Some exciting wines...some significant dissapointments

Waltham, MA
Tasted Saturday, January 21, 2012 by Kirk Grant with 565 views

Introduction

It was time to visit an old friend and drink some exciting wines.

Flight 1 - Doug's German Rieslings before Sushi (2 Notes)

  • 2010 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Kaisersteinfels Riesling Terrassen 91 Points

    Germany, Rheingau

    Color: pale yellow
    Smell: quince, lemon, crushed stone, and lime
    Taste: star fruit, lime, green apple, lemon, with notes of chalk & slate lingering on the palate
    Overall: This took about 4 hours to open up. At close to 12 hours open this has finally settled and is quite lovely

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  • 2007 Weingut Keller Riesling G-Max 100 Points

    Germany, Rheinhessen

    Color: Golden Yellow
    Smell: Crushed stones, intense minerality, honey, lemon, lime, quince, flint, and unyielding floral notes.
    Taste: citrus notes interwoven with subtle hints of honey, candied ginger, quince, jicama, and a melange of green and tart apples with kiwi, lime, and white grapefruit delicately but forcefully present.
    Overall: rarely have I experienced a wine that was so intense and captivating that it was clearly beyond any other Riesling I've had before. Tasted over the course of 5 hours, this only became more complex and difficult to describe with time. I think it's fair to see why people wax & wain about this bottle of wine. I would love to have more, I don't honestly know if I can justify the price, but this experience was something I don't expect I'll be having again in the near future!

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Flight 2 - Doug's red to taste before dinner (1 Note)

  • 2006 Copain Pinot Noir Wentzel Vineyard 87 Points

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    Color: Ruby
    Smell: Anise, blackberry and cherry.
    Taste: Black cherry, blueberry, faint anise, and hints of earth notes
    Overall: Good acidity, moderate tannin, and I think I'd really like it if it wasn't for the overwhelming anise on the nose and palate.

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Flight 3 - Doug's Champagnes with the Sushi (2 Notes)

Flight 4 - Kirk's wines... (2 Notes)

I brought these to hopefully have some exciting wines. Unfortunately the Grillet was the let-down of the night for me.

  • 2000 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon 93 Points

    France, Champagne

    Color: copper orange
    Smell: strawberries & creme, baguette, blood orange, tarragon, and other fleeting scents that are hard to put words to.
    Taste: apple, pink grapefruit, lime, kiwi, biscuit, and a hint of caramel
    Overall: This is just lovely, and a true joy to drink. However, I'm more reserved in my opinion of this getting to taste it over two days instead of just having a taste like my first experience a little over a year ago. I'm glad to have another bottle of the '99.

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  • 1998 Château-Grillet (Neyret-Gachet) Château-Grillet 85 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Château-Grillet

    Color: pale yellow
    Smell: show-stopping scents of tropical fruits, honeycomb, and floral notes that are almost perfumed they are so beautiful.
    Taste: this was a HUGE disappointment! Now open almost 14 hours and some subtle favors of lemon and pie crust with a hint of banana and meringue linger.
    Overall: to say I've never had a Viognier like this is absolutely true...but this was just such a big disappointment on the palate that I was crushed. If the palate is ever as complex as the nose, I'd be in love! I rated this "very good" because the nose was so complex that I'm still just sitting here smelling it...if not for the nose this would just be a "good" wine

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Closing

Despite the dissapointment in some of the wines...it was still a great experience. The Keller G-Max was beyond words...

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