“Rain rain rain rain beautiful rain”

September 4, 2010

This is how a song line from South Africa goes. Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo made it famous in my circles. Now the drought in Victoria seems to have come to an end (after 13 years or so). It rains and rains in northern and central Victoria.

Of cause rain brings also destruction, landslides at Mount Buller for instance, flash floods, rivers rising, people had to be evacuated, in short chaos across the state of Victoria. In some places they had 150 millimetres.

But our dams at Two Hills Vineyard are full now. That’s the good news. I have not seen our big dam as full as now. ‘Brownies landing” is floating for the first time in years.

Dam at Two Hills Vineyard

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Emrich-Schönleber Riesling Sekt, Nahe. Germany

August 31, 2010

One of the best wineries along the Nahe river is Weingut Emrich-Schönleber in the village of Monzingen. The family vineyards (about 33 acres) produce great wines, mostly Riesling.

In 2010 the Gault Millau Wine Guide gave 10 of the 17 wines of the Emrich-Schönleber Estate 90 or more points. The wine writer Jancis Robinson was extremely impressed by the ‘2009 Halenberg Auslese’. 19.5 of 20 points was her verdict which is truly awesome.

Recently we visited the winery. Coming straight from Frankfurt Airport, we drove along the Nahe wine route, passed Bad Kreuznach, and spontaneously dropped in to pick up some bottles of wine.

In the yard, we bumped into Mr. Emrich-Schönleber senior, who was on his way out. In passing he referred us to his wife who was so kind to introduce us to the wines of the estate. Since it was early in the morning, we did not feel like tasting wine (we just came from breakfast in the small town of Sobernheim). Moreover, after many hours of flight, we had just gotten off the plane.

Our selection was quick but firm. I knew some of the ‘grand cru’ locations of Monzingen. After all, I had spent most of my school holidays in the neighbouring village of Martinstein where my maternal grandfather (Hans-Heinrich Schuessler) had introduced me to the amazing world of Nahe wines at a rather tender age.

We chose a nice cross section of Emrich-Schönleber’s wines including two sparkling ones. Ms. Emrich-Schönleber was so kind to add a small bottle of sweet desert wine as a gift. We were flabbergasted.

The bottle of Riesling Sekt (Sekt is German for ‘sparkling’) below did not last long. Only after a couple of hours, when the bottle was sufficiently cold, we opened it to celebrate the start of our holidays in Trier. What an auspicious start to a summer holiday in Europe?

Emrich-Schönleber Riesling Sekt

The Riesling Sekt is produced using the classical method of bottle fermentation. Everything is done by hand. Due to the acidity of the Riesling fruit, the wine displays a beautiful spectrum of fine acids. Moreover, it is dry and fruity with lots of fizz. The magnificent minerality of the wine is another characteristic.

Emrich-Schönleber Riesling Sekt

Nahe wines, especially the Rieslings, are one of the best kept secrets in Germany. You should visit this internationally little known wine region. It’s just about an hours drive west of Frankfurt Airport. I promise you: you will not regret it.

Address:
Weingut Emrich-Schönleber
Soonwaldstraße 10a
D-55569 Monzingen
Tel.: +49-67 51-27 33
Fax: +49-67 51-48 64
www.emrich-schoenleber.de

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2007 Pongelli – Villa Bucci, Le Marche, Italy

August 30, 2010

2007 Pongelli, Villa Bucci

I have written about a wine from Villa Bucci some time ago (it’s Verdicchio). When I bought wines from Il Grappolo Divino and Alessandro Mauceri in Frascati, I also choose a red wine from Villa Bucci, the ‘2007 Pongelli’. This wine is a blend of 50/50 Montepulciano and Sangiovese grapes with 13.5% alcohol.

I served it slightly cooler than normal. Well, it was one of these hot days in Rome where you come out only in the evening. We had it without food, just like that, while sitting under the olive trees. It was a great experience to taste it.

