WTNs: Three from Florida Jim and Steinmetz Spatlese

I greatly enjoy reading Florida Jim’s unoaked notes and was curious to try some of the wines he’s talked about recently. For a tasting last night I brought together two reds that he (and Dale also) liked plus another that he was lukewarm about but which I happened to have lying around. While waiting for everyone to arrive we opened a Chilean sauvignon, and a friend brought the Kiwi sauvignon that started the tasting proper. We ended with a 1994 spatlese that was recently offered by Chambers at an absurdly low price and was also picked up by Dale, Jenise, and Walt.

2006 Casa Marin Matisses Sauvignon San Antonio Valley 13.5%
Finally the penny drops on capsicum. The nose screams capsicum. The taste screams capsicum. Fresh and with good body, but too one note samba for me. A disappointment, from a winery that has been getting good reviews.

2007 Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough Regional Collection 12.5%
Nose is primarily passion fruit with… capsicum. When it rains, it pours. Creamy, good body, on the light side, with good acidity. Nice but simple.

2005 Dão Alvaro Castro 13.0%
A blend of touriga nacional and alfrocheiro. A lower level entry from Quinta da Pellada. Attractive animal nose with sweat, cassis, and green stems. Notable acidity, quite tannic and astringent. With time, the nose became curiously pinot-like, except belied by the astringent tannins. Liked this quite a bit, certainly much more than I expected.

2004 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Calderara Sottana 14.0%
Aromas of olives, cocoa and glue. Quite tannic and astringent, light to medium body, very pleasant cherry. Alcohol well integrated. Nice, but perhaps I expected more.

2001 Sella Lessona Alto Piemonte 13.0%
Reticent, not offering much more than cherry on the nose at first. Also quite tannic and astringent, with very good acid/fruit balance. Seems a little tight, perhaps somewhat closed. Divided into eight servings, it didn’t really last long enough to open up. I’ll try the next bottle with a smaller group.

1994 Steinmetz Mosel Muhlheimer Sonnenlay Spatlese 8.0%
Intense petrol nose, with lemon, asparagus and geranium notes. Sour, low in RS, I found this to be unbalanced. The nose continued to be very rich but I found the petrol just too overwhelming. As a dessert wine, alas, it was a failure, surely my fault for positioning it incorrectly. With more sweetness, it might have worked – the auslese of this must be in a good place now. Perhaps I got what I paid for. I am very curious to hear what Dale, Jenise, and Walt will have to say about this.

2004 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Calderara Sottana 14.0%

I haven't had this one, but liked their rosato, and the Biondi Etna Rosso. Overall I've been happy to discover Etnas, as they have seem to have a more elegant style than what my prejudices are re Sicily

2001 Sella Lessona Alto Piemonte 13.0%
Not offering much more than cherry on the nose at first. Also quite tannic and astringent, with very good acid/fruit balance. Seems a little tight, perhaps somewhat closed.

I really like this, but some air definitely helps/

1994 Steinmetz Mosel Muhlheimer Sonnenlay Spatlese 8.0%
Intense petrol nose, with lemon, asparagus and geranium notes. Sour, low in RS, I found this to be unbalanced. The nose continued to be very rich but I found the petrol just too overwhelming. As a dessert wine, alas, it was a failure, surely my fault. With more sweetness, it might have worked – the auslese of this must be in a good place now. Perhaps I got what I paid for. I am very curious to hear what Dale, Jenise, and Walt will have to say about this.

Sadly, I have no clue. I ordered some from CSW , but they ran out before my order was completed. I was disappointed, I know Salil and others really liked. But I definitely wouldn't serve a '94 Spatlese as a dessert wine.

Thanks for notes!

[David M. Bueker]

I'm going to throw this one out there & see if the cat licks it up (or Lucy grabs it off the table)...

There's a reason 14 year old wines from unknown producers are available. They are not very good. I have seen so many offers from the mid-90s from producers who were either never on the map (e.g. Steinmetz) or fell off (e.g. Schloss Schonborn), and the few times I have tasted the wines they were mediocre at best. There have been oohs and ahhs from some about the wonderful aged Riesling, but for the most part it's been from folks who didn't have the chance to age their own and had to take what they could get.

I say: buyer beware.

I'm going to throw this one out there & see if the cat licks it up (or Lucy grabs it off the table)...

There's a reason 14 year old wines from unknown producers are available. They are not very good. I have seen so many offers from the mid-90s from producers who were either never on the map (e.g. Steinmetz) or fell off (e.g. Schloss Schonborn), and the few times I have tasted the wines they were mediocre at best. There have been oohs and ahhs from some about the wonderful aged Riesling, but for the most part it's been from folks who didn't have the chance to age their own and had to take what they could get.

I say: buyer beware.

I don't think anyone claimed the Steinmetz was challenging Prum or other top estates. But I don't know anyone else who bought at $16 recently who felt shortchanged (and that includes at least one friend who has been cellaring much wine longer than I have). Personally I wish I'd tried. But if served as a dessert wine I think most mature Spatlese will come across as insufficently sweet. Maybe a 2003 or 2005, but little else.

The Steinmetz is not a dessert wine by any means (and these days there are Kabinetts that are sweeter and richer than that). It's a pleasant food wine with (what I found to be) nice petrol, smoke, pear and grapefruit flavours and a little bit of bitterness on the back. Not a stellar wine - but I paid $16 for it from Chambers and was very happy with it as something quite interesting & enjoyable to have with good food at a great value.

In response to David's comment - I've found some of these older Rieslings to be a little hit and miss, but I have come across some really nice ones as well. A 1990 Schloss Schonborn Spatlese I had earlier this year was very good (and was one of the best wines I've had from that estate).

FWIW, I have found a good deal of bottle variation in the Lessona.
Best, Jim