not really care for this wine, it was heavy and one-dimensional for me, on the third day, however, it was absolutely wonderful, though still sweet and a bit heavy, the flavors had rounded out to a spiced peach-pear cobbler, the spice was excellent and not over the top, and, above all, it was refreshing such that drinking a glass was an easy pleasure rather than a bore, the deadening aspects were gone and the wine was a nice, more elegant, approach, for the $13 I paid, I’d gladly pop open a bottle again consume the greater portion later
2004 Barboursville Vineyards Virginia Cabernet Franc Reserve (Orange County, Central Region, Virginia, USA) 13.5% – appears dark red crimson, beautiful color, smell great wafting spices, in and out, beautiful raspberry, mouthfeel is quite nice, good deal of well-integrated spice, taste of this wine is quite integrated with spice balancing well the fruit which is nicely tart, there are hints of darker things lurking around in there, which is quite nice, this paired okay with a steak, but oddly enough also went really well with a salad with a basic vinaigrette—wasn’t expecting that, but it was quite pleasant, very nicely balanced wine
2003 Ramazzotti Sonoma County Raffinto (Sonoma County, California, USA) 14.5% – appears medium dark crimson, slight rust halo, smell very sharp seaweed or similarly spiced vegetation, sharp, toward pungent, huge deep fresh fruit, moves toward spicy raisins over time, there is a lot of depth lurking to the fruit aromas—makes it quite interesting, mouthfeel thin, pleasant, hint of silk, taste soft open fruit, great rising and fading spice, very cool on tongue, hints of dryness, spicy, tart, refreshing, I love the way the spice lingers but does not overpower on this wine and the refreshing tartness was greatly appreciated as well, superb match for lentils with Indian-spiced yogurt, turned a bit sweeter (but still quite pleasant) when consumed after the meal—I thought the wine showed its best with food. From producer: This Super Tuscan Blend of 60% Sangiovese [from the Dry Creek Valley] and 40% Cabernet, Cabernet Franc and Syrah [from the Alexander Valley] was fermented in French and American oak for a period of 20 months