32,000 feet
Tasted Saturday, August 30, 2014 - Friday, September 5, 2014 by dpolivy with 770 views
I recently had the pleasure of flying Lufthansa First Class from Seattle to Switzerland, and, amongst other indulgences, did my best to sample extensively from their impressive wine lists, both in the air and at the various First Class lounges along the way.
My routing was SEA-FRA-ZRH, and ZRH-MUC-SFO-SEA. Both long-haul flights were amazing experiences, not to mention the legendary ground service at FRA and MUC. (Yes, I got my Mercedes transfers from plane to terminal!)
The first longhaul leg, SEA-FRA, was onboard an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, fitted with Lufthansa's new First Class product. All of the wines were displayed on the center bar in front of row 1. Sadly, I never made it through many of the reds or a few of the whites.
The full wine list is available here: http://www.lufthansa.com/mediapool/pdf/48/media_1450011048.pdf.
Lufthansa has a dedicated terminal for First Class passengers in Frankfurt, complete with a restaurant, cigar bar, fully stocked bar, water/cola "bar", mozzarella bar, and much more. They also had a pretty impressive wine list, of which I sampled a few.
Munich has a dedicated First Class Lounge, with similar amenities to FRA. As it was now September, the wine selection had switched over to something a bit different, but still nice.
The second longhaul flight, MUC-SFO, was operated by an Airbus A340-600 aircraft outfitted with Lufthansa's new First Class. I managed to do pretty well in the sampling here, especially since we had a ~1hr delay onboard prior to departure.
Full wine list for September is available here: http://www.lufthansa.com/mediapool/pdf/34/media_1505840534.pdf
NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne Grand Siècle 93 Points
France, Champagne
(8/30/2014)
Brioche, yeast, nuts, orange peel, slight reduction. Full bodied, but with a nice spine of acidity. Citrus, slight creaminess. Fine bubbles, nice lingering finish. Really enjoyed this!
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2005 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut 91 Points
France, Champagne
(8/30/2014)
Darker fruit, toast, potpourri nose. Full, rich body. Light red fruit, tart strawberries, nice acidity. Medium finish.
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2012 Künstler Hochheimer Hölle Riesling Großes Gewächs 91 Points
Germany, Rheingau
(8/30/2014)
Honey, passion fruit, white peach. Fragrant and powerful nose. Rich, dense body, almost thick and unctuous. More peach, orange peel, honey on the body. Lighter finish.
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2012 Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Private Reserve 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
(8/30/2014)
Oak, vanilla, big, buttery. Touch of lemon. Rich, creamy body. Light citrus. Nice finish with good acidity.
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2007 Château Larmande 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
(8/30/2014)
Tobacco, earth, warm spice. Dark violets. Medium plus body. Juicy black/red fruit. Blackberry. Nice structure, fine tannic backbone with good acidity. Restrained. Trails off nicely on the finish. Paired well with wagyu brisket!
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2009 Weingut Robert Weil Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Auslese 93 Points
Germany, Rheingau
(8/30/2014)
Light petrol, honeysuckle on the nose. Light, sweet but with nice acidity. Mouthwatering. Liquid honey, white peach. Lovely. Lighter bodied but nicely balanced.
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