Community Tasting Note

RajivAyyangar wrote:

Sunday, May 3, 2015 - Alsace Intro: Riesling and Pinot Gris (Home): bottle 64761-278
@home

Summary:
Dry with elevated alcohol (13%) and high acidity. A bit thin in midpalate and aromatics for that level of alcohol. Strong acid (significant tartness) on the finish. Overall a bit lean and hot.

Score: Between 8.5 and 9

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Full Sensory:

Visual:
Clear, day-bright (slightly brighter than the first wine).
Bright straw in the glass with reflections of lemon yellow and green.
No gas or sediment.
Light tears.

[taste - dry]

Nose:
Moderate intensity, clean.
The “Beach Ball” note makes sense to me! I definitely get a beach ball / shower curtain / petrol (TDN: 1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene). It presents as a whiff of plasticky pool toy to me - images of pools and inflatable toys). Primary aromas of ripe Meyer lemon, dried lemon, dried orange, beeswax.
Secondary aromas of petrol/pool toy, cheese rind - a sheepsmilk cheese like Ossau-Iraty or Petit Basque. N1 (light sniff off the top) is the best on this - sweet and ripe lemony flavors.
Primarily savory, driven by ripe lemon and wax. There’s an implied earthiness that permeates this and the last wine, as if the wine is real, detailed, analog, organic, non-airbrushed, continuous instead of discrete.
No evidence of oak.
This wine is complex and developing.

Palate:
Dry. Medium body, medium alcohol (12.5-13) that feels hot in the context of this wine.
The palate overall seems a bit lost in alcohol, though there are moderate intensity flavors of ripe lemon and wax on the midpalate. No oak evidence.
Acidity is high - a nice push of strong, energetic, tartaric acid at the start of the finish followed by a modest pucker of malic acid.
No tannins or impression of phenolic bitterness.
Finish is moderate plus in length, with the lemony waxy character continuing with malic acid. I’m not so much a fan of the way this finishes, or the somewhat hot nature of the midpalate, but it is balanced in a particular way.
The balance seems to me analogous to nebbiolo - floral and high-toned in aroma and flavor, but with some alcoholic heat and acidic punch.

Conclusion:
This has to be the ’07 Riesling. I’ll say a bit more:
Old world style based on the acid profile and the overall savory nature. Seems cooler in climate than the Pinot Gris, though that could be varietal.
France > Alsace > Riesling > Hugel
It’s from a cooler vintage - the acidity is high.
Alcohol is 12.5% [Close! 13%]
Overall I don’t particularly enjoy the dry, higher-alcohol expression of Riesling that this embodies. I think I much preferred the lower-alcohol Weingut Knoll riesling (Wachau, Austria).
This makes me think of a quiet folk singer struggling with a cold and a slight pitch problem. It just isn’t able to sing clearly.

Actual:
2007 Hugel et Fils Riesling “Jubilee”
13% Alcohol
6.5 g/L RS
7.7 g/L TA
Grand Cru: Sporen (top of the Haut-Rhin, just south of Ribeauville)
Soil: stony clay-marl

Other notes:
2007 Vintage, from Romana Echensperger (GuildSomm):
"2007: Very good classical vintage. Very long ripening period and no excessive rain."

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