Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Blanc Melange


It is always interesting when wine lovers get together and bring bottles to share over dinner.  Somehow the red wines tend to get grouped together into instructive flights.  And of course bubblies tend to get served first – but in no real particular order.  In a way it doesn’t matter with the sparklings, whether one is Chardonnay-based or Pinot Noir based, and even vintages, as long as they’re not decades apart, can be served in any order.  And strangely, the still white table wines tend to get treated that way too, but they really do deserve being put into order and instructive flights.  Sometimes that is difficult, because the divergence between them all is a bit too much to handle.
So it was at the Loch Ness’s house dinner.  Three whites of particular pedigree appeared, and it would have been difficult to group them together.  There was a logical order, nevertheless.  And’d here’s my take on it.  First would be the 2014 Ch. Reynon Bordeaux Blanc.  This is the brainchild of Denis Dubordieu, the vinous whizz of Bordeaux.  16.5 ha of the 21 ha is devoted to Sauvignon Blanc and a little Semillon, the rest to red.  The wine is fruit focussed but sees barrel-aging.  Tasting it, the flavours of green stonefruits and herbs, along with softer fruits come through, along with a layering of oak.  Some people don’t see the oak as a major component, but I tend to.  There’s freshness here, but also richness as though there’s barrel-ferment.  In any circumstances, it’s delightfully refreshing with its richness, and showing an array of fruits.  Delicious!

Then I’d have the 2015 Wittmann Westhofen Morstein GG Riesling Trocken.  A Rheinhessen at 13.0% alc. and a reputation to burn. This delivered in spades, with its rich and weighty palate with a broad spectrum of savoury citrus fruits and minerals.  Very fine nuances of earth, florals and honey just add layers of complexity.  It may have the Rheinhessen softness, but there’s plenty of subtle acidity.  The weight and fruit extract of this really is quite amazing.  After the precision of Clemens Busch, the richness of Wittmann makes this label my second favourite in the dry German stakes.  And no doubt for SWMBO.  There were some startled palates at dinner, who had never tried Wittmann before.  A revelation then, for them.
And to cap off the whites, an oldie, but super-goodie: a 1994 Leasingham Classic Clare Rhine Riesling.  A cool year in the Clare Valley makes the style closer to the Eden Valley for me.  The back label says enjoy over the next 3 years.  Well, this was 24 y.o.,  Bright lemon-gold, this was concentrated and creamy, with gorgeous honied and floral-citrus flavours.  Incredibly, no oxidation.  Being very critical, it could be perceived to be a tad drying out.  I had no problem with that.  Certainly past the tertiary stage and into beauty and lift rather than earthy and decrepit.  A wine from the Bush-Blocker.  How may more treasures like this does he have?


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