Cleveland Offline - Trey Busch Sleight of Hand, Heideseck, ZH, Haag, Wiemer, Jaboulet, Saxum, Kenward, Copain, +

Tasted Wednesday, March 17, 2010 by Loren Sonkin with 928 views

Introduction

Last night Trey Busch, winemaker and co-owner of Sleight of Hand Cellars, was in town selling wine. We got a few people together at a local Indian Cafe to drink some wines, meet Trey and have nice relaxing evening. The wines (except as noted) were popped on arrival and poured as we go to them. Food matches with Indian food can be problematic. For my spicy vegetarian food, I was surprised how well the Syrahs went. Excellent in fact. I am not sure what others thought. The food was great and the service was good.

Flight 1 - A starter: (1 Note)

Flight 2 - White Flight: (5 Notes)

  • 2001 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 93 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Light golden in color. The nose has a great wet stone aspect with just a bit of petrol. Viscous and full bodied. On the palate, this is sweet with some pineapple notes. Great balance and acidity. Long finish. I really liked this wine although it was not the best match with spicy Indian food (I was surprised). It kept opening up all night long. Still drinking young and barely showing any age other than a whiff of petrol.

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  • 2001 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese 90 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Nice wine, but not as good as the Haag IMO. Golden in color, but certainly still young looking. The nose has petrol which dominates more over the mineral notes. Slightly sweet with minerals and grapefruits. Nice finish. Light bodied, it makes a nice quaff and is certainly very good.

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  • 2007 Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Gewürztraminer 89 Points

    USA, New York, Finger Lakes

    Nice to see a Finger Lakes wine hold its own in this company. Of all the whites, I thought this went the best with my spicy Indian food. Pale, silvery/green gold in color. The nose is more mineral driven with only a hint of lychee nuts. Despite the label saying Dry, there was a bit of sweetness here which was welcome. Nice complexity, medium bodied. Very solid wine.

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  • 2008 Sleight of Hand The Magician 87 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    My first time trying one of Trey's wines. It was very clear in color, barely a bit yellower than water with a silvery hue. The nose has some minerals and grapefruit but is slight. On the palate, this is mineral driven and slightly bitter on the finish. Long finish. This wine has travelled across country, so that may have affected it. It was nice enough to drink, but lacked a lot of complexity. It did pair nicely with the food. I look forward to revisiting this wine when the weather warms up and the bottle is more rested.

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  • 2006 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Herrenweg de Turckheim Vieilles Vignes 87 Points

    France, Alsace

    This was odd. I love ZH wines too. Deep copper color, it was surprising to see this was an 06. The nose is gorgeous. Absolutely the best nose of the night. Lychees, papaya, simple syrup, I thought the wine would be too sweet. No signs of oxidation. On the palate, this was dry as a bone. Not much fruit and a bitter finish. The bitterness was profound and had it not been for the nose, I would not have enjoyed this nearly so much. It did drink much better with the food than on its own. The spicy food tamed the bitterness, but still, I don't know that this was a proper bottle and the color was befuddling.

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Flight 3 - Syrah Flight: (5 Notes)

  • 2006 Copain Syrah Harrison Clarke 92 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

    Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is meaty, dusty with black raspberries. This wine is very smooth and balanced, but it does have a port-like note to it which I enjoyed. Plenty of black raspberry fruit, it is not over done. Seems like another few years in the cellar would unwind some of the complexities.

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  • 2006 TOR Syrah ROCK Hudson Vineyard 90 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    While I liked this wine less than any red (and yes, Eric, I did like it), for many this was the WOTN. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose is tight with grilled meats, red and black raspberries. On the palate, raspberries, charcoal and some heat. This took some time to open and still seems young. It was more elegant than the other reds on the table. Has a nice complexity. I think for me, I would like this better at the table as opposed to a tasting.

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  • 1990 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 94 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    While I really liked this wine, I have had better bottles. Still, that is nit picking and like the Tor, this would work better on its own than in a tasting. Ruby in color with a purple core, still young looking. The nose is earthy with red and black raspberries. Complex on the palate. Iodine, raspberries with a slightly bitter note that I enjoyed. Long finish. This kept opening up all night long.

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  • 2007 Sleight of Hand Syrah Levitation 91 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    When you are seated next to a winemaker, it's always nice to like their wine. I really liked this one. Inky purple in color. The nose is dusty, has dried meats, blueberries, boysenberries and a floral note. Trey said it saw 20% new oak which seemed about right as the wine had a background of smoke but nothing obvious. On the palate, this is complex but young and tight. Excellent black raspberry fruit with a slight bitter seed note which I really liked. I think this improves with a couple years in the cellar as well.

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  • 2004 Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard 94 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    From Magnum. I opened it up at home and there was a lot of spritz. I decanted it and vigorously shook the decanter over the course of two hours (not continuously). Back in the bottle and let it breathe until it was served another two hours later. The spritz seemed to be gone (at least I did not detect it). A controversial wine, it was loved by many and found to be too much by others. Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has leather, a gamey note, blueberries, black raspberries and bacon fat. On the palate, this is smooth and I did not taste the 15.8%. Between the air and the age, this has calmed down and I found it delicious and monster. Of course, compared to other wines on the table it was very intimidating. It went quite well with spicy Indian food. This also got a few WOTN votes including mine.

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Flight 4 - Dessert: (3 Notes)

Closing

It was my first time meeting Trey. He is a very nice guy and I hope we can share some wine together in the future, hopefully in Walla Walla. I look forward to enjoying many more Sleight of Hand (apparently named after a Pearl Jam song) wines as well!

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