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WTN: A day in Alsace in August 2007

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David from Switzerland

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WTN: A day in Alsace in August 2007

by David from Switzerland » Sun Sep 02, 2007 3:26 pm

Spent a day in Alsace with my sister, having a great lunch out, followed by two quick winery visits, at Trimbach in Ribeauvillé and Roger Jung in Riquewihr.

Guy Wach Riesling Vieilles Vignes Kastelberg 2001
Ordered from a restaurant wine list. Guy Wach is a producer I have had in mind to visit for years, and whose wines I look for on restaurant wine lists when in the mood for something less costly than e.g. my beloved Trimbach CFE and CSH. I have yet to drink a less than excellent quality bottle of his Kastelberg Riesling, and this was probably the finest yet. Apricot, nicely thick and lightly viscous mouthfeel, off-dry though not sweet, hard to tell how much residual sugar this holds, a wine that goes as well with food as any. Nicely medium- to full-bodied. Attractively minerally, soft as if evenly distributed minerally-tannic bitter note. Balanced and smooth on the quite long finish. Extremely tasty! Definitely worth seeking out, and likely to be a terrific QPR. Rating: 90+/91

Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Émile 2001
Marketed a year after the 2003, and for good reason. A higher-acid CFE with an unusual, hard to describe, very attractive floral top note to grassy-minerally hay. Nice body, faint yet pretty bitter note, sound dry extract, minerally, viscous and minimally off-dry (not sweet, of course), very long. First time I have tasted the 2001, so far I seem to prefer the 2000 (especially its purity and precision), and in particular, the 2001 Vendanges Tardives (some residual sugar rarely hurts matter in high-acid vintages). Rating: 90+?

Trimbach Riesling Vendanges Tardives Cuvée Frédéric Émile 2001
Similar florality as the non-VT, a touch sweet apricot. Concentrated, impressive dry extract, a seemingly dry and viscous rather than sweet VT, tiny underlying bitter note that is most lovely. Bit tannic on the surface. Imposing, ripe acidity. A very minerally and Riesling-typical wine. Having said that, neither 2001 showed quite the purity of the respective 2000, at least at this early stage. The comparison between the 2001 and 2000 CFE VTs reminds me of that between the 1989 and 1990 – that is how good these two vintages are, or almost. The difference is that initially, I thought the 1989 superior to the 1990, but over the years found it increasingly impossible to decide which is “better” – they are really more different in vintage characteristics than quality. My perception is inverted this time: while I find the higher-acid 2001 similarly difficult to judge as the 1989 back then, I found it hard to tell whether it holds as much reserve fruit at the core – or possibly even more? 1990 and 2000 are more exotically-fruited, lower- and/or riper-acid, although not necessarily more opulent; 1989 and 2001 perhaps more structured, or simply relying more on their mineral and acid backbone. I would not want to do without any of them. Rating: 92+/93(+?)

Roger Jung Riesling Schoenenbourg Cuvée Léna 2000
Slightly evolved compared to when I last had this two years ago. The same medium-sweet wine with slightly warming alcohol. Some viscosity. Although still my favourite effort here since 1997, but still light, deficient in extract and length, and apparently not improving, this seems to have lost intensity. Even so, still the best among the “dry” versions we got to taste. Rating: 87-/86

Roger Jung Riesling Rosacker 2003
The embodiment of the negative characteristics of the vintage, exotic, flabby, light, like slightly alcoholic water. Rating: 82-

Roger Jung Riesling Rosacker 2002
A bit firmer, with nicer acids, much longer, some herbs, basil mainly. Fairly dry. Rating: 85+/-?

Roger Jung Riesling Vendanges Tardives Schoenenburg 1998
From half bottle. Darkly minerally, rather smoky in a slightly weird, though not off-putting, way. Balanced without being concentrated. Fair enough intensity. Medium-short on the finish. Rating: 84+/85-?

Roger Jung Riesling Vendanges Tardives Schoenenburg 2000
From half bottle. Fuller-bodied, more grassy-herbal and intense, minerally without being smoky, longer. Firmest and most intense of the three VTs. Rating: 86+

Roger Jung Riesling Vendanges Tardives Schoenenburg 1999
From half bottle. Bit rubbery (botrytis), nice enough early-harmonious fruit and minerals, medium-light, a bit cloying. Typical of the vintage, albeit mainly the less attractive characteristics. Rating: ~85

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
Last edited by David from Switzerland on Sat Sep 15, 2007 3:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: WTN: A day in Alsace in August 2007

by David M. Bueker » Sun Sep 02, 2007 3:41 pm

David,

Thank you very much for the insight on the 2001 CFE cuvees. I have a single bottle of the 2001 CFE (regular) ready for testing that will probably get opened later in the fall. There's also one bottle of 2001 CSH set for a similar fate. I have not yet seen the 2001 CFE VT for sale here, nor did the 2000 CFE (regular) ever make it into my market, though I did get some 2000 CFE VT.
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