Tag: Alsace

WSET Diploma

“Chelsea Dagger” – The Fratellis: Trimbach 2012 Riesling

Posted on by Josh

Trimbach 2012 Riesling[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 5: Alsace]

Continuing on our speed tasting train. This is the brightest wine of our flight of three, and also the palest. Our flight of three was obviously chosen to display three different styles or quality levels of Riesling (the Alsatian grape we hadn’t tried yet in that session), the one previous to this being a Grand Cru Alsatian Riesling, this one being one at the regular Alsace AOP level, and the third being a Grand Cru Sélection de Grains Nobles.

This is a great example of its style, where bright Alsatian Riesling is mouth-commanding and almost abrasive, reminding me of a young and irritatingly chipper business-forward politician or Daenerys Targaryen.… read more

WSET Diploma

Liquid autumn and potpourri: Domaine Eblin-Fuchs 2010 Riesling Rosacker Grand Cru

Posted on by Josh

Domaine Eblin-Fuchs 2010 Riesling Rosacker Grand Cru[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 5: Alsace]

We literally start the last flight of three wines with six minutes left in class, so everyone’s struggling to speed taste, sort of like that scene in the first book of Harry Potter where Hermione has to figure out what potion Harry has to drink in order to make it through to save the world from Apothic Red, or whatever. They may have cut that scene from the film?

Originally there were simply three appellations for Alsace, and you may still very well group them in that way: there’s regular Alsace, there’s Crémant d’Alsace (sparkling), and then there’s the Grand Cru appellation which implies higher quality than the regular, but of course it’s still a subject of controversy.… read more

WSET Diploma

On the list to retry: Zinck 2012 Muscat

Posted on by Josh

Zinck 2012 Muscat[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 5: Alsace]

At this point in time we’re halfway through the wines that we need to taste and we’re being a bit rushed. It doesn’t help that my stomach, for some reason, is angry with me. Ahh!

A grapey and floral aroma reminiscent of a subdued and more elegant Gewurztraminer is my benchmark for tasting Muscat blind, but burnt hair and matchsticks are my benchmarks for sulphites. By this point I was rushing and had too little wine in my glass before I could reassess, so retrying this wine is something I need to do. The general consensus was that there was some sulphitic character in the wine that needed to blow off.… read more

WSET Diploma

Not enough dirty socks, but good anyways: Pfaffenheim 2013 “Pfaff” Pinot Gris

Posted on by Josh

Pfaffenheim 2013 "Pfaff" Pinot Gris[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 5: Alsace]

I’m a big fan of Alsatian Pinot Gris. I was supposed to make a post on one by another producer last week but drank it too quickly to leave any trace of sobriety (“I’ll just buy another bottle, srjgkglrahhh”), and plus I knew the theme of the upcoming class was Alsace, so tasting a Pinot Gris was definitely something that was going to happen, anyways.

The wine was notably Pinot Gris (if not Gewurztraminer) from just looking at it with its coppery tint from pinkish grapes (another reason to love it?). Not as exuberant on the nose like Gewurztraminer or Muscat, but there are hints to stone fruit, mineral, peach, some sort of sweet orange floral notes, and a bit of mango.… read more

WSET Diploma

Gewp: Domaine Zind-Humbrecht 2012 Gewurztraminer

Posted on by Josh

Domaine Zind-Humbrecht 2012 Gewurztraminer[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 5: Alsace]

Indisputably Gewurztraminer on the nose (if not Muscat), where it was like liquid Bed Bath and Beyond. I might as well have taken a big whiff of my grandma’s purse, and it probably would have been more accurate had she been the source of my late aunt’s durian-eating habits. I mean I guess the wine isn’t so much durian-driven than it is lychee and peaches, but still.

