TN: Store Notes (March 5, 2020)

[Jeff Grossman]

Tasting at a local shop, in this order:

Guigal 2016 Cotes-du-Rhone - it's some rather ordinary syrah, no need to try twice

Dog Point 2018 Sauvignon Blanc - Marlborough and it shows: intense aromas of gooseberry, grass, and cat's pee; mouthfeel is gentle and palate shows some depth of flavor; not my cuppa but the winemakers' care shows

Malbec... - I don't have enough notes to reconstruct what it was; I remember the vineyard was 3000+ feet because we talked about getting light without heat; part of the wine's name had something to do with "wind across the plains" or something like that; I guess that reveals how good it was

Van Volxem 2016 Rotschiefer Riesling Kabinett - rs either 8g or 11g (pourer was not sure which specs went with this bottle), this is really quite good, decent acidity, bright citrus and green-grape flavors just flirting with peach, I'm a buyer

 

[Jayson Cohen]

The Riesling sounds good. 11 g seems really low for a Kabinett or even a Kabinett Feinherb, no matter how bright; that might be wrong.

 

[Pavel Tchichikov]

originally posted by Jayson Cohen:
The Riesling sounds good. 11 g seems really low for a Kabinett or even a Kabinett Feinherb, no matter how bright; that might be wrong.

what's the opposite of what Keith said about Kelley Fox?

 

[Rahsaan]

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:

originally posted by Jayson Cohen:
The Riesling sounds good. 11 g seems really low for a Kabinett or even a Kabinett Feinherb, no matter how bright; that might be wrong.

what's the opposite of what Keith said about Kelley Fox?

Ouch. I've always liked the Van Volxem wines and make it one of my priorities to buy them when in Germany. (Easier availability and broader selection than what I see in the US) So you're telling me to make sure that I never meet RN?!

 

[mark e]

originally posted by Rahsaan:

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:

originally posted by Jayson Cohen:
The Riesling sounds good. 11 g seems really low for a Kabinett or even a Kabinett Feinherb, no matter how bright; that might be wrong.

what's the opposite of what Keith said about Kelley Fox?

Ouch. I've always liked the Van Volxem wines and make it one of my priorities to buy them when in Germany. (Easier availability and broader selection than what I see in the US) So you're telling me to make sure that I never meet RN?!

I like the wines too and I have been to the estate and met RN. He does have strong opinions about the area and the wines, but he was extremely polite. I have come to enjoy them more now than when TT-Skurnik imported them.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

The Van Volxem wines have not been brought into NYC for several years.

 

[Jayson Cohen]

I had pretty good success in the past (just a few bottles) aging their Scharzhofberger wines (Spat and Aus I believe) from the late 90s and early 2000s.

 

[Christian Miller (CMM)]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
TN: Store Notes (March 5, 2020)Tasting at a local shop, in this order:

Guigal 2016 Cotes-du-Rhone - it's some rather ordinary syrah, no need to try twice

Is it mostly/all Syrah? Haven't had it recently, but it used to taste more southern Rhone, i.e. the usual suspects in a blend. I have a soft spot for this wine, because in the past it's been a prime example of what I call "well, at least they have that" wines. Like when you are scanning a list or shelf of dull wines driven entirely by distributor clout, starting to wonder if they have an interesting beer and you run across something reasonably and reliably tasty like Guigal CdR.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
Is it mostly/all Syrah? Haven't had it recently, but it used to taste more southern Rhone, i.e. the usual suspects in a blend.

The Guigal website does not give vintage-specific tech. Jancis says it is "syrah heavy" GSM blend.

I have a soft spot for this wine, because in the past it's been a prime example of what I call "well, at least they have that" wines. Like when you are scanning a list or shelf of dull wines driven entirely by distributor clout, starting to wonder if they have an interesting beer and you run across something reasonably and reliably tasty like Guigal CdR.

Agreed. Maybe my standards have gone up over time, though.

