- 2006 Domaine Joseph Scharsch Crémant d'Alsace Brut Cuvée Préstige - France, Alsace, Crémant d'Alsace (6/4/2008)
As always, this is a very satisfying fizz. A 100% Chardonnay, it is very mineral and citrussy and slightly nutty. It has enough sweetness to the fruit to keep it from being extreme, but it is delightfully crisp. Incredibly mineral aftertaste and very long. Scharsch consistently delivers lovely wines at a low price. Must buy more. - 2006 Domaine Joseph Scharsch Pinot Gris Clos Saint Materne - France, Alsace, Alsace AOC (6/4/2008)
Very strongly mineral, with red fruit and earthiness; full bodied but not as heavy and ponderous as the bad examples are, rather this is very light on its feet. Ripe but very mineral, good grip for the grape. This Clos St. Materne is a step up from the regular Pinot Gris (which is nice in its own right). Lovely.
I love Munster's piercingly earthy scent and its creamy yet strong taste, so I bought two to try with the Gewurztraminer VT that I planned to open. The first Munster was a "normal" Munster Géromé that I ate on the very day the box said it should be consumed by: very strong, very earthy, quite extreme but I loved it - I should let my Munsters develop this far in the future. I find it very hard to describe how the cheese became: paradoxically very dirty tasting yet very clean and refreshing, too. The second was a younger Munster with some cumin/caraway added to it. As lovely as the old, super-stinky example was, I think I might prefer the cleaner, spicier, younger cumin-infused example. But I think extensive experimentation is called for. Sadly, though apparently VT Gewurz is often considered great with the cheese, I found that the cheeses' textures were too challenging for the wines. The softness of the cheeses coated the mouth and caused an unpleasant dirtyness on the aftertaste (very unlike the very pleasant dirtiness of the older Munster, but once again I just can't describe how these dirts differ). I still have trouble in general with pairing wines and cheeses (especially softer ones) and think that beers and honest ciders are a much better match.
- 2005 Domaine Joseph Scharsch Gewürztraminer Vendanges Tardives - France, Alsace, Alsace AOC (6/5/2008)
Elegantly rosewatery, floral and slightly mineral nose - it seems to have a touch of clean botrytis/citrus peel; slightly sweet, extremely pure and transparent and has enough grip to keep it very refreshing, slightly mineral. Very satisfying. Though not a heavy example of Alsace Gewurz, it stood up fairly well to the cheeses, even though I found the texture of Munster difficult to match with wine. - 2002 Gustave Lorentz Pinot Gris Altenberg de Bergheim - France, Alsace, Bergheim, Alsace Grand Cru AOC (6/5/2008)
14% abv; 15 g/l RS; 5 g/l acid; 28,10€. I like the minimalist label. Gold. A very apricotty nose - seemingly quite botrytised, but I wasn't able to confirm that anywhere. It is also very spicy and smells like the glue one uses in making model airplanes. Quite heavy and full bodied, very spicy, adequate acidity, some bitter/botrytis-like elements on the finish. With 14% alcohol, and the overall heavy style, it is more of a winter-warmer white than a summer drink. It needs age and some heavier food (smoked salmon maybe?) and a cooler day to work. But it is a nice wine. I thought the spiciness of Pinot Gris would be nice with the spicier, cuming-infused Muster, and indeed the scents promised much compatibility. Sadly, the textures didn't.
