Browse Tag

sweet

Dürk diggler

Darting 2007 Dürkheimer Fronhof Scheurebe Beerenauslese 030 08 (Pfalz) – From 375 ml. Not as lurid as the tropical soap factory that scheurebe can sometimes be, but still with one foot in the drink umbrella and lounge chair genre. Thankfully, the other foots in a big vat of (loose) structure and vibrancy. Very sweet, but not in a tooth-eroding way, and fun. (1/10)

Zindanges tardives

[vineyard]Dashe 2007 “Late Harvest” Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley) – From 375 ml, 14.1% alcohol, 9% residual sugar by weight. Called by someone I know “the worst wine he’s had all year,” or something along those lines. I don’t see it. It tastes like classic late-harvest zin to me. True, it screeches with volatile acidity, and that’s normally enough to lead to the latter of the fight/flight reaction in me, but the concentrated, sticky fruit (berries of all shapes and hues) seems to somehow lighten as it moves past its fermentably-dry stage. It’s…cute. (1/10)

Ángel Jiménez

[vineyard]Miquel “Domaine de Barroubio” 2004 Muscat de St-Jean-de-Minervois (Languedoc) – From 375 ml. Every time I have a good muscat from either this or the Beaumes-de-Venise appellations, I wonder why I don’t drink more of them. Ennui, probably; there’s a wide world of sweet options out there. But when, for example, a St-Jean is on, there’s just something so sweetly pretty about it, and yet there’s that rocky background that makes it something more than Yet Another Sweet Muscat. This particular bottle is in-your-face, but it’s polite about it, and is a complete blast to drink. (12/09)

Wizard

Pojer e Sandri Vigneti delle Dolomiti “Merlino” (Trentino) – Fortified lagrein. Intriguing. More high-toned and powdery than most fortified reds, which could well be a function of latitude, and whirling a bit under a heady sensation of crushed purple flowers. Good, mostly, but it doesn’t quite achieve the spicy richness of its more southerly brethren. Not that I’d expect it to. (12/09)

Cracker

[vineyard]Graham’s 1996 Porto Malvedos (Douro) – Still sticky-fruited and jellified, all blue/purple/black berry syrup and slippery sweetness. What structure there is has been forcefully relegated to the background. Easy-drinking, and as it airs some hints of a graphite-textured tannin finally emerge from some remote refuge. Needs more time, but on the other hand quite drinkable now. (12/09)

Lieder of the pack

[vineyard]von Schubert’schen 1983 Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg Riesling Auslese 31 84 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) – Old but still vibrant. Jacketed in copper and other, brassier metals, with a palate that recalls a youth of orangesicle sorbet and strawberry. An impressive life must have been led to arrive at this point, and the complexities and suddenly-remembered tales keep one coming back again and again. (12/09)

A lot of torque

Maculan 2002 Breganze Torcolato (Veneto) – From 375 ml. Shy, to the extent that I wonder if there might not be some very minor cork taint (but over the course of three days, nothing obvious develops, so perhaps not). There’s peach, cream, spice, and crystal as one expects, but it’s all muted. Even in a volume-limited state, this is still nice wine, but I’d hoped for better. (12/09)

Hom hom hom

Bretz 2005 Bechtolsheimer Homberg Spätburgunder Rosé Eiswein 048 08 (Rheinhessen) – The pong of botrytis wrapped in silk flowers, strawberry candy, and layers upon layers of eventually unbearable sweetness. There’s big acidity, but nothing can save this wine from a fate likely to resemble a Jolly Rancher. (12/09)

Brücke shields

Dönnhoff 2000 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein 021 01 (Nahe) – From 375 ml…but that’s really all you’ll ever need. Exposed iron strata with crystallized strawberry, awesome acidity yet exquisite balance, and infinitely long. Breathtaking. (12/09)

Dow before me

Dow’s 1990 Porto Quinta do Bomfim (Douro) – Red cherry, black pepper, and spice…sweet, rich, and full-bodied, but balanced. I think. There’s a minor bit of developmental appeal now, but I’d let this one hang around a fair while longer. (12/09)