Wachau Riesling and Cotes Du Jura Chardonnay

 Time to step outside of Italy for some white wine from Austria and France. First is a the Riesling wine from the Region of Wachau in Austria. It is called Selection Riesling and is made by Domäne Wachau. it is a big producer and the cooperative owns at least 420 hectars of vineyards and that is almost 30% of the vineyards in Wachau. The wine is of the vintage 2019 and the ABV is 13%. In the taste I get pear, melon and some stoney minerality, A nice easy drinking Riesling.

The next wine is  Chardonnay from the Cotes Du Jura region in France. The producer is Fruitiere Vinicole D'Arbois which is a cooperative having 250 hectars of land and consist of 100 members. The vintage is 2019 and the ABV is 13,5. This is  dry style Chardonnay with a taste of pear and apple with some grapefruit. A good wine but some higher acidity would have lifted the wine.

Dr Loosen Riesling Spätlese Graacher Himmelreich 2007

Dr Loosen Riesling Spätlese Graacher Himmelreich 2007 is a bottle that I bought together with the  Dr F. Weins-Prüm Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese 2006. It will be interesting to see how these two different wines have developed.

In the taste I get apricot, citrus and some peach. It has kept up well for being so old but I am lacking some acidity to balance this wine and get it up to the excellent Dr F Weins-Prüm wine. For this wine I would say drink now, it won't get better and the chance is that it will get worse.

Dr F. Weins-Prüm Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese 2006

For a couple blog posts I will look at some older wine that I have tasted. First up is the Dr F. Weins-Prüm Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese 2006. It is made with 100% Riesling and Spätlese means that the grapes are picked at least seven days after normal harvest. This means that the grapes will have a higher sugar content and probably that the wine will be a bit sweet. The ABv is 8,5%. This wine is from Mosel in Germany and this area is famous for their Riesling wines. Graacher Dompropst steeply rises directly above the village of Graach. Dompropst is an enclave of Graacher Himmelreich, and is thus the core part of the Graach sites.

The wine has a lovely light amber colour which shows  that this wine has been aged for over a decade. The nose is very nice. The taste is of minerals, honey and some sugar with a high acidity. It is an excellent wine which were a bit sweeter than I expected but it goes wonderful together with salmon. It can also be drank as a meditation wine.

Two wines from the mountains of Italy

Several mountain regions of Italy produce good wine. Two of them are Valle D'Aosta and Trentino-Alto Adige. The first bottle is the Petit Arvine from Les Cretes in Valle D'Aosta. Petit Arvine is a grape mostly planted in Switerland but also in Valle D'Aosta due to the close proximity to Switzerland. I have visited Les Cretes and it is situated in a beautiful spot in the valley of Aosta. The wine is of the vintage 2018 and the ABV is 13,5%. I get pear, lemon and some grapefruit on the taste. Powerful but quite fresh.

Next up is a wine from Trentino-Alto Adige and the producer Abbazia di Novacella or Stiftskellerei Neustift as it is known in German. The wine is Praepositus Riesling of the vintage 2017 and the ABV is 13%. There is a lovely smell on the nose. On the taste I get minerals, some peach, honey and some citrus, Lovely clean riesling.

The white wines from Germany and Italy

Sometimes I try some rieslings from Germany since the rieslings in Germany can give very good wines. The last one I tried was Georg Breuer and the Sauvage riesling from 2018.  Georg Breuer is a producer in the region of Rheingau. The ABV of this vintage is 12%. In the taste I get green apple, petroleum and some minerals. In the aftertaste I get some slight bitter almonds. A nice riesling.

The next wine comes from Italy and the region of Sicily. It is the wine Colomba Platino from the producer Duca Di Salaparuta. It is the vintage 2016 and the ABV is 12,5%. The grape used is 100% Inzolia or Ansonica as it is also known as. It is a native grape to Sicily and is quite rare. In the taste I get peach, apple and some citrus with some tropical fruits in the back, This is a very good white wine from Sicily.

For the last wine is we go from the south to the north and the region Friuli Venezia Guilia. I have tasted wine from Villa Chiopris before and this time it is their wine Sauvignon Blanc from 2014 that I have tasted. This wine is five years old and that is quite old for being a white wine. In the taste I get tropical fruit with goosberry and apple. Very nice and fresh despite being five years old. Together with spicy food this wine becomes even better. So try it with spicy food and you will not be disappointed.

White wines from La Staffa, Fontanafredda and Rocca di Montemassi

This time I have one new wine and two wines with a new vintage.

