”Red Wines of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria"
Webster Wine Bar in Chicago
Tasted Wednesday, March 26, 2008 by Claudio161 with 794 views
Introduction
Was very interested to learn more about these red wines from the aspect that I can't find them easily in Chicago or I would just not normally buy them. In the end, it was well worth the cost ($30) for the event and I learned a lot about the Northern Red Wine growing regions of Europe.
As expected, the wines were light-to-medium bodied wines. Germany dominated, Austria was OK; Swiss did not really have much to talk about. But I was told that very little Swiss wine output makes it to export, less to the US, and even less to Chicago (I think the folks at the tasting were trying to tell us that better wines exist....they just don't make it stateside).
Flight 1 - Swiss Red Wines (5 Notes)
Can find these online at www.swisscellars.com
Flight 2 - German Red Wines (5 Notes)
The best flight of the evening.
Flight 3 - Austrian Red Wines (11 Notes)
I was expecting this flight to be the best but it was bested by the German flight.
Closing
Well worth the learning experience and the ability to speak with hands-on experience in these little known and seldom ventured areas of red wine.
Webster Wine bar is a classic place in Chicago - totally unpretentious, but they could have organized the event better. They lined up the bottles on the bar, had 30 attendees, 1 bartender, and people crawled over each other like rats in a bucket to get to the bar. One might have guessed that some of the attendees never had wine before. In the end, exercising some judicious and not-so judicious use of elbows and loud shouting I accomplished the last 3/4's of the wines by shoving and grabbing the bottles and pouring my own (instead of endless waiting for the bartender while he espoused these wines as some of the greatest and under-appreciated out there). I am proud that I made it through 20 wines in about 2 hours.
2001 Weingut Willi Bründlmayer Brut 85 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal
Tasted as part of the ”Red Wines of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria tasting at Webster Wine Bar in Chicago on March 26th, 2008
This wine was the Welcome Wine for the evening.
Sight: Light straw yellow
Nose: Mildly fizzy, nothing really like Champagne… almost a heavy frizzante type of texture on the nose; not a lot of flavors to discern on the nose – a fairly muted nose; some florals towards the end (daisies?)
Taste: Highly acidic; Dry; Limestone; Some chalky notes; Tart!
Overall: Towards the end the Sekt became flat and lost its zest. 85-86 points
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2004 Clos Des Plantaz Pinot Noir 82 Points
Switzerland, Vaud, La Côte, Saint-Livres
Tasted as part of the ”Red Wines of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria tasting at Webster Wine Bar in Chicago on March 26th, 2008
This was wine #1, group #1
Sight: Light Red
Nose: Light floral notes; Red fruits; Pomegranate; Cranberry; Exotic spices
Taste: Best way I could describe this was “very different” (not good/not bad); Wood notes, Very tannic; not much fruit
Overall: That was Pinot? .....82 points
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2004 Cave de La Côte Peissy 81 Points
Switzerland, Genève, Peissy
Tasted as part of the ”Red Wines of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria tasting at Webster Wine Bar in Chicago on March 26th, 2008
This was wine #2, group #1
Sight: Light-Med Red
Nose: Red fruits, but not jumping out of the glass – much more restrained than a California pinot; some slight port-esque notes
Taste: Acid/Acetone/Nail polish; Nuttiness; Toasted vanillins from barrel fermentation; wisps of almond.
Overall: The tasting crew agreed that it would pair excellent with Ceviche because of the high level of acidity. 81 points
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2006 Christine et Stephanie Delarze 85 Points
Switzerland, Vaud, Chablais, Aigle
Tasted as part of the ”Red Wines of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria tasting at Webster Wine Bar in Chicago on March 26th, 2008
This was wine #3, group #1 (NOTE: This wine is a blend of Pinot Noir/Gamay/Mondeuse/Syrah)
Sight: Very light Red
Nose: Aged wood; Subtle floral and perfume notes; hard to get much else on the nose
Taste: Much bolder than the earlier Swiss reds; Not bad; Light bodied wine; Cherries; Toasted oak
Overall: The highest rated Swiss wine of the evening. Thought that this would pair well with a Margherita Pizza (or other meatless pizza). 85 points
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2005 Angelo Delea Merlot Ismaro 82 Points
Switzerland, Ticino
Tasted as part of the ”Red Wines of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria tasting at Webster Wine Bar in Chicago on March 26th, 2008
This was wine #4, group #1
Sight: Medium-Light
Nose: Smells like wine . . . . . and that’s about it. Very subtle florals – ghosting in and out of the overall nose.
Taste: Very strong on the attack; Medium mid-palate; Fades on the finish; Leaves a lingering warmth in the throat; Toasted oak; High tannins; Gives the impression of high alcohol; Somewhat balanced – but not well
Overall: Really not much character. 82 points
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