The colour is a strong ruby red. Raspberry aromas were there with some hints of vanilla and leather. The tannins are soft and mellow. The wine has a good structure, is full bodied and has a strong finish. The Parker-point-fans give him 86-88 of 100. My verdict: if I only could get my hands on some bottles of this wine here in Bangkok.

If you are in Rome you are in a better position. Just go and visit the Castelli Romani; stop by in Frascati and see Alessandro Mauceri and his new wine shop: Il Grappolo Divino. There you can also buy the ‘Pongelli’ (among many other treasures).

Address:
Il Grappolo Divino
Via dell’Olmo, 37
00044 Frascati
Italy
Tel.: +39-6-89026061

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San Gimignano, Tuscany – Poderi del Paradiso

August 29, 2010

On our way from Rome to Florence we visited the small town of San Gimignano in Tuscany. It was a beautiful day with blue sky and lots of sunshine. We were not the only people to visit this picturesque jewel of Tuscany.

The view from San Gimignano into the surrounding hills

Grapes for the new vintage

The gate to enter San Gimignano

The town if famous for its medieval architecture and especially its towers. There are also many shops in San Gimignano catering to the many tourists. I could not resits the wine shops, but there is also plenty of prosciutto and beautiful local crockery on offer.

Wine shop

Prosciutto

Vernaccia di San Gimignano

I had also to taste some of the wines. The Caffetteria dell’Olmo was just the right place to enjoy a cold drink located on the main square of the town. I ordered a glass of ‘Vernaccia di San Gimignano’ considered one of the finest Italian whites. This was a crisp wine with a fine acidity.

My spoil

On our way back to the car, I had to buy at least some wine. I bought a white and a red wine, both not very expensive. I asked for products of a typical local producer. The lady in the shop suggested Poderi del Paradiso which sounded just fine. You will learn more about the wines of Poderi del Paradiso in another blog entry.

I very much regretted that we did not have more time, but even these 2-3 hours were absolutely worth it. San Gimignano is a place I have to come back to.

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Villa Bucci – wine from Le Marche

July 19, 2010

2008 Bucci Classico Superiore DOC

From Alessandro Mauceri and Il Grappolo Divino (Frascati) I acquired two bottles of wine from Villa Bucci, a red and a white one. Villa Bucci is located in Montecarotto (Pongelli), in the Le Marche region. The wines from this region are little known by the mainstream but definitely worth to be explored further.

Villa Bucci Verdicchio

Villa Bucci is a jewel of a winery from the Le Marche region. I was so happy with this discovery. Their Verdicchio wines are all made from their own grapes, grown on 21 ha at Castelli di Jesi.

Italy is maybe the place with the highest number of native vine varieties. Verdicchio, mainly grown in Le Marche, is one of them. High in acidity, the grape makes excellent white wines, fruity and nutty (almonds) with a capacity for aging gracefully.

Back label of 2008 Bucci Verdicchio

My bottle from 2008 had no time for that. We consumed it on a beautiful summers night with a delicious pasta. It is a young but elegant wine, with a golden greenish colour, fruity and fresh with a light almond aroma.

Thanks Alessandro for this selection. I highly recommend to everyone to try the wines from Villa Bucci in particular and Le Marche in general. Great learning.

Our pasta dish

Address:
Azienda Agricola F.lli BUCCI
Via Cona, 30
60010 Ostra Vetere (AN), Italy
e-mail: bucciwines@villabucci.com
Tel./Fax +39-71-964179
www.villabucci.com

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Wine from Argentina: Misterio

June 30, 2010

2007 Misterio Cabernet Sauvignon by Finca Flichman

In a Belgian chocolate shop in Hanoi I picked up a bottle of Argentinian wine. I fancied a bottle of red. My choice was a ‘2007 Misterio Cabernet Sauvignon’ by Finca Flichman, Mendocino, Argentina. I know that the Argentinians keep their best wines for themselves. Anyway, I liked the name and the label of the wine.

