Folks, if I have any news for you this year it’s that Austria (the country in Europe, not the one with wombats and spelled with an “l”) has arrived. You will be seeing many more offerings from Atlantic Wine on both white and red Austrian wines in the future. The celerity with which this country has ascended the wine quality pyramid is astounding. Furthermore, the quality of the red wines is nothing short of unbelievable. Austria’s vineyards and temperate climate produce full bodied, dry white and red wines with normal alcohol levels. The style of wines has nothing to do with Germany. Although Austria’s varietals and the resulting wines are unique they may be imagined as an harmonious, hypothetical blend of Italy’s vibrant, structured, intensely fruited wines and France’s terroir driven wines boasting mineral and soil infused complexity. And so St. Laurent is Austria’s native grape that I feel proves the most noble and I have to offer the 2003 St. Laurent from the Heinrich winery. All I can say is that if you love Burgundy, you need to own this wine. The smell of St. Laurent is so strikingly like good Burgundy it’s scary. And indeed a distant link between Pinot Noir and St. Laurent has been posited (I’ll do more research), but typically the Austrian wine shows a significantly deeper color than its French cousin as well as a richer body. The Heinrich 2003 has a gorgeous perfume and a full, succulently fruited palate brimming with ripe bing cherries. Juicy and savory it displays a fine balance and structure that bode well for aging thought the way it smells and tastes now would make it difficult to set aside. I am so confident in the quality of Austrian wines that we recently created a section in our store racks for the country to accommodate our growing inventory. Experience Europe’s other great wine producer with this outstanding red wine. (Only 8 cases available in this vintage).
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Gabriel & Paul Jouard 2002 Bourgogne - $23.99 The Jouard cellar is located in the village of Chassagne-Montrachet as are their vineyards. This Bourgogne level wine could easily pass for a Chassagne-Montrachet village wine. It is expertly crafted and has a verve and urgency about it that is much more common in more expensive appellation wines. The subtlety and detail are pure Burgundy and the flavors of cut pineapple, pears, and minerals are lengthened by a note of fresh cream but all in a very precise and measured presentation. A superb Bourgogne blanc that will drink well for several years. We've recently tasted a number of wines from this estate and it gets my highest recommendation
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2003 Heinrich St. Laurent
10/27/2005 - aaronva wrote:
Heinrich 2003 St. Laurent (red, Austria) - $29.99
Folks, if I have any news for you this year it’s that Austria (the country in Europe, not the one with wombats and spelled with an “l”) has arrived. You will be seeing many more offerings from Atlantic Wine on both white and red Austrian wines in the future. The celerity with which this country has ascended the wine quality pyramid is astounding. Furthermore, the quality of the red wines is nothing short of unbelievable. Austria’s vineyards and temperate climate produce full bodied, dry white and red wines with normal alcohol levels. The style of wines has nothing to do with Germany. Although Austria’s varietals and the resulting wines are unique they may be imagined as an harmonious, hypothetical blend of Italy’s vibrant, structured, intensely fruited wines and France’s terroir driven wines boasting mineral and soil infused complexity.
And so St. Laurent is Austria’s native grape that I feel proves the most noble and I have to offer the 2003 St. Laurent from the Heinrich winery. All I can say is that if you love Burgundy, you need to own this wine. The smell of St. Laurent is so strikingly like good Burgundy it’s scary. And indeed a distant link between Pinot Noir and St. Laurent has been posited (I’ll do more research), but typically the Austrian wine shows a significantly deeper color than its French cousin as well as a richer body. The Heinrich 2003 has a gorgeous perfume and a full, succulently fruited palate brimming with ripe bing cherries. Juicy and savory it displays a fine balance and structure that bode well for aging thought the way it smells and tastes now would make it difficult to set aside. I am so confident in the quality of Austrian wines that we recently created a section in our store racks for the country to accommodate our growing inventory. Experience Europe’s other great wine producer with this outstanding red wine. (Only 8 cases available in this vintage).
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2002 Domaine Gabriel & Paul Jouard Chardonnay Bourgogne Blanc
10/27/2005 - aaronva wrote:
Gabriel & Paul Jouard 2002 Bourgogne - $23.99
The Jouard cellar is located in the village of Chassagne-Montrachet as are their vineyards. This Bourgogne level wine could easily pass for a Chassagne-Montrachet village wine. It is expertly crafted and has a verve and urgency about it that is much more common in more expensive appellation wines. The subtlety and detail are pure Burgundy and the flavors of cut pineapple, pears, and minerals are lengthened by a note of fresh cream but all in a very precise and measured presentation. A superb Bourgogne blanc that will drink well for several years. We've recently tasted a number of wines from this estate and it gets my highest recommendation
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1996 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Belle Epoque
9/9/2005 - aaronva wrote: 92 Points
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