TN: Donnhoff, Les Troix Crois, Sineann

WINE TALK
1

2004 Donnhoff Riesling
Green gold in color, clear and bright. The nose still is young, wet stones and white grapefruit. No petrol. Medium bodied. On the palate, this is very nice, slightly sweet. No real sign of age. White grapefruit notes. Nice finish. No hurry to drink this but no problem now either. 50+3+12+17+7=89

2003 Chateau Les Troix Croix (Fronsac)
Inky purple in color, ruby rim. The nose is very ripe with black raspberries, leather, and dark cherries, bordering on over ripe. Full bodied. On the palate, this is more Aussie Shiraz like. Like scorched red and purple fruits. Lots of alcohol. I recorked and left for Day 2. It smoothed out a bit, but never really got past the scorched fruit notes. Not a bad wine, but not what I look for in a Bordeaux either. 50+3+12+16+6=87

2007 Sineann Abondante
A blend of Cabernet, Syrah, Zinfandel and Merlot. Glass closure. Very tight and monolithic on Day 1. On Day 2, it really opened up nicely. Aromas of black and red raspberries, leather and cassis. Full bodied. Complex drinking. Lots of red and purple fruits. It seemed over the top on Day 1, but not on day 2. This needs either decanting or time. At $22, this is a very good QPR. 50+4+12+18+7=91

2

Still waiting to try my first Donhoff. They are extremely rare in these parts.

3

Bummer, Loren. The '05 Troix Croix (try saying that a few times) is really good, IMHO.

4

Those little Bordeaux usually are good vintage indicator wines. In great vintages like '05 they perform above their classification, but in spotty to awful vintages like 2003 they taste like the vintage (hot, roasted) and underperform as regards to their classifications.