Browse Tag

st. michael-eppan

Massacre

St. Michael-Eppan “Sanct Valentin” 2006 Sauvignon (Alto Adige) – Extremely intense, as is the Sanct Valentin style, but that intensity is expressed internally rather than some big, showy explosion of gobs and lavishness. Greenish-white fruit, white-hot and studded with shattered glass, quivering with barely-restrained power but never losing its grip on the foundation. Impressive. (7/10)

Pots & Eppans

[vineyard]St. Michael-Eppan 2006 Pinot Noir (Alto Adige) – Plummy fruit to which has been applied a wrench, slightly distorting it. Some beet, some earth, some cherry, but a weird structure, as if it’s repeating throwing itself against some unseen barrier. (6/09)

Fiddling

[vineyard]St. Michael-Eppan 2004 Pinot Nero “Riserva” (Alto Adige) – Mushrooms growing alongside the barn…the animalistic side of this wine is very much on the edge of acceptability, and the averse should take note…with a dark, post-coital midnight sweat over blackened berries. There’s plenty of lightening structure, but the wine is a blackheart, and won’t yield anything refreshing. Still, given the right food, this could be just the thing. I don’t think age will help, as I think the flaws will grow more pronounced. (10/08)

No Lalande

[label]St. Michael-Eppan “Sanct Valentin” 1997 “Comtess” Vino Passito – Though I assume this is made from Alto Adige grapes, there’s no indication of appellation or origin anywhere on the label. Is that even legal? Well, I guess anything’s possible in Italy. This is rather light and well-aged, and I think it’s a little past its best. Candied orange peel and tarragon stand out, but to be honest there’s not much to rise above, other than a fresh, crisp acid wash in the background. The wine’s juicy enough, but there’s no complexity whatsoever. I expect more from this winery and this line, which probably affects my impressions and renders this reaction more negative than it might be were this the work of a different producer. (10/07)

Lahn work

[label]St. Michael-Eppan 2004 Sauvignon Blanc Lahn (Alto Adige) – Very intense, though the form of the intensity is somewhat mysterious. There’s plenty of volume-enhanced green fruit and grass to provide varietal character, and the wine has a pronounced clarity about it, revealing all the minerality and piercing acidity underneath. Yet the wine presents itself in discrete panes rather than a cohesive whole. Everything is, frankly, terrific, and yet it doesn’t quite come together for me. On the other hand, I feel silly criticizing a wine with so many obvious qualities. (12/07)

Valentin’s day

[label]St. Michael-Eppan “Sanct Valentin” 1997 Pinot Nero (Alto Adige) – Beginning to round into maturity, with earthier elements entering the otherwise beet-dominated palate. Red berries are in evidence, but they’re the minority partner. If there’s a quibble, perhaps it’s that the overall impression of the wine is slightly fetid. Nonetheless, there’s much to like here. (11/07)