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Austria Leo Hillinger Small Hill Red, 2004 ($17.99) - Only a few sections of Austria are warm enough to ripen some red varietals. This unusual wine is a blend of 50% Merlot, 25% Pinot Noir, and 25% St. Laurent (a cousin of Pinot Noir). The aromatics are quite attractive, and the flavors are reminiscent of Pinot Noir with a slight gamy character. The overall effect is refinement in a medium-weight style. This works beautifully with pork chops, chicken, and fish. Machherndl Pinot Blanc, Hochrain Vineyard Old Vines, 2004 ($19.99) - Sometimes it seems that Austria is trying to corner the market on unpronounceable names. The wines of Austria may sound odd to us, but they are worth investigating. Pinot Blanc, like Pinot Gris, is a mutation of Pinot Noir. It is most closely associated with France’s Alsace district, but it is also grown in California, Oregon, and Germany (where it is called Weissburgunder). From the Wachau district of Austria, this lovely wine has a soft texture, a leesy character, and just the right amount of acidity to bind its elements and make it refreshing. Summerer Grüner Veltliner, Steinhaus, 2006 ($19.99) - The best Grüner Veltliners are ethereal whites that are subtle and never hit you over the head with flavor, but if you pay attention, the beautiful and satisfying flavors reveal themselves. Summerer makes one of the best Austrian Grüners, exceeded only by a few producers who price their wines in the stratosphere. Apparently 2006 was an excellent vintage in Austria, and this superior producer really excelled that year. A medium-bodied wine, it is beautifully balanced and very refined. This is a perfect spring sipper. And dig that glass stopper. The Summerer estate is located in Langenlois, the heart of the Kamptal, a bowl like valley with vineyards surrounding the town on all sides. Rupert and Elizabeth Summerer continue a tradition at this estate that dates back to 1679 yet this property is anything but traditional. These wines are energetic, snappy, and ripe with modest alcohol (12.5%), fresh clean flavors, and distinctive minerality. Austria is one of the most dynamic regions in the wine world today with are distinctive, honest, and have and a sense of place. They are also great with light food such as salads, chicken, and fish. Canada Cave Spring Riesling Reserve, 2003 ($12.99) - This estate-bottled wine (from 22-year old vines) is similar to a German Kabinet. Although light in body, the aromatics are intense. It’s not as sweet as the Semi-Dry, but it is more complex, with some of the steely characteristics of a Rheingau. Flawless. Cave Spring Late Harvest Riesling “Indian Summer,” 2003 ($19.99/375 ml) - This Auslese-style wine is from 2 different Niagara properties and is made from partially frozen grapes . Clearly a dessert wine, it has distinct sweetness, but again the acid is in good balance. It has an appealing uniqueness. Cave Spring CSV Chardonnay, 2000 ($19.99) - Made from Niagara’s oldest Chardonnay vines (23-27 years old), this wine was aged in new and used French oak. It is stylistically close to Burgundy. Medium bodied, it doesn’t show the lushness of hyper-ripe California fruit. Instead there is good acidity, and the oak is nicely integrated. Very worthy. Germany
Haart
Piesporter Goldtröpchen Riesling Kab., 2003 ($14.99) - The unusual 2003
vintage created Kabinetts that taste more like Spätleses. With good body,
delicious fruit, solid sweetness, and relatively low (but adequate) acidity, it
is a German wine to drink over the near term. Robert Weil Estate Dry Riesling, Rheingau, 2004 ($23.99) - Weingut Robert Weil has been called “the Lafite Rothschild of Germany.” Their top wines are some of the most expensive in the world. Weil’s 2004s have not yet been reviewed, but this is a delicious, impeccably made wine with great character. Serve it with sushi, spicy chicken, or just about any seafood. The following are Parker quotes on Weil’s previous entry-level Rieslings. “Outstanding.... Remains an excellent value... Explodes from the glass with aromatic richness. Meaty stones, minerals, melon, flowers, and sweet citrus fruits can be found in its scents. A wine of enormous depth, its lavish personality coats the palate with spiced earth, minerals, and juicy white fruits... satin-textured, marvelously pure, filled with zesty lemon, mineral, & tangy lime.” Rüdesheimer Berg Rotland Riesling Spätlese, Johannishof, Rheingau, 2000 ($24.99) - A classic nose is followed by delicious Riesling fruit, surprising sweetness, and good acid balance. This wine shows the ripeness of the vintage. Wine Enthusiast: 90 “Dense and creamy, this offers peach, vanilla custard, and mineral aromas and flavors matched to a firm structure and a lingering aftertaste. Best from 2006 through 2015.” Israel Dalton Unoaked Chardonnay, 2002 ($15.99) - Dalton is an Israeli winery that is making some very nice wines. Kosher wines were once associated with poor quality, but today Yarden and Dalton in Israel as well as Baron Herzog and others in California, make kosher wines that are the equal in quality of others in their price range. This unoaked Chardonnay is crisp with nice varietal character. It’s a fine alternative to the heavy-handed, oaky style. Noah Tevel Cabernet, 2002 and Merlot, 2002 ($15.99) - These are surprisingly good kosher wines from Israel that have deep color and flavor, a pleasing softness, and early appeal. They are mevushel (due to flash-boiling the grape juice, which is important to the ultra-orthodox). Barkan Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, 2000 ($20.99) - If you want a richer wine with your seder, this kosher wine from Israel is just the ticket. Amazingly, it competes favorably with $20 California Cabs. It’s not a big, fruity, monster, but it’s quite good and has plenty of flavor.
