Weygandt Selections - Annual Portfolio Tasting

Astor Place - New York, NY
Tasted Tuesday, October 4, 2011 by tooch with 1,838 views

Introduction

I had the pleasure of attending the Weygandt Selections Annual Portfolio Tasting, but sadly only was able to taste through about half of the wines being showcased! It was a great event with a lot of incredible wines being poured. I will list the wines tasted in the order I tasted them.

Flight 1 - Loire Flight (8 Notes)

The highlight of the flight was the Vatan. I was interested to see what the 2009 vintage would be like...add to that the fact that this is the first vintage that Edmond's daughter Anna is leading the winemaking activities.

Flight 2 - Austrian Flight (12 Notes)

Talk about an exciting time in Austrian winemaking. 2010 should be a benchmark vintage...it's a shame that the yields will be so small.

Flight 3 - German Flight (7 Notes)

Was surprised by the quality of the Dr. Siemens wines. Very nice values. Heymann-Lowenstein is unsurprisingly delicious!

Flight 4 - Italian Flight (8 Notes)

These were all new producers to the Weygandt portfolio and I was impressed by the quality of them. The Le Grazie from Villa Mongalli was especially impressive.

Flight 5 - Champagne Flight (6 Notes)

Nicolas Maillart was just highlighted by Brad Baker as an up-and-comer in the Champagne world...no surprise here. Amazingly high quality.

Flight 6 - Chablis Flight (11 Notes)

I was dubious of the 2009 vintage going into this, and while it's not as impressive as 2008 there are certainly good wines to be had. The lower level Chablis seemed to be especially good values and the Montee de Tonnerre from Servin was the best 2009 of the day.

Flight 7 - Cote de Beaune Flight (5 Notes)

The Jobard's from 2008 continue to impress me. The Genevrieres will be a 93-96 point wine someday....easy.

Flight 8 - Cote d'Or Flight (23 Notes)

The largest flight of the day. Incredible range of styles an interesting look at the 2009 vintage. Not surprisingly I like this vintages prospects in the shorter term (7-12 years), but with their prices being so high most are an easy pass. Keep an eye of Michel Juillot - sneaky values and a lot of elegance.

Flight 9 - Cru Beaujolais Flight (10 Notes)

Fun to taste through the 2010 offerings of Chermette and Bouland. Much crunchier than 2009 in Beaujolais, these are energetic wines with a lot of character. They will reward patience.

Flight 10 - Northern Rhone Flight (4 Notes)

The Condrieu from Gerin was the highlight of this flight. I've had trouble with young white wines from the Northern Rhones but this was incredible elegant.

Flight 11 - American Flight (7 Notes)

Had a fun time talking to Jesse from Fausse Piste about his wines - all of which are exciting. The Crowley wines didn't show as well as I hoped, but I will definitely be trying them again soon.

Flight 12 - Provence Flight (3 Notes)

La Bastide Blanche is a favorite Bandol producer of mine and these three wines were impressive. The 2008 was lights out in fact.

Flight 13 - Roussillon Flight (5 Notes)

It was interesting to try a bunch of wines from the much talked about Jean-Louis Tribouley. I thought that the Les Bacs was a very intriguing wine - denser than what I usually drink but it had nice complexity.

Flight 14 - Spain (4 Notes)

Martinet produces some top flight Priorat's and this was a good chance to give some a shot. Priorat has never been my favorite due to its density and lack of acidity. The Menut is one of the most popular wines at the shop in DC, and I can see why. Incredibly well made wine for under $20.

Closing

Overall, a great day. It was great to see how well Austria did in 2010, and to understand the 2009 Burgundian vintage better. I was able to meet some iconic winemakers, and wine professionals from around the world - I feel honored to have attended.

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