2007 Fürst Centgrafenberg Franken Riesling (Franken, Germany) cork closure, 12.5% – this was a pretty basic taste of very tart apple and concrete, very simple but its simplicity didn’t seem to wear well, I didn’t mind the taste profile, but never found anything about it worth sinking my teeth into, right now it’s not drinking worth the 16 euro I paid. I lost my notes on it, but I recently had the 2006 Hans Wirsching Iphöfer Kronsberg Franken Riesling Spätlese trocken which performed much better with a very firm backbone, slightly rigid but with great fruit. At 13 euro, I liked that one a lot better.
2006 Johann Ruck Iphöfer Julius-Echter-Berg Franken Riesling Großes Gewächs Trocken TRIAS (Franken, Germany) screwcap closure, 13% - smell a powerful perfumed nose, sharp green and super inviting, taste subtle awesome zip, tangy earthy, hint of power, intense but fun, slippery enough to put forward a delightful side to match its intensity, intensely chalky toward heat, but the intensity is far more multidimensional than just high alcohol, I imagine a lot of folks would not care for this wine, I, however, adored it, and it was a gasping match for some lively salad, expensive at 21 euro, but I had no problem with that price
2004 Kellerei/Cantina Terlan Alto Adige/Südtirol Lagrein Gries Riserva (Alto Adige/Südtirol DOC, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy) cork closure, 12.5% - wow, was this nice, dark and beautiful color, with lots of hay and herbs on the nose, the taste was delicious, tons of acid that made it incredibly delicious as a food wine, it paired excellently with both delicate squash blossoms as well as a porterhouse steak, lots of graphite on the finish, a wine I would be happy to never stop drinking, a bit more versatility here than I would have expected, but lagreins just make for delicious wines, paid around 11 euro for this beauty. From producer: Must fermentation in stainless steel vats, controlled fermentation technique and must movement malolactic fermentation and ageing in big oak casks (80%) and in barriques (20%); Ageing ability: 8-10 years.
2004 Lamborn Family Howell Mountain Zinfandel Echo Vintage (Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, northern California, USA) cork closure, 14.9% – wow, I didn’t know what to expect here, when I purchased the wine from the proprietors, I actually wasn’t the biggest fan of it, as the alcohol seemed shrill and the wine overly intense, but I wanted to buy something and the cabernet sauvignon, though incredible delicious, was priced out of my range and unavailable, so I bought this, threw it in the back of all the other wines, and hoped time would make something of it, did it ever, beautiful dark appearance, smell sweet fruit, tar, and gasoline, made me worry about the alcohol though the nose was delicious, but the taste was divine, the sweetness of the fruit had greatly faded and there was even a bit of savory tartness sticking out, the finish was an incredible pow of ginger snaps again and again, very much a zing to it, and though the flavor profile sounds overwhelming it was delicious and not tiring to the last drop and I would have leaped for more, add to that that it paired excellently with a spicy shrimp pasta and I would say I can’t believe my undeserved luck for buying this wine at $29, this was one of the most memorable wines I have had in a while