2005 Trousseau, Domaine Rolet, Arbois – hip juice from Eastern France!

Nowadays in New York, if you want to be a hip wine drinker, probably something like a wine-hipster, or let’s just call it winester, there’s no way around Jura wines. Although in most parts of Europe you wouldn’t get a glass of Jura, most of the trendy wine bars and restaurants of New York feature a couple of those singular wines from Eastern France.

Well, luckily I had a chance to be “hip” before the Jura wave swept to Manhattan, when my friend Didier introduced me to the wines of his home region during a trip to Château Chalon. I even got to discover a damn good wine pairing: according to Didier, there’s no better match for a curry then a slightly oxydized Côtes du Jura, and he was probably right. Read the rest of this entry »

Categories: France,Jura

Oster-Essen 2012 – Loup de Mer, “Käsezwischengang” und Weinbegleitungen

Der Hauptdarsteller für das Oster-Essen unter Freunden war schon am Vortag besorgt. Ein 2,3 Kilo Wildfang-Loup de Mer, der frischer nicht hätte sein können. Ausnehmen und schuppen musste ich diesen Kaventsmann selbst, was aber eine leichtere Aufgabe ist als man annehmen könnte. Doch nun gleich mal vorspulen zum Anfang des Abends: Read the rest of this entry »

2005 Chardonnay, Weingut Künstler, Rheingau – Not a Burgundy Killer!

Together with the 2005 Chassagne by Olivier Leflaive, I thought it would be a good idea to open a bottle of German Chardonnay from the same vintage. I actually kept a bottle of 05 Künstler Chardonnay from Rheingau precisely for that purpose. A wine that pleased me a few years ago (Here a TN in German from 2009 and here in English from 2006) and for which I had hopes, or for which I wanted at least to check the ageing potential. Read the rest of this entry »

Categories: Germany,Rheingau

All-Rhône Reds Blind-Tasting

Last thursday we were about 10 wine-buddies gathering at our generous host Nick‘s home for a blind-tasting of red Rhône wines. This time there were absolutely no limits as all reds from all-over the Rhône-region were permitted, drastically differentiating it from our last tasting at Nick’s when only Southern Rhône reds were allowed, as well as from the last blind tasting at my place where boundaries were set by the Syrah varietal, originally stemming from that area but now being planted all over Planet Wine.

This means that each of the 12 bottles we popped that night could be anything from Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage to Côtes du Ventoux and Châteauneuf-Du-Pape, hence also mixing single-varietal wines with those that represent cuvées. As you can see, with each blind-tasting we are slowly encircling what both Rhône and Syrah have to offer. Are we gonna grasp the essence of it tonight? Dream on, dreamer.. Read the rest of this entry »

2005 Cuvée Renaissance, Domaine de Cristia, Châteauneuf-Du-Pape

Ein Wuchtbrumme! 15% steht auf dem Label, und dementsprechend pechschwarz präsentiert sich dieses Elixier im Glas! Die Nase reiht sich ebenfalls ein: Schwarze Beeren als Likör, eine deutliche Ankündigung.
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Am Gaumen dann der erwartete Überschwang mit einer deutlichen Prise Alkohol. Schwarze Beeren, Schwarze Kirschen, etwas Kräuterbitter, wie eine Essenz aus Lorbeerblatt und Wachholder doch mit einem Kräftigen Schuss Alkohol. Read the rest of this entry »

Categories: France,Rhône

Restaurant “Wistub Du Sommelier” in Bergheim, Alsace

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For a friends and family get-together in Alsace, The “Riesling-region” of France, we had a reservation at Antje and Patrick Schneider‘s Wistub du Sommelier in the pittoresque village Bergeim. I stumbled upon this restaurant when looking for an interesting place in the surroundings of Ribeauvillé and coincidently found a recommendation on someone’s facebook status, I think it was Panos Kakaviatos who was posting about a meal there – again, the blogosphere proves to be very useful.

We arrived in the region in the afternoon of a beautiful September day, and after checking in to our hotel, we were all set for a joyful dinner at the Wistub. Read the rest of this entry »

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