First up is the new experience and that is the wine Verdicchio from La Staffa. This wine is produced by Ricardo Baldi who is a wine producer near the village of Staffolo in the Marche region and makes about 2500 cases of wine a year. This Verdicchio is of the vintage 2017 and the ABV is 13%. This is a very fresh Verdicchio. I get apples and minerals in the taste. Probably the best Verdicchio that I have ever tasted.

Next up is one favourite producer for me, namely Fontanafredda situated in Piemonte. I have tasted this wine before but it was another vintage. The vintage is 2015 and the ABV is 12,5%. This is a white wine made of the grapes Chardonnay and Nascetta. Being a rare grape is true of Nascetta as at one time it was only grown around the hamlet of Novello in Piemonte. Now it is more spread around in Piemonte.How is the taste? It is a very fresh wine with some tropical fruit, honey, apple and some acidity. As last time it was very good.

Driving from Montalcino towards Pitigliano in southern Tuscany one passes by the town of Montemassi. It is situated on top of a hill and is dominated by old Rocca (castle) looming over the village. Here they produce a wine called Calasole made of Vermentino.I have tasted several vintages of this wine such as 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 and they have all been good. The 2018 vintage gives me green apple, papaua, citrus ad some almonds in the taste. A very fresh and fruity wine. This is the best vintage that I have tasted from this producer.

Three wines from Cantina Lavis

Cantina Lavis is a producer in the region of Trentino in the the northern part of Italy. The first wine is a Riesling wine from 2017 with and ABV of 12,5%. It has a lovely tropical fruit smell on the nose. The taste is of pineapple, citrus and some more tropical fruits. A nice wine.

Next up is a Müller Thurgau from 2017 with an ABV of 12,5% also. The nose on this one is great, with pears and flowers. The taste is of pear, citrus and floral notes. Very nice and a good drinking wine.

The last wine is a red wine made from Lagrein grapes and the vintage is 2017. The wine has a very dark ruby colour. Almost an earthy smell on the nose. On the taste I get blueberries and some plums with some leathery notes and viols. A very good young red wine.

White wine from Alsace and Umbria

I like white wine from the Alsace region in France. They are usually very good. A producer that I have tried some wine from is Cave de Turckheim. Now it is time for their Riesling from 2013 which is organically made. The smell is quite nice but for me the taste is lacking a bit. A bit to light for me with citrus notes. Not a Riesling I would buy again.

White wine from Umbria is not that common here in Sweden. I found a bottle Conte della Vipera from 2014 from producer Marchesi Antinori. This vintage contains 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 40% Semillion. So it is international grape varieties in this bottle. The wineyards for this wine is at 250-350meters of height. The taste is of pears and grapefruit and is very nice. I like this wine.

From Austria to Italy

I have tried the riesling wine from weingut Stadt Krems in Steinterrassen earlier, now I have tried the vintage from 2011.  It is still excellent. The colour is straw yellow with some hits of green.  A lot of acid, excellent structure and so good. I wish I had more bottles at home. Despite the alcohol level is only 12,5 % it goes well together with heavier food such as schnitzel.

The region of Trentino/Alto Adige produces some of Italys finest white wines. I have tried the producer Mezzacorona white dry wine PG. The grapes for this wine is Pinot Grigio and are from the wineyards in the dolomites in the Trentino area. It has an alcohollevel of 13% and is from 2013. The taste if of pears, citrus and some grapefruit in the aftertaste. A good wine.

One place in Italy I would like to visit is the island of Elba, until then I have to do with wine from the island. I have tasted an Elba Bianco from producer Aquabona. It is from 2010 and with an alcohol level of 12,5 %. It is flavourful, some acidity and have a taste of peaches. A very good food wine.

Back to Germany with a riesling

A riesling from Germany is never wrong and to drink something that is not available from Systembolaget is nice. Adam Müller is a wine producer of nine generations in Baden. The wine is a Leimener Herrenberg Kabinett made of Riesling from 2011. The colour is straw yellow and it smells of citrus. It tastes of citrus, grapefruit and minerals. There is a very long strong aftertaste of grapefruit. Very good.

Two Italians and a return to Dr Loosen.

For my homecooked Taglatelli al ragu I had a bottle of Bepi Deeto, a merlot from 2012. It is a wine from the Colli Trevigiani area in the Veneto region of Italy with an alcohol level of 14,5%. The colour if very deep red, almost black and it need some time to open up. It tasted better the day after. The taste of black currant and some tobacco. Very strong and definately a food wine.

