Old Style


Glühwein

A neighbour came round and gave me this photo. It was taken at Christmas 2007. I had been asked by the town to DJ for 3 hours..I agreed with the stipulation...no Christmas songs..just Soul & Gospel. It was the coldest night of the year I think. I wrapped up well...note the white gloves..and pleased some of the people part of the time.....dedicated 'Silent Night' lovers only got a gospel version. Why post this on a wine blog? Well...sympathetic fans..on seeing me freeze my **** off....kept offering me Glühwein. Glühwein is prepared from red wine, heated....and spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves and sugar. It is the cheapest red you can get..is my guess...and probably only drinkable when hot. As a dedicated wine lover..I opted to have my **** freeze over before taking even one sip of the dreaded stuff!
See..I can post without mentioning Spätburgunder....oh damm...done it again. Wonder how it tastes slightly warmed?

Nordheim & Metzners Garage





















Eine weitere Anlaufstelle in Sachen Oldtimerservice und Restauration in Leipzig ist die Firma Nordheim und Metzners. Zufällig vor Ort, der in den 80er Jahren gebaute ZZ-Top-Chop Käfer.

www.oldtimer-leipzig.de



It's Better Früh Than Never

A recent comment to a post...not another Spätburgunder!
If you were a fish in the ocean...you'd eat what was around you. Right?
I am the fish..surrounded by Baden, Ahr, Rheingau, Pfalz and Franken.
You get my point?
But.. I am trying to change...see this post.
A Frühburgunder! What is that you say...or maybe you don't say..if you are a clever dick!
Well...work it out........you can't?..OK..Früh means early...you get it..Spät means.....give the man a prize........late!
It is a mutation of a Spätburgunder...sounds like something from outer space!
Only grown in the Ahr area as far as I know....but no doubt I'll get an answer to the contrary.

A recent comment on this wine was that it was OK on first sipping..then faded to be short and flat. Surely the point was missed. Think Pinot Noir-Burgundy for Spätburgunder but for this Frühburgunder..think Gamay-Beaujolais. It is a dead-ringer for a Beaujolais Village...what I would have guessed at....tasted blind.
OK..down to the nitty-gritty...
Oh yes..the background 'tree' has a flower like a toilet brush..or maybe a bottle cleaner would be more appropriate...comes from Portugal.

Meyer-Näkel Frühburgunder 2006
Ahr, Germany
Burnt cherry nose...creamy layer...which takes you into a smooth, up-front fruity wine. Well balanced...more berry fruits...goes down a treat...no big ending..but horses for courses...and this would be a fairly serious wine for sausages (Bratwürst to you)..which was on the plate. The bottle 'almost' emptied..and as the evening cooled down...it did not suffer as many wines can...a little cooler it was also delicious..and the mid-fruit..seemed to enjoy the challenge.
Points 16.25
The Adeneuer 2006 was a little more 'serious' than this one.

Old Style

Ugly Duckling

Spätburgunder vintages...the 2003 produced some fine wines if you chose well...after the hot summer....and 2005 was a real crowd pleaser..from birth...no matter what you taste...whether they will age 10 years remains to be seen...but who cares....
As to 2004...an 'ugly duckling' vintage...and in Baden...exceptions of course...but the general impression is closed and needing time...will they become beautiful swans?...
The reason for this purchase...was because after tasting the Zalwander..I was interested to see what the cellermaster, Odin Bauer, did at the day job.
Freiherr von Gleichenstein Spätburgunder
Oberrotweiler Eichberg Spätlese trocken 2004
Baden, Germany
Quite deep in colour..for a Pinot...thick cherry fruit hits you from the glass...then a delicate perfume developes...medium deep fruit on the palate...very 'masculine' in style...big..even chunky..slice it with a knife...spicy..about as fiery as it gets for the grape. I let it settle overnight...had held up well...
but still staying 'ugly'
Points 16.25

1958 Triumph TR3a

Sebastian ist ein weiterer Oldtimerfreund aus der Leipziger Tieflandsebene. Er bevorzugt dabei besonders die Arbeit an englischen Fahrzeugen. Neben dem hier gezeigten 58er TR3, restauriert Sebastian noch einen MGA sowie einen Porsche 928. Unter anderem restaurierte er bereits Fahrzeuge wie Austin Healey, Opel Bitter und Triumph TR4. Seine Arbeiten dokumentiert er auf seiner dafür eingerichteten Internetseite:

www.wertherhalten.sx.am



New Chevy Caps



Baden Style, Nahe Class

Not a comparative tasting...
but tried on consecutive evenings...
The wine won 3rd prize at one of the 'Best Riesling' competitions held in Germany. The winner was...Papa Andreas Laible's Weingut. This is the top wine of this young project.
For terroir fans..father's vines are on granite..Alexander's on mainly marly soil.
Alexander Laible Riesling *** Chara 2007
Durbach, Baden, Germany
Bright, fresh...nose offers some grapefruit..a lot of citrus fruit..my wife thought orange peel...
If you froze this and sold it as an ice-lolly...you'd get complaints. This is 'real' dry..but not the mouth-puckering stuff...just a massive amount of minerals..mixed with some spice..mid-fruit...filled out as the bottle emptied. Trace of smoke..and again..a real spice bomb. Good finish.
Points 16.75 € 16

Emrich-Schönleber Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen
Riesling trocken 2007
Nahe, Germany
To show how good the above Laible Chara is..I decided to travel north...what better way to measure quality than against a top Vineyard from the Nahe.








