Berserkers,
I was at the flagship Queen’s Quay tasting bar for my usual sojourn and noticed that there were no less than four different entry level Geuwurztraminers available to taste all at the same time from BC and Ontario, Canada; Germany; and of course Alsace. Naturally I couldn’t resist doing a tasting and comparison between all four of them. And so the impromptu Judgement of Gewurztraminer took place. Which Gewurz would take the final judgement. Let’s see:
CAVE SPRING CELLARS 2013 ESTATE BOTTLED GEWURZTRAMINER
SUMMARY: Ontario replicates Alsace perfectly. An achievement for Ontario white wine.
I hate Ontario Alsacian varietal wine. Every one of them tastes like a pale and weak imitation of an Alsacian wine that has been diluted with water. No flavor or body to them. Absolutely nothing worth writing about. Until now.
Pale straw gold in the glass. Fragrant nose of lychees, roses and ginger. The body is medium full. Bright pale straw gold color in the glass. On the palate, fresh off-dry flavors of lychee fruit, pears, rosehips and baking spices. Decent acidity. Exceptionally well balanced. What the what? This is virtually indistinguishable from a good quality entry level Alsacian wine. That may not sound like much, but place it in the context of a 30 year old wine growing region that really doesn’t have the microclimates necessary to grow the famous Alsacian varieties and I’m utterly astonished. Whatever voodoo magic Cave Spring Cellars did to make this wine, they should keep right on doing it. Good deal at $17.95 CDN. From the Niagara Bench Escarpement in Ontario, Canada.
GRAY MONK 2015 GEWURZTRAMINER
SUMMARY: Literally a white Burgundy wine made using Gewurztraminer instead of Chardonnay grapes. Complex, fascinating and possibly even polarizing.
As a Gewurtz lover brought up on Alsace, I of course have certain expectations of what a Gewurz wine can and should be. This wine completely upends that and shows that innovation is still possible in the wine world. The nose immediately strikes of gunpowder the way a young Chablis or Meursault does. On the palate, sweet honeydew melon, ripe pear and lychee flavors are balanced out by shockingly high flintinesss, bright yeasty lees, and baking spices. Again, what the what? This is a white Burgundy in all but name and grape. It literally drinks like a white Burgundy made with Gewurztraminer instead of Chardonnay.
Now this could be good or bad depending on how you feel about your Burgundy and Alsace. It’s fascinating and complex for a Gewurztraminer, but it definitely runs the risk of polarizing Burgundy lovers who wonder why the wine is so sweet and Alsacian lovers wondering why it tastes like sweet wet matchsticks. I’m personally blown away by what was achieved here but would completely understand any wine drinker who felt differently. This is grown in Kelowna which is a cooler region of the Okanagan Valley desert growing region out in BC. $21.95 CDN in Ontario but a mere $15.99 out in its native BC which leads me to believe we are paying here for markup and import charges.
BARON DE HOEN 2015 RÉSERVE GEWURZTRAMINER
SUMMARY: Exactly what you’d expect from an entry level Alsacian Gewurztraminer, no more or less. Slight imbalance towards alcohol in favor of fruit but still a decent wine.
Pale straw gold in the glass. Fragrant lychee and ginger nose. Is it my imagination or is it less complex than the two Canadian wines on the nose? Nope, it’s not my imagination. It’s still fragrant but lacking the complexity and balance of the previous two. Ruh-roh. On the palate, decent levels of lychee fruit, rosehips and more ginger than baking spices but noticeably lower levels than the Canadian wines. Although there is no heat, the flavor of alcohol is a bit more detectable in the wine. All of this is offset by the superior texture of the wine’s body which is medium-full and quite pleasing with a slight glycerin feel to it. A little sweet but noticeably more restrained in this regard than the other three wines. Nice bottle. This said, of course I’m sticking with my high-enders from the likes of Weinbach, Barmes-Beucher, Zind-Humbrecht and others. $18.95 CDN which is about what I expect to pay for entry level Alsace.
DARTING 2015 DÜRKHEIMER NONNENGARTEN GEWURZTRAMINER KABINETT
SUMMARY: A refreshing fun Gewurztraminer that is absolutely indistinguishable from the 2012 vintage I just reviewed.
So coincidentally given that I just reviewed the bottle of the 2012 vintage, this amazing value wine just came back to the LCBO with its latest vintage. And I find myself literally giving exactly the same note. Sweet off-dry flavors of lychee fruit, candied ginger and rosehips. Sweetest of all four wines but well balanced out by also having the highest acidity and the lightest body with a touch of spritz. Refreshing and drinks easy. I wouldn’t be able to tell the 12 apart from the 15 blind and I had aged the 12 for four years.
On the one hand, this is amazing consistency and the winery is to be highly commended for the flawlessness. On the other, it also shows a strict adherence to formula as there is literally no variation between the vintages which are four vintages apart which is all but impossible given that the climate conditions couldn’t have been identical. In fact the only difference as you see below is quite literally the bottle label. So whether this consistency is good or bad depends on your own personal tastes. I like the wine generally so it’s an easy no-brainer for me. $19.95 CDN for another great deal.
So that was fun. All four wines are great. But this the Judgement of Gewurztraminer, so one of these has to be a winner. And that’s where I’m surprised.
The Darting is the most fun wine. The Gray Monk is the most different and complex. But once we come down to finesse, it’s down to the Cave Spring Estates and the Baron de Hoen… and the superior balance and higher level of fruit in the Cave Springs Cellar outmatches the Alsacian wine. I can scarcely believe it but the Cave Spring Cellars Estate Gewurztraminer is my pick as the winner! It actually out-Alsaced the Alsacian wine! Shocker! ![[shock.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0b1dcf699ec319f43254f92e3f145786dcd93904.gif "shock"){kind=small}
And so the Judgement of Gewurztraminer comes to its surprising conclusion. Bear in mind that these are all entry level wines which will not make you forget your own Alsacian collections. If you’re already into the high end Alsacians like I am there’s no need to bother with any of these, but damn if I wasn’t impressed by all four of them for what they were. They’d be good for you guys to use to introduce anyone to Gewurztraminer.