TN: LaCrema "Sweet As" GWT '12....(short/boring)

TomHill · February 7, 2021, 8:08pm

We had this last night w/ our Pig+Fig CandiedGinger/Pistachio Bark:

LaCrema “Sweet As” GWT AndersonVlly (8.5%; www.LaCrema.com) P&B by LaCrema/Windsor 2012: Deep golden color; strong ripe GWT/lychee/spicy/nutmeg honeyed bit floral/jasmine lovely aromatic nose; lightly tart intense ripe/GWT/lychee/spicy very honeyed/honeycomb quite sweet fairly balanced lovely/complex flavor; very long/lingering intense GWT/lychee/spicy/honeyed very sweet lightly tart bit complex finish; a beautiful LateHrvst GWT as good as any VendangeTardive from Alsace; should go another 10 yrs at least. $20/$35.00/hlf (CH/GG)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

A month ago, I had my last btl of the CaseyHartlip LateHrvst GWT '13. TN below. I was blown away by it & Casey agreed to sell us two more cases of it. When they arrived, two hlf btls of this LaCrema '12 were included. I had assumed they were the same wine, until I tried this one last night.

Tom:

Opened these last night for Steve to try:

CaseyHartlip GWT LateHrvst OrdwayVnyd/AndersonVlly/MendoCnty (12%; RS: 15%; Brl frmtd; Winemaker: GregGraziano) 2013: Med.dark gold color; beautiful intense GWT/hair oil/lychee/spicy/very ripe bit cedary/oak quite complex nose; quite tart/tangy very intense GWT/hair oil/lychee/quite spicy very sweet yet balanced bit cedary/oak very complex flavor; very long/lingering intense GWT/hair oil/very spicy/lychee rather tart quite sweet slight cedary/oak very complex beautiful finish that goes on&on; no signs of botrytis present; as good as any Alsatian SGN or VendangeTardive that I can recall; should go another 10 yrs at least; the best Calif LH GWT I can recall.

A wee BloodyPulpit:

In 2013, Casey had a row of GWT at Ordway that was unspoken for and getting riper & riper. So he approached Grazie about making a LateHrvst GWT with them. “Twist my arm”!! This was that wine. Obviously, not a commercial release (except to the LosAlamos crowd). I’d last had it about a yr ago and it was dominated by the GWT fruit but still rather primary. Since I’d just got in my Bedrock LH GWT, I decided to open them both when Steve was here last night. I was pretty much blown away by the wine it has evolved into. Blew away the Bedrock, but not too surprised because of the youth of the Bedrock.
Back in the late '60’s, I was buying the A.Willm ClosGaensbroennel VendageTardive '59. I was the wine that cemented my love for Alsatian wines. It had a complexity & spiciness that was impressive. And it was dry and about 14.5%. Back in those days, a VT GWT simply meant a LateHrvst GWT. That was pre-Z-H days. Nowadays, a VT Alsatian wine is almost always sweet, and an SGN is usually botrytis affected. And very sweet. The aromatics on Casey’s GWT reminded me a lot of the spiciness & complexity of that Willm VT.
I was a bit underwhelmed by the Bedrock. Lots of primary fruit but not much else. It is, however, a wine I’m confident will improve greatly over the next few yrs and be a wonderful LH GWT around 10 yrs of age.
Tom

I liked this LaCrema quite a lot. Can’t find out much about this wine. But I didn’t think it held a candle to the '13 LH GWT that Grazie made for Casey.
Tom