WTN: Lapierre Morgon, Čotar Malvazia & SB, Loew PG

I gladly had the opportunity to meet up with Ive M. for a brief while at the Foxy Wine House (the only wine bar in Helsinki, but happily a very good wine bar). Foxy has a wonderfully imaginative list of wines by the glass. It isn't a list of fancy wines from trendy, Parker-pointy appellations, but rather extremely well made wines from mostly less prestigious areas.

• 2007 Marcel Lapierre Morgon - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon (9/19/2008)
  Wonderfully pure nose, some gravel and raspberry. Fruity but well structured; palate-cleansing, rocky and refreshing aftertaste. Quite wonderful but very primary.
• 2003 Čotar Sauvignon Blanc - Slovenia, Primorska, Vipavska Dolina (9/19/2008)
  An idiosyncratic but endlessly fascinating wine: the nose is very "natural", ripe and almost tropical with its pineapple notes, but it is also dark toned and malty, earthy and quite funky - despite a slight, greenish lift to the scent, the whole is utterly unlike any Sauvignon Blanc I have tasted before. Full bodied, dry, vibrantly fruity and vibrantly acidic: it is all about liveliness. Despite the ripe, tropical fruit notes, the acidity and general feeling of it being very light on its feet make this seem atypical to the heavy, heat-struck 2003s I have mostly had from Europe. Lovely stuff!
• 2004 Čotar Malvazia - Slovenia, Primorska, Vipavska Dolina (9/19/2008)
  A deep golden color; a wonderfully pure nose, yet as usual for Malvazia, quite perfumed. It is a mix of bright and elegant fruit and unctuous floral/rosewater notes - but though it reads like this would be a cloying wine, these sweet scents never become overbearing and the scent is actually very refreshing. Dry but well fruited, well structured: a very pleasant and harmonious whole. Nice!
• 2007 Domaine Loew Pinot Gris Engelberg Grand Cru - France, Alsace, Bas-Rhin, Alsace AOC (9/19/2008)
  Light as water. A wonderful, extremely mineral nose with some red flower notes that might suggest Pinot Gris, but the scent is so restrained and mineral and citrussy that frankly if served blind, I would have said Riesling! Medium bodied, extremely dry, strongly mineral, persistent: for Pinot Gris it is an extremely elegant and understated style. Wonderful stuff.

Posted from CellarTracker

[David M. Bueker]

Wow, 2007 Beaujolais. I'm still seeing the '06s come out. They may be expensive, but you do get them quickly.

Wow, 2007 Beaujolais. I'm still seeing the '06s come out. They may be expensive, but you do get them quickly.

This is the only '07 here; the other Bojos we have are also '06s.

A nice collection of distinctive wines there, Otto. All from Alko?