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Friday Afternoon at Domaine

Domaine Wine Storage

Tasted July 6, 2012 by tooch with 652 views

Introduction

Stopped by Domaine on a hot and steamy Friday afternoon in Chicago. The general theme was Austrian whites and Beaujolais. Lots of good stuff was opened.

Flight 1 - Austrian Whites (13 notes)

White
2005 Wieninger Grüner Veltliner Kaasgraben Austria, Wien
84 points
Had good fresh herbs, pepper, melon and fresh citrus. Thought the palate was a bit toned down and lacked a real personality. The fruit was simplistic but nice.
White
2009 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Hollerin Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
90 points
Explosions of pear, peach, and mango. As is the case with a lot of other 2009 Pichler's, the acid just doesn't keep up with the density of the fruit. Despite the lower-than-desired acidity, the fruit is vivid and beautifully plush. Hopefully, I'll get to try these wines in a decade...maybe I'll regret thinking they won't last a long time.
White
2003 Prager Riesling Smaragd Wachstum Bodenstein Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
91 points
This wine really surprised me. I've had a bunch of disappointing 2003s from the likes of Hirtzberger and Alzinger that were just warm and flat. This, however, had great finesse and energy on the palate. Awesome pears, white peach and citrus on the palate. Great acidity, nicely balanced.
White
1997 Weingut Salomon Undhof Riesling Undhof Kögl Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal
90 points
Smooth and citrusy with nice white peach and crushed stones. Palate still had nicely integrated acidity on the finish too - despite the fruit smoothing out and losing a bit of energy on the palate, still thought this was quite excellent!
White - Off-dry
2000 Prager Grüner Veltliner Auslese Achleiten Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
91 points
Very interesting wine. Fair amount of botrytis on the nose with subtle nuttiness, lemon, apple and minerals. Palate was smooth as hell with dense herbal, spice and pear tones. The flavors were big and dense and teetered on the edge of being a bit too big - however this still had nice acidity and balance.
White
2007 Prager Riesling Smaragd Klaus Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
89 points
A bit muted on the nose with some peach, lemon and herbs. Palate was very nice, but didn't have the extra kick to really move it into 90-point territory. That said, had nice white peach, floral lift, and crushed rocks.
White
2007 Prager Riesling Smaragd Wachstum Bodenstein Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
92 points
Just as good as before - which is slightly surprising for a 2007 Austrian riesling. Had an incredible nose of minerals, peach, petrichor and fresh pear. The palate was focused with the minerals and acidity really tuned up to an 11. Had lovely floral and orchard fruit throughout - just great stuff.
White
2006 Bernhard Ott Grüner Veltliner Rosenberg Austria, Niederösterreich, Wagram
91 points
Peppery fresh melons and pears on the nose. The palate was weighty and dense with lively acidity that kept it fresh. Herbal, peppery and floral are the best ways to describe the palate. Seemed to be in a good place.
White
2010 Weingut Familie Prieler Pinot Blanc Ried Seeberg Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland
88 points
Great minerality and stone fruit on the nice with a wonderfully fresh palate with great floral and peach tones. Great value.
White
2006 Weingut Willi Bründlmayer Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal
90 points
A really nice riesling. Had wonderful acidity (perfect for a 103 day in Chicago) that melded well with great white peach, some grain notes, and pear. The fruit was expressive and nicely balanced with the acidity.
White
2002 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Loibner Berg Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
flawed
corked
White - Sweet/Dessert
2006 Weingut Knoll Riesling Beerenauslese Loibner Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
91 points
Rich, spicy and balanced. Great sappy peach, pear and lime on the palate all with a real freshness and energetic character to them. Lovely stuff.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2002 Alois Kracher Chardonnay TBA #9 Nouvelle Vague Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee
91 points
Dense and spicy. Great apricot and pear on the nose with darker and denser peach and apple undertones. There was also a touch of earthiness to it - maybe some darker spices actually. Acidity was pretty nice on the finish.

Flight 2 - Beaujolais (5 notes)

There were about 3-5 Beaujolais that I wasn't able to try.

Red
2007 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvée 3.14 France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon
93 points
Has the power of a Burgundy, with the character of a Beaujolais. As is the case with most Foillard's, the weight seems to be just more pronounced than most other Bojo's - and this was a Foillard on steroids. All the aspects seemed to be dialed up with darker fruit, denser florals, and more searing acidity. This was decanted for about 90 minutes prior to service and certainly could have used more time. It was, however, a really great wine to drink and I will hold onto my last bottle for a while.
Red
2005 Puzelat-Bonhomme Touraine Pouille France, Loire Valley, Touraine
90 points
Exotic is the best way to describe this. It's richly fruited with cranberry, spiced plum and raspberry and has this vegetal tinge to it all. Underneath the fruit is rustic earthy and leather tones. Unusual but exciting.
Red
2010 Damien Coquelet Chiroubles France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Chiroubles
92 points
This was the surprise of the tasting for me. Super rustic and gamey with dark spices, great lilac tones and leather. Lots of depth and complexity on the juicy and expressive palate - this reminded me more of a 2009 Beaujolais profile than the more firm 2010 vintage. This was the first time I had tried this producer...certainly won't be my last.
Red
2009 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon
90 points
More expressive and alive than the bottle I opened back in December. This had been opened for about 5 hours by the time I got my first sip, too, so I can imagine that helping. Nice and meaty with crunchy berries, loads of minerals and a plush red cherry notes that still have that sappy 2009 juiciness to it. They have decent tannin and acid on the finish...years and years to go.
Red
2009 Jean-Paul Thevenet Morgon Vieilles Vignes France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon
90 points
Very nice Beaujolais with a perfumed nose of berries, underbrush and dried floral notes. The palate had a darker tone to it - something like cured meats. Went nicely with the earthy red berry fruit. Really nice, but for ~$30 you can find better wines in Beaujolais.

Flight 3 - Odd Ball Wines (2 notes)

Red
1996 Pierre-Jacques Druet Bourgueil Grand Mont France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Bourgueil
flawed
flawed bottle.
White
2005 Jean Bourdy Savagnin Côtes du Jura France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
91 points
Floral and exotic. Had that waxy peach I love and subtle butterscotch on the nose. Had slight oxidation tones, but wasn't overly dense. Palate had incredible acidity with great peach, apricot with a nice floral lift.
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