In 2006 the word 'Spätlese' was on the label..but the powers that be in the Nahe decided not to show it with 'trocken' wines in this vintage.

Looks like a green apple in colour...aromas of grapefruit..and..yes..you guessed it..apple. Steely..and to be expected..minerals from the top shelf. The acidity lingers while the fruit dances.....a terroir wine with vines nicely matured...juicy apple finish.
Emrich-Schönleber wines just ooze class....
Points 16.5 €14

A salad of class as well...marinated strips of sushi tuna on a bed of red beetroot.

Some Chevy Works

Da am 5.-7. Septemer das nun 8. Headbanging der Hot Heads East stattfindet, bekam der alte Pick Up frisches Öl und Wasser verpasst. So sollte er für den Trip nach Finsterwalde gerüstet sein. Letztlich kann man nur noch auf gutes Wetter hoffen.





Bargain Baden Burgundy

You wait for a bus for ages..then 2 come along at once.
Not really a great comparison as I have been drinking plenty of wines with very good price/quality ratio. It just seemed I am blessed by the wine god at the moment. After the Laible..I opened this little gem.













Fritz Waßmer Spätburgunder Barrique 2005

Baden, Germany
Dried, sour cherry nose..just a faint beetroot smell...and a fair dollop of barriques (spends time in a big one)..just lovely to smell...and the palate offers soft, spicy, ripe fruit. Very Burgundian which is the Waßmer style..and I am a fan...! Drink this with anything barbecued..or even in a menu with pasta maybe....for lovers of young, upfront Pinot. The French are improving..but find me a Burgundy of this quality for the same money...€ 11,--
Points 16.5...perhaps worth a little more..but surely not for the price!!!
Send me the next bus...
Try repeating the title 10 times...

OLD STYLE




Young Laible, Old Vines

Alexander Laible Riesling ***
Alte Reben trocken 2007
Baden, Germany
Oh yes...I like this one.
One of my likes when popping a cork..is the instant whiff that has you jogging to the glass cabinet. Not so in this case....no cork. Screwcap..still had me jogging though...
I mentioned on a previous post how this new venture started...
The Weissburgunder had been pleasant..but the family Laible are know for their Rieslings.
At first the imprssion is a typical young Riesling....but there is a whole lot more here.
Traces of lavender...some peach and a tight spicyness....still....this doesn't prepare you for the first mouthful....mid-weight...compact..minerals...that 'old vine' taste...fills the palate..just a touch of acidity at the end..and a very good long finish.
We are not talking about breaking the bank here. This cost....wait for it.......I said wait...
10 Euros!!! Amazing value...and this is the cheapest of the three Rieslings I purchased from Alexander Laible.
For all you terrace-sippers..this would be a favourite..but this would impress any dinner guests with a pasta salad( which is what I ate with it)...some Asian food (Fish and Chips?..who knows after the Olympics)...or really any Fish course. Buy this by the bucket-load (is there such a size?). Best price/quality wine of the 2007 vintage up to now.
Points 16.75

Old Style

Clouds Knowhow

A recent post from fellow blogger Joe on white Graves sent me into the cellar...
I have a couple of 'golden' oldies down there somewhere.
Three bottles...all different vintages.
In the late 80's I was in Bordeaux with some Americans...and one of the Chateaux we visited was Domane de Chevalier. It
is situated in the middle of a forest area on the outskirt of Léognan town, around 17 km south of Bordeaux city. There are 5 ha of "white" vines planted with 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon, and these are 25 years old on average.
Vintages 1970-1982 were made by previous owner Claude Ricard, who sold the Domaine to the Bernard family in 1983. He stayed,however, at the property until 1988, in order to help and teach young Olivier Bernard the art of making white wine. Vintages 1983, 1984 and 1985 were made with increasing influence of Olivier Bernard, and vintage 1986 was the first one Olivier Bernard stood 100% for.
We had been promised a few reds to taste and a white. Th
e reds arrived..all were very good....but then the surprise. Monsieur Bernard served the white at the finish...and it blew the previous wines away. It was the 1984..and I purchased a bottle there and then.
The other two in the photo were acquired..and have all been sitting there (well...lying there..)..feeling lonely and unwanted. Sorry girls..but I just forgot you...anyway...the rule with this white Bordeaux is...let it age....so..again.. sorry girls..I was waiting for the wrinkles to appear.
It was a warm evening but the heavens above were on overtime..a constantly changing cloud formation.
Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 1992
Graves, Bordeaux
Yellow colour..like a sweet corn.....from then on....not so bright...oxidised nose....receeded with a little work...well...more than a little...twisting, shaking...moving the hips..anything to make this one good. I guess your moves are no longer up to it Barry....hardly a difference...altho the feel on the palate was good...and there is fruit there...one more shake of the butt...nope...nada....
Points.....can't, won't, shan't...the clouds above should have warned me.

A delightful salad had been prepared by Mrs Blogger...Eva-Maria...the one who I have been married to for 32 years...you remember...previous posts...
Some spinach, Rucola and various others salads...a selection of paprikas and goat's cheese in a cloak of bacon.









The clouds looked a little friendlier....

Fritz Haag Brauneberger Sonnenuhr
R
iesling Spätlese trocken 2007
Mosel, Germany

Lightish..delicate....nice bright wine...some pear..and a touch of honey...Spätlese trocken..and it is what is claims to be. Although seeming light and easy..it has depth and a fine reserved acidity...methinks this will develope nicely....
Points 16.25