MD OL #1: ABC, Donhoff, Baumard, Weinbach, Trimbach, Sierra Carche +++

WINE TALK
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Last night was the first (and hopefully not last) meeting of the MD-area Berserkers. It was held at a Persian place in Towson…wait, scratch that…a seafood place in Catonsville! Along with the last minute venue change came a last minute wine theme change. Luckily everyone stayed with me and we quickly came up with the theme of ABC for most of the wines. Plus a few high scoring JSM wines to see how they are progressing. I know they are at the early stages of their drinking windows, but we are ok to kill a few babies!
In attendance were local Berserkers Brad, Darryl, Faryan, Mitch, and Me with respective S.O.'s. A motley crew that got pushed as far back into the restaurant so that no one could see the plethora of bottles we laid out on the table. Our server took a step back when Mitch pulled out a mag as Brad and I were unloading our wine totes.

On to the wines!

Paul Dethune NV Brut – From magnum. Fresh aromas with yeast and citrus notes. Medium bodied with a fine mouse and a crisp finish. Very tasty and a perfect aperitif.

2001 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile – Petrol and apricots on the nose with a hint of lemon. A little closed it would seem. The palate was full and stoney with a seashell character. Elegant power and an oily texture. Good but not great showing for this wine. Could evolve into something better.

2007 Dr. Frank Rkatsiteli – From the Finger Lakes. Disclaimer, my store sells this wine (cause it is great) White flowers and wet stones on the nose with rosewater and minerals on the palate. This bottle wasn’t quite as expressive as it normally is. But still a very cool wine and showed well.

2002 Donhoff Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Spatlese – Petrol and mint on the nose with peach flavors. Weightless elegance that Donhoff provides with good acid lift. I’m still going to say I get something akin to cotton candy on the palate!

2005 Heron Hill Pinot Blanc – Located just down the street from Dr. Frank so I thought this would be fun. Warm and nutty nose. Hazlenuts on the palate with good stone and acid. Slightly buttery. Pretty good!

2007 GD Vajra Langhe Bianco – A Riesling from Barolo! Very acid driven with subtle peach and lime flavors. A hint of walnut and dried leafs too, not in an oxidized kind of way. Lemon and white pepper come in on the finish. Pretty interesting little wine here!

2007 The Foreign Affair Abbraccio Sauvignon Blanc – Maybe Darryl can add some more info on this. It is from Canada. He said it was an off bottle, but honestly. It would have been a cool fit in my Ribolla Gialla tasting a few months back as it was similar in character to some of what Movia, Radikon, Gravner, etc. are doing. Oxidized and varnish on the nose with lots of saline wualities. Very textural. I’d be interested to try a correct bottle of this, however, this was interesting. Even for a flawed bottle.

2006 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc – Lemon peel and wet stones on the nose with some floral lift. Lots of stone fruits on the palate with hazelnut and spice. Pretty powerful wine that could age for a few more years yet. Though very tasty now.

1999 Weinbach Cuvee Laurence Gewurztraminer – Apricots and rosewater on the nose. It was very enticing. Honeyed and rich on the palate with lots of fruit and some RS. Very nice and for many it was the wine of the night. I would have liked a little bit more acid on this. But it was excellent.

Then we got to the comedy portion of the evening…

2005 Sierra Carche – Mint, Robotussin, Dirt, and Cherry. 96 Points!

2005 Pico Madama – Raspberry and smoke on the nose. Mint on the palate. I’m only going to go 93+++ on this.

All in all, the Sierra Carche had a diaper plastic smell and taste to it. It was bad, though not as bad as some of the reviews from the Grapes tasting. It was definitely garbage, overpriced, and no way a 96 point wine. The Pico Madam had a pretty decent nose to be honest. Better then the last time I had it. However, the palate was dull, flat, acidic, and just terrible. It is splitting hairs, but I think the Pico Madama would win due to its halfway decent nose!

