Last week over a three day period we made it to 4 different Thanksgiving dinners... Had a lot of fun with different wines thought I'd share some notes. Please know these are in no particular order.
2015 St. Urbans-Hof Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Kabinett
Very expressive nose. Very floral with a ton of fruit! Apple, pear, guava even a hint of pineapple. Comes off sweeter than your normal Kabinett, possibly because of a slightly ripe vintage? Great value and honestly just a shell of what it will likely evolve into. Worked well with Turkey dinner, as stated on the sweeter side but with cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie was delicious
2006 Argyle Pinot Noir Spirithouse
Under screwcap and shows no sign of aging. If it continues to age at this pace will survive forever... Red and black fruit, and a lot of it. Also has an animal edge