Haben uns mal wieder durch die Rhône getrunken...
Hier mein Kurzbericht des Abends (sorry für englisch, aber wenn man meint, man müsse sich in zwei Foren parallel versuchen und die Frau fragt, wann man endlich vom PC wegkommt...):
Adam - Riesling Hofberg Spätlese 2011
von Winning - Riesling Großes Gewächs Kalkofen 2012
Bernard Gripa - St. Péray Les Figuiers 2013
Bernard Gripa - St. Joseph 2013
Franck Balthazar - Cornas Chaillot 2013
Simon Maye - Syrah Vielles Vignes 2011
J. L. Chave - Hermitage 1988
P. Jaboulet - Hermitage La Chapelle 1988
Henri Bonneau - Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Marie Beurrier 2005
Cadenhead´s - Rosebank 22ys.
To celebrate the Birthday of the piano (8/8...
, we paired on a hot summer´s night one of the best beef qualities around (Simmenthaler, filet) with grilled eggplants, radicchio and zucchini and Syrah. The pairing went very well (maybe I should note thatthe wines were paired with a rare Scottisch wild red salmon and some salad).
The Hofberg Riesling Spätlese from Adam (Mosel, but the less famous part) is a little expensive when compared to famous names as Pruem or Haag. However, when opened it was the best summer drink I may have had since long time. With the low alcohol, baby fat and sweetness as well as chalky the price was soon forgotten (and a very good friend brought the wine...anyway). It is so captivating and full of grace, that I got to get hold of some bottles! Wonderfull!
The von Winning Kalkofen was one of the very first Große Gewächse that thrilled me. I am not a fan of the German große Gewächse because they lack often the clarity and steeliness of Riesling Kabinett or Spätlese. Often, I find them too thick, not dry enough and more Austrian as German Riesling should be. But blame it on me, not on the wine.
This version from the Pfalz reminded me of another good example from Rebholz. Very much Riesling, very much chalk, very much salt and very much fun to drink! I have to keep the trust, that große Gewächse could be a treat!
No, it was time to sample along the Rhône. The Saint-Péray Les Figuiers from Bernard Gripa is probably one of the hidden secrets of French white wines. In style it resembles a Burgundy, but with very low acidity and a little different fruit mixture compared to Chardonnay. A high portion of old-vine Marsanne make thios to be my favored white from Gripa even before the St. Joseph whites. To be drunk similar to a great Burgundy (not to cool, please). It is not a really great wine, but when compared to expensive (and as rarely eciting as Riesling große Gewächse
Condrieu or even Hermitage it might be a steal for the money (but this I shuld not say as I am offering a very few cases in Germany, so please make up your own evaluation).
With the beef filet, the slightly cooled and decanted (2hrs) Saint-Joseph rouge was a perfect and really liquid combination. With liquid I mean that each sip was refreshing and calling for more. The team finished the wine in short time... typical Syrah from the Northern Rhône as it should be (drinkrhone calls this a w.o.w. wine, what one wants... we agreed).
The wine of the night came next! The Cuvée Chaillot from one the best and oldest parcels of Cornas had this uncomparable stream of acid and liquid salt directly in the middle, so focused and infused with a laser-beam. Around this there were the typical fruit aromatics of great Cornas Syrah. On a par with Clape but a little different in style. It was decanted some 24hrs in advance, otherwise it might have been too wild and closed down still. A real surprise and WOTN.
As the Rhône originates somewhere in Switzerland, I thought about putting one of the best Syrah from Witzerland (Vielles Vignes from Simon Maye) into the game. Quickly decanted, it had the typical pepper taste of young Syrah but a really nice volume and body. I felt like before, when I put Tignanello into a Bordeaux tasting. Excellent on its own, but don´t bring it into competition with the originals...
Unfortunately, the 1988 Hermitage from Chave had some hint of cork. Below that the wine had a sweetness that only age could bring with this kind of complexity and power. I followed some secret and put a kitchen foil into the wine. After 3 hours the cork was gone and I finished it alone. The next day I regretted that because we had too much wine anyway, so maybe the cork was a warning. Nevertheless, without the cork, some complexity was also gone, but a monolithic aged Syrah was remaining and still fun to drink on its own.
Very elegant and maybe lacking the fatness of the 1990, the 1988 La Chapelle was opened as replacement for the Chave. It was extremely young and very focused, nice Syrah but lacking the expected greatness from the Chave.
Another animal was the 2005 Cuvée Marie Beurrier from Henri Bonneau. Of course, not fitting to the Syrah context, but I was curious to go a little South after the monolithic Hermitage. The wine almost exploded into fruit, soared from the glass like a big Burgundy was such a joy to drink already, that we all were surprised by this master class winemaking. Really stunning.
A pity is the loss of some of the best distilleries in Scotland. Maybe Port Ellen and Rosebank are the ones missed the most. As I do not like peat and I love feminine, elegant whiskies, the Rosebank is the better choice for me. It was a great closer of a great evening with real wine friends on a hot summer night. That was the sunny side of the street...
Ich gestehe, dass mir Balthazar und Gripa selbst so gut gefallen, dass ich sie auch gleich in zugeteilter Menge nach Deutschland importiere. Dass der Franck Balthazar aber Wein des Abends wurde, haben die anderen Gäste befunden... Solche Weine versüßen das Älterwerden...