Luckily we had redemption! Faryan was kind enough to bring a…

2003 Baumard Quarts de Chaume – My first time with this vintage, however this is probably my favorite dessert wine. Floral, lemon rind, wet rocks, and honey on the nose. Very showy with some nuttiness and wonderful balance on the palate. Peach and white grape flavors as well and a noticeable sweetness. A little higher no doubt due to the riper year. This was very tasty, however not super layered and I thought it was drinking pretty well now. It will last for a while, but not sure if it will improve. A good but not great showing for this wine. I think due to the vintage. I’m glad I skipped buying for my cellar. But thanks for the taste.

Hopefully we can do this again soon. It was great to meet more MD Berserkers and share some nice wines with everyone. I appreciate everyone taking the time to share a drink!

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Be sure to cross-post at ERP. [tease.gif]

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Thanks for cobbling together the notes Mike. It was an interesting tsating indeed. I didn’t know the Heron Hills and the Kastitelli were neighbors. Very contrasting styles!

I was a big fan of the Weinbach, the Espirit and the Donhoff. The 03 Baumard probably should have been drank early in life as I’m not sure if it has the acidity to carry the type of extended cellaring that these wines require to show complexity with balance. An interesting paradox… On a final note, as bad the car crash was, it wasn’t as bad as when I drank it last. This wine ceases to amaze. The chances of a successful fraud, in my opinion, seem highly probably.

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On a final note, as bad the car crash was, it wasn’t as bad as when I drank it last. This wine ceases to amaze. The chances of a successful fraud, in my opinion, seem highly probably.

  • 86-89
    ** 90-92
    *** 92-94
    **** 95-97
    ***** 98-100
    ****** I’ll kill anyone that gets in the way of my glass.

Hi Faryan!

In lieu of an increasing incidence of Sierra Carche crashes, you might wish to consider adding an additional level to your intriging rating system. Something like " hitsfan hitsfan hitsfan = It could kill anything that gets close to my glass " perhaps?

Mike, your TNs seem to capture the [berserker.gif] experience and ambiance quite well.
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Nice notes, Mike!
Love Donhoff, Baumard, I sell Dr. Frank Konstantin’s wines here, and like the Rkatsiteli… their Gewurz and sparkling are also pretty good. Ed Kurtzman brought over a bottle of Weinbach 06 Gewurz to an OL once, and I thought that was amazing.

The Sierra Carche and Pico Madama I am curious to try after hearing so much about them on the boards. Much in the way you want to see movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space or Soylent Green.

Cheers!

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Great notes, Mike. I don’t have much to add with respect to the “real” wines, except that I liked the showing of the Trimbach more than you did. I probably went back to that one more than anything else on the table – unless you count my killing off the Donhoff while taking in the rest of MNF after I got home from the dinner (I kept looking for that pink cotton candy!). Also, I thought the Weinbach was great. My take-away for the evening is that I have to remember to buy more Gewurz.

As for the novelty wines, they were both utterly terrible. I would have to say that the Pico Madama was even worse for me than the Sierra Carche, but only because I almost threw up when it was in my mouth. It tasted like a combination of sweat socks and rotting garbage.

It was a pleasure meeting everyone. Let’s see if we can organize the CDP tasting in the next month or two.

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Please don’t seek them out though, they are the wine equivalent of a multi-car pile-up on the freeway, people slow down to look, but they may be sorry they did. They are both truly disgusting wines.
-D

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If only one could find a quality producer of Gewurztraminer which approaches Weinbach. Oh, and last as long too. Guess I’ll keep dreaming.
-D

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The Foreign Affair Sauvignon Blanc is an interesting wine, which on multiple occasions has shown much better than it did last evening. It’s a Niagara wine, 100% sauvignon blanc, but made with 20% of the grapes having been dried appassimento style. When on, it shows more Gewurztraminer-like viscosity as well as very nice fruit to acid balance.
-D