The label in close up

I should have been warned, because the label said “oak aged”, and an “oaky” taste it was. Frankly speaking I was quite disappointed. Somehow the fruit was dull and I could not get my palate around it. Also the finish was not to my liking, it was a metallic taste which was left in my mouth. 86 Parker point were awarded to this wine. Maybe the circumstances of my tasting were not right.

Finca Flichman is one of thew oldest and most respected wineries in Argentina. The Flichman family tradition goes back to 1873. Today the winery is owned by the Portuguese wine maker Sogrape. The Flichman Chardonnay and Malbec wines are the most famous. I will look out for them and give it another go.

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Four Sisters 2006 Merlot

June 27, 2010

Four Sisters 2006 Merlot in an unorthodox glass

I am always drawn to Merlot which is not very surprising for a Merlot producer. I try to extend my experience here in order to better appreciate my own wines. Our own Two Hills Merlot is often like biting into ripe cherries. Some of our vintages were “umpf” wines with lots of alcohol, tannins and bite, others were elegant and subtle.

When I had the chance of buy a Merlot at Bacchus Corner in Saigon I could not say no. A ‘2006 Four Sisters Merlot’ seemed just the right stuff. Four Sisters Winery is a joint venture between Trevor Mast of Mount Langi Ghiran, and Alistair Purbrick of Chateau Tahbilk.

2006 Four Sisters Merlot

I selected the bottle mainly because of the label (and the price 380,000 Dong). In Australia the wine retails for about A$ 12 to 15. I found the silhouettes of the “Four Sisters” interesting.

What I did not like from the outset was, that the back label told me that the grapes for this wine (of course only the best were selected) were sourced from all over Australia. What a blend, I thought and blended it is also with some other red varieties (which the label does not say).

The back label

The wine is medium bodied. It’s colour is a ruby red and the alcohol content is big (with 14% vol.). Plum was the dominant fruit I tasted, and there was lots of it. I did not like the finish which was rough somehow. One should have the wine with food, I think, just straight is less desirable.

Afterthought: try to drink it from a proper wine glass. The hotel did not leave me a choice, there was no wine glass in my room.

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Mount Nelson Sauvignon Blanc

June 24, 2010

Our fish

I just love to eat fish, all kinds of fish. And there is good fish on offer in the markets of Bangkok. Often we do not have carbohydrates with it. But veggies are a must. They are a great complement for the protein.

What you need in addition is, if possible: a superb wine, preferably white.

A plate of fish and veg

Very delicious veggies

I admit that sometimes I drink red wine with fish but most of the time I select a white. Since I love to drink Riesling wines, that’s often my preferred choice. Another option I like is Sauvignon Blanc. But it needs to be a really good one. I like Sancerre style wines and the ‘2007 Mount Nelson Sauvignon Blanc’, from the Marlborough wine region of New Zealand seemed to be the right stuff.

But I did not buy the bottle because SB wines from New Zealand are in fashion right now. I bought it because the Mount Nelson brand is a project of a famous Italian wine dynasty, the Antinori’s from Tuscany.

Piero and Lodovico Antinori are the 26th generation of Italy’s most famous wine family. I wanted to know how their interpretation of New Zealand SB fruit would turn out. I should not be disappointed as it turned out later.

2007 Mount Nelson Sauvignon Blanc

In 2004 the Antinori brothers bought for US$ 1.8 million a 32 acres vineyard on the banks of the Taylor River near the mouth of Cloudy Bay not far from the Wither Hill Vineyard. To make the Mount Nelson SB additional fruit (about 40%) is purchased from the adjoining Meadowbank vineyard.

The 2007 vintage is just the best ever. This is the unanimous verdict of the wine critics (91 Parker points). I can only confirm this. My recommendation: buy buy buy.

The wine has zest, is fragrant with lime and lemon flavours and some mineral notes. The colour is beautiful straw-like. The finish is lasting. I forgot the alcohol content and the price. But rest assured if I see it in my local market again, I will buy all the bottles on the shelve.