Japan
Portugal
Quinta dos Aciprestes, 2001
($12.99) - This Portuguese red wine comes from the Duoro region
where Ports originate. It is made from Port grapes, but it is obviously a dry
version. Although not quite as intensely flavored as the Serradayres we are
featuring this month, it is an impressive wine with more complexity and a nice
zing in the finish. Harold Goldberg raved in The
New York Times, “Fully half the pleasure of Quinta dos Aciprestes lies
in its seductive bouquet... An expression of back-country Portugal’s
alluring modern awakening, this is the first red table wine from Aciprestes, a
specialist in single-quinta (estate) five-year-old ruby ports... The
proprietor, Real Companhia Velha, can thank Jerry Luper, a distinguished
California winemaker (Chateau Montelena, Diamond Creek), who as its technical
director lives and works in Portugal... Unsurprisingly, the texture shares
port’s smoothness; the fruit, port’s opulence.” And The
Wall Street Journal listed it as a best value. “Deep purplish tint, with
generous aromas of black berry fruit. A real mouthful of juicy wine, but
finely structured as well.” Luis Pato Touriga - Baga, Portugal, 2001 ($18.99) - Luis Pato is the producer. Touriga and Baga are the indigenous grape varietals that comprise this interesting wine. It doesn’t fit within the common categories of Cabernet, Merlot, Zinfandel, etc. It does fit within the category of “delicious.” This is a big, meaty, zesty wine that will stand up to beef. It’s something different. This cuvée is in the middle of the range of excellent wines made by Luis Pato. South
Africa
Allesverloren Shiraz, 2005
($11.99) - This is a wonderful value. Situated on the southeastern slopes of the
Kasteelberg Mountain near Riebeeck West, Allesverloren is the oldest wine estate
in the Swartland Wine of Origin district which lies 65 miles NNE of Capetown and
only 35 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The farm dates to circa 1696 when the
governor of the Cape left it to a widow named Cloete. This courageous woman was
one of the first settlers in the then backward Swartland region. To purchase
tools or even attend church, the settlers had to undertake a long and arduous
wagon journey along primitive roads to Stellenbosch. On their return from one
such journey in 1704, the settlers found their house burned to the ground and
the farm destroyed. Hence the estate’s sad name. “Allesverloren” means
“all is lost” in Dutch (and not coincidentally in German). Neil Ellis Sauvignon Blanc, 2004 ($16.99) - South Africa produces numerous wines of surprisingly high quality, but it is taking time for Americans to discover them. With the exception of a few Sancerres, this is the best Sauvignon Blanc we have under $20. Classy, elegant, lively, and beautifully balanced, it shows little of the aggressive grapefruit/grassy characteristics so common in Sauvignon today.
Diemersdal Shiraz, South
Africa, 2002 ($15.99) - South Africa
continues to rebuild its wine reputation. This big Shiraz is very distinctive
in style with dark chocolate, ash, and tobacco notes. The flavor profile is
not mainstream, but this is a very impressive wine. Diemersdal also makes a
very attractive Sauvignon Blanc.
Rustenberg “John X.
Merriman,” 2002
($27.99) - Even older than Mulderbosch, the Rustenberg
farm in Stellenbosch, South Africa dates to 1682! Peter and Pamela Barlow bought
Rustenberg in 1941. Their son Simon took over in 1987. This estate is one of
South Africa’s jewels. Stephen Tanzer 88: “Sweet, oak-dominated aromas of
currant, licorice, tar, and chocolate. Sweet, jammy, Merlot-dominated flavors of
plum and chocolate. This is ripe and in-your-face. Finishes with dusty, fine
tannins.”
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