Dönnhoff 1999 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese 007 00 (Nahe) – Thick mineral stew with a peach glaze, over-reduced and tedious. Utterly devoid of useful acidity (meaning there’s not none, just not any that will rescue the wine). (6/12)
Browse Tag
white
Hooked on a feeling
St. Urbans-Hof 2002 Piesporter Goldtröpchef Riesling Spätlese 034 03 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) – Bottles come and bottles go of this wine, which I bought in quantity a while back on very deep discount, and both the goers and comers are variable with a side of disappointment. This is just as variable as the rest, but less disappointing than most, showing a liquefied aluminum base on which have been sprinkled some lemongrass-infused apple salts, plus a more stone-fruited finish. Does any of the previous mean or say anything of relevance to the terroir? Well… (6/12)
Neudorf on neugolf
Neudorf 2008 Sauvignon Blanc (Nelson) – A somewhat metallic side of sauvignon blanc, ripe and a bit showy but still avoiding tropicality. Also a touch reductive, which may be the closure. (6/12)
Cott in the crossfire
Brancott 2011 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) – Neither the pyrazine fest it once was (granted, I’m sure what’s going into this wine now bears less than no relation to what went into it in previous decades) nor the sweet, soft fruit of the double-oughts’ overreaction, instead this is straightforward and varietally correct, but sanded down (and some of the sandpaper remains, texturally) and pretty dull. It’ll do in a pinch, but I’d like that pinch to be a bucket of ice on a Marlborough Sounds beach somewhere, with maybe a cube of that ice in the paper cup from which I’m swigging this. (6/12)
Yes’ worst album
Sella & Mosca 2009 Alghero Terre Bianche Torbato (Sardinia) – Vivid fruit in the white/lime green/yellow spectrum, seeking to be bright but stumbling a bit under a little excess weight. It’s not a complex wine, nor is it (I think) intended to be, but it requires a fairly constant chill to avoid a bit of over-belt sag. (6/12)
When Vogelsang, I hear violins
Heidi Schröck 2007 Ried Vogelsang (Austria) – 25% each welschriesling, weissburgunder, grauburgunder, and furmint. Overly-sweet for what else is provided, and pretty insipid. Just kinda sits there, limp..(6/12)
My bell
Meinklang 2011 Traminer (Burgenland) – Spiced pear, green rose, a bit of vinyl. Sappy, but also short, which somewhat mars the effect. It’s pleasant, though. (6/12)
Traminer girls
Steininger 2008 Traminer Sekt (Kamptal) – The heady aromatics of traminer, frothy and slightly sticky, given lift and then weighted down a bit by their more fantastical whims. It’s a very fun wine. (6/12)
Orthotwice as Orthogneiss
Bossard “Domaine de l’Ecu” 2005 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Expression d’Orthogneiss” (Loire) – Sometimes Muscadet is worth holding, sometimes it isn’t. This was the latter. Now, it’s weak and trembling minerality, eroded and barely noticeable, with almost nothing surrounding it. Oh well. (6/12)
Street splitter
Donaldson Family “Main Divide” 2005 Riesling (Waipara Valley) – Vivacious, and I mean that in more than one sense: there’s a ton of spritz here, which really livens up an otherwise directly, icily fruity wine full of green-toned sorbets. Developing nicely, with just a hint of petrol, and really fun. (6/12)