Beautiful colour in the glass

In early July, we will be in Italy. There I will taste some more of the Antinori wines. This time Italian wines.

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Long Row Cabernet Sauvignon, Angove Family, Winemakers from South Australia

June 17, 2010

2007 Long Row Cabernet Sauvignon

The Angove family is one of the oldest wine making families in South Australia. Five generations of wine-making tradition, that’s a lot given the youth of Australia as a country. Founded in 1886 in Adelaide, the Angove Family Company is one of the largest private wine producers in the country.

With a total area under vines of about 480 ha, Angove is not a small operation. It’s Nanya vineyard is located in the flats of Riverland, in South Australia. Endless rows of vines dominate the view. Some of them are 5 km in length, a frightening thought for a German like me. It must be tiresome to work in these vineyards. The grapes are, of course, machine harvested.

The 2007 Long Row Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend, made of fruit sourced from across various wine regions in South Australia. The Long Row brand was established in 2003. This wine was classified by the Australian wine critic Jeremy Oliver in “The Australian Wine Annual” as a wine of “Top Ten Bargain Range”.

In fact it is a very nice drink, fruity, solid with structure and a good finish. In Australia you can have it for about A$ 10 per bottle, in Thailand you have to pay three times that amount.

I like the colour. Since I do not drink much Cabernet Sauvignon, the experience with this Angove Family Long Row wine, was pleasantly surprising. I will have to find out if our supermarket carries it as well or I will ask my wine merchant to locate a couple of bottles for me.

If you are in South Australia you might visit the two cellar door facilities operated by Angove, one at the Renmark Winery, the second at the original winery at Tea Tree Gully. Please visit their website for instructions how to get there.

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Winery Review: Vereinigte Hospitien, Trier, Mosel

June 2, 2010

vereinigtehospitien1

The St Jacob of United Hospices wine label

I grew up just next to the convent of St. Irminen at Irminenfreihof No. 5 in Trier, Mosel. The convent belongs to Vereinigte Hopitien, a foundation which also ownes a well known winery with the same name. Their English name is “United Hopices Wine Cellars“. The patron saint of United Hospices is St Jacob, an image of which is also used on the wineries labels.

As a kid I played in the cellars and warehouses of the convent. I also remember them sending their vats and barrels for controlling purposes to the Eichamt, the local Weights and Measures Office, which my father was heading. We played around the barrels and I vividly remember the smell emitted by the oak and the moist wood.

vereinigtehospitien3

The winery

United Hospices owns vineyards along the Mosel (locations: Piesporter Goldtroepfchen and Triere Augenscheiner) and the Saar (locations in Wiltingen, for instance Hoelle, Scharzhofberg and Kupp, Kanzem and Serrig). Most of the vineyard originally belonged to monastries and convents. Today about 25 ha are under vines, 90% of which are planted with Riesling grapes (my favourite grape variety), the rest consists of Pinot Gris, Blanc and Noir.

As many of the wineries in Trier, also United Hospices has a large traditional wine cellar (some parts of it dating from the 3. century) which you should have a look at. Wine tasting in ths historic atmoshere are unforgettable events. United Hospices top wines are the dry and sweet (Trockenbeerenauslese) Scharzhofberger Riesling wines from the Saar some of which sell for up to 100 Euro/bottle. The ordinary Riesling wines cost about 6.20 Euro/1 l. bottle.

I hope you are going to visit Trier this summer and drop in for a wine tasting. Cheers

vereinigtehospitien4

The main hospice building along the Mosel

vereinigtehospitien2

Church St Irminen

Address:
Vereinigte Hospitien
Krahnenufer 19
54290 Trier
Tel.: +49-651/945-1210 o. 0651/945-1211
Fax: +49-651/945-2060
Opening hours: Mo. – Thu. 08-12:30 and 13:30 to 17h; Friday closing at 16h, Saturday 10-14h

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