The sparkling wines from Italy that I have tried have been good and Berlucchi Cuvee Imperiale is no different. This sparkling wine if from the Franciacorta DOGC in northern Italy. It has a taste of bread and citrus and works very well with cheese and salami. Very good.

It has been some time I had a sweet wine despite sweet wines being my favourite type of wine. I was not impressed with the Dr Loosen 2006 Riesling beerenauslese when I first had a taste of it but I discovered one bottle at home and opened it up. Time works miracles. Now it is very good with a strong riesling taste and the acid to match it. Excellent wine, it just needed two years of extra storage.

Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt 1999 Scharzhofberger auslese

Not many times that I have the chance to try a wine 14 years old and that does not cost a fortune. This was quite cheap so my expectations were not that high. Did they sell it out because it was going bad and had to get rid of it or maybe no one likes old rieslings?

The nose of the wine was very good. Apples and a very typical riesling smell. Very nice. The taste was good. I missed a bit of acid and it felt like it had reached its peak and would go down in a years time. Very delightful summer wine and happy time for me as old rieslings are good.

A trio of white wines

Sine the last time I had the chance to try three different white wine, two from Alsace and one from Alto Adige (Süd Tyrol).

First up is a riesling wine by Jean Biecher. The nose is fresh while the taste is of citrus, white peppar and some grapefruit. The finish is dry. Nice wine. The second wine from Alsace is a Pinot Gris from Bestheim. The nose reminds me of spices while the taste is dry, some apples and a hint of spices. Tastes good.

The last wine is from one of my favourite wine regions namely Alto Adige (Süd Tyrol). It is a Pinot Grigio from 2009 by producer Joseph Hofstätter. I have tasted the Gewürztraminer by Joseph Hofstätter two years ago and it was very good and it will be intresting to see how this will be. The nose if of fruits and the taste stays long on the palate. The taste reminds me of green apples and it has some acids. Delightful.

Domaene Gobelsburg 2011 Riesling

This time I leave Italy but I don't travel that far. Just across the border to Austria, namely the district Niederösterreich which is situated furthest north in Austria. Gobelsburg has been making wine since 1171 when the Cistertian monks founded their monastery. Schloss Gobelsburg has 35 hectares of wineyards and these wineyards were taken care of by the monks until 1995. And the monks had always used organic fertilisers and abstained from pesticides. In 1996 Michael & Eva Moosbrugger took over the management of the property. The Domaene Gobelsburg from 2011 is made from Riesling grapes.
The smell is pleasent and the taste is of citrus and has a lot of acidity. Leaves a long lingering aftertaste. Very good wine.

Dr Loosen against Juliusspital

Two sweet German wines. Both made from Riesling grapes but from different regions. The 2009 Riesling Auslese Juliusspital if from Würzburger Stein. It has a very delicate flavour. The sweetness of this wine is very light to the taste and it feels very fresh. Only 7.5% alcohol makes it very easy to drink. Despite the bottle being 500 ml it was consumed very quickly. As usual with the Franken wines the bottle is a Bocksbeutel. Not the normal wine bottle. The Dr. Loosen Riesling Beerenauslese is from Mosel and is 7.0%. This is the first time I have seen such a small winebottle, only 187 ml. This rich dessert wine is made from grapes afflicted with botrytis (noble rot). It has a light colour not as amber as they usually are. The smells is of nectarines. Has a taste of honey and is a bit intense. I think with a couple of more storage this will become even better. So which one is the best? I would prefer the Juliusspital for warm summer evenings while Dr. Loosen for autumn and spring.

Domaine Zind-Humbrecht

Some while ago I tested two wines from Alsace from the producer Domaine Zind-Humbrecht. This producer is situated in the village Turckheim in Alsace very close to the German border. The two wines tasted was one very dry Riesling from 2007, the second one was a Vendange Tardive from 2002 made on Pinot Gris grapes. The rieling dry wine is probably the best dry rielsing wine I have ecer tasted. From what I remeber the taste was excellent. Vendange Tardive means late harvest in french and are made from late harvested grapes bot not any grapes afflicted with botrytis. The result is a wine full of great richness. And this Verdange Tradive from 2002 is excellent. Such good taste that I can almost drink it as a normal wine. Unfortunately I could not find any more bottles of this wine aftre I tasted as it had sold out.

Stadt Krems Steinterrassen Riesling 2008

Stadt Krems Steinterrassen Riesling 2008 is from Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstat. It has a very good structure and the taste is of mineral with some hints of peaches. Suprisingly it works very well together wth roastbeef , deer and pork. Very good and higly recommended. Lovely Riesling, now I must try some of their other wines.