I noticed a bit of bubble by just looking at the glass, as did some other classmates, and indeed there was just a hint of spritz on the palate that other people detected. What’s interesting is that we had the exact same wine no more than a couple months prior, and then it seemed perfectly fine, but an in-bottle malolactic fermentation was a possibility for the bit of spritz for this time around.… read more

WSET Diploma

Vanilla, but not in an oaky way: Hugel 2011 Pinot Blanc

Posted on by Josh

Hugel 2011 Blanc de Blancs[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 5: Alsace]

Pinot Blanc is one of the exceptions to Alsace, where the region itself is an exception to the non-varietally labelled wines in France. Unlike Alsace, the rest of French wines are typically labelled by their appellation rather than the grape – so unless there’s an informative back label, the average consumer might get lost with regions that sound like they’ve come from a George R. R. Martin novel. It’s a big conversation. Alsace, for the most part, dodges this.

Many (political) reasons led to this general rule, but then there’s poor little Pinot Blanc, which may very well have some Auxerrois in its blend despite the fact that it’s labelled “Pinot Blanc”. … read more

WSET Diploma

First impression over the second: Charles Sparr 2011 Cuvée Tradition Pinot Noir

Posted on by Josh

Charles Sparr 2011 Cuvée Tradition Pinot Noir[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 5: Alsace]

We’ve started off with the red in our flight of eight Alsatian wines, because Alsatian Pinot Noir is arguably softer and more delicate than its steely whites. I don’t remember the last time I’ve even had an Alsatian Pinot Noir, but it makes total sense that the cool climate region chooses Pinot Noir out of all red grape varieties to specialize in. Alsace tends to produce lighter styles compared to Burgundy with noticeably paler colour and softer texture, but for me it’s been personally hard to generalize because you just don’t see it much in this market, ever. The grape puts a small dent in the total plantings of grapes in Alsace, at around 10 percent.… read more

WSET Diploma

Thinking ’bout Gew: 2012 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer

Posted on by Josh

2012 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3  – Week 1]

It’s often hard to forget grapes like Gewurztraminer. I adore how Oz Clarke describes the grape as wanting to “please everybody”, such that it dolls itself up: it’s voluptuous, perfumed, and heady. At times, it reminds me of either the quirky and suave fellow or the aunt who seems to only appear at those family gatherings and you know she’s just there because you can smell the perfume from miles away. That’s the classic Alsatian expression, of course, and there exist some leaner examples which are delicious but are almost disappointing when all you want are, according to Oz Clarke, “clouds of Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium, Calvin Klein’s Obsession and Giorgio of Beverley Hills to billow out before you, announcing the arrival of the one grape no one can resist.”… read more

Quaffing

Glinda the Good Witch: 2010 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Herrenweg de Turkheim Muscat

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful, spice, ginger, citrus, stone fruit, ripe peach, hint mango, mineral, petrichor, floral, orange blossom, tea
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med+ to high acid, med+ flavour intensity, med+ alcohol, strong minerality, wet stones, petrichor, citrus, white peach, stone fruit, hint spritz
All in all: Good quality: the wine has fantastic structure for a Muscat, and a strong minerality carries on to a med+ finish. But both the nose and palate could benefit from more fruit intensity and concentration. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.

herrenwegmuscatAfter much debate at the liquor store – which also made it probably look like I was suspicious – I finally came to the conclusion that this was a day I where the whole “should-I-spend-x-less-dollars-for-this-wine?”… read more

Quaffing

Princess Peach: NV Domaine Zinck Crémant d’Alsace Brut

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, bubbles
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful, mineral, apple, citrus, lemon, stone fruit, white peach, hint yeastiness
Mouth: dry, creamy mousse, med- body, high acid, med- alcohol, med+ length, med+ intensity, green apple, citrus, lemon zest, stone fruit, peach, hint yeastiness
All in all: Good quality: the wine has well-balanced structure with high acid that doesn’t make the mouth pucker. A citrus zest flavour lingers on the finish, but the wine could use a bit more complexity. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.

NV Domaine Zinck Crémant d'Alsace BrutWell, here we are. Around ten days left until the terrifying WSET Diploma Unit 5 + 6 exams. After piling through a decent amount of flash cards, I decided I deserved wine. That and I’ve also been cooped up in the house for more than 24 hours and decided that a walk to the liquor store would be sufficient exercise – which obviously it wasn’t – but let’s pretend it was.… read more