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

I agree with both of Christian's points. I don't know if things have chsnged, but the wine has usually been a Southern Rhone blend. It was a better wine in the 80s and 90s, like their other negociant wines, Ibefore Guigal's best suppliers all started selling their wines under their own labels. But, at its best, it was only a decent wine, though a?says a dependable one if one was faced with only mass market choices. Now it's a more boring wine, but still dependable in a pinch. I'd be happy to be served it on an airplane.

 

[Nathan Odem]

Jeff,

A sincere thanks for keeping the conversation alive around here. This bored would be all the more so without you.

A recent hit for me was '18 Baudry Rose - I was pretty concerned about the heft of it on release, but a bottle this week seemed much more nimble (perhaps it benefitted by comparison to the rest of the events of the week).

Something I don't recall mentioned here before was Domaine de Roquefort Monblanc. 60% Clairette and 40% Vermentino. It was darn easy to knock back, low alcohol and decent acid for a white from the south. It was cheap so I took a flier and I'm glad I did.

Does anyone here drink Debize? I'm still working through a decent pile I got from Cory and co back in the emails days (which I miss very, very much). Anyway, recent '09 Morgon and '10 Tete de Cuvee were as fine as ever. Classic Debize (I write as if I know what that means).

Hope everyone is healthy and drinking well. Seems like wine is a great investment right now.

 

[Pavel Tchichikov]

originally posted by Nathan Odem:
Does anyone here drink Debize? I'm still working through a decent pile I got from Cory and co back in the emails days (which I miss very, very much). Anyway, recent '09 Morgon and '10 Tete de Cuvee were as fine as ever. Classic Debize (I write as if I know what that means).

Nah, most of my friends here like Beaujolais that tastes like bubble gum. Quite odd really, given their exquisite taste in other regions.

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:

originally posted by Nathan Odem:
Does anyone here drink Debize? I'm still working through a decent pile I got from Cory and co back in the emails days (which I miss very, very much). Anyway, recent '09 Morgon and '10 Tete de Cuvee were as fine as ever. Classic Debize (I write as if I know what that means).

Nah, most of my friends here like Beaujolais that tastes like bubble gum. Quite odd really, given their exquisite taste in other regions.

Unlike much that exquisite tastes on the right go for, bubble gum shows no oak. Unlike much that exquisite tastes on the left go for, bubble gum shows no v.a.

 

[Jayson Cohen]

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:

originally posted by Nathan Odem:
Does anyone here drink Debize? I'm still working through a decent pile I got from Cory and co back in the emails days (which I miss very, very much). Anyway, recent '09 Morgon and '10 Tete de Cuvee were as fine as ever. Classic Debize (I write as if I know what that means).

Nah, most of my friends here like Beaujolais that tastes like bubble gum. Quite odd really, given their exquisite taste in other regions.

I am honored (I think) to be in “100% minus most” category.

 

[MLipton]

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:

originally posted by Nathan Odem:
Does anyone here drink Debize? I'm still working through a decent pile I got from Cory and co back in the emails days (which I miss very, very much). Anyway, recent '09 Morgon and '10 Tete de Cuvee were as fine as ever. Classic Debize (I write as if I know what that means).

Nah, most of my friends here like Beaujolais that tastes like bubble gum. Quite odd really, given their exquisite taste in other regions.

Out of curiosity, Tovarisch, which producers fall into the bubblegum camp? I presume your friends aren’t serving you Duboeuf.

Nathan, thanks for the datum on the Baudry 18 rosé. I’ve got a few of those lying about for similar reasons. I’ve now queued one up for exploratory purposes.

Mark Lipton

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by MLipton:
Out of curiosity, Tovarisch, which producers fall into the bubblegum camp? I presume your friends aren’t serving you Duboeuf.

Pacalet does, though I don't know anyone who drinks that stuff. (I think Tovarisch may not have gotten his home-brew quite right yet.)

Nathan, thanks for the datum on the Baudry 18 rosé. I’ve got a few of those lying about for similar reasons. I’ve now queued one up for exploratory purposes.

Haven't had one in a bunch of years now. I'll have to hunt up the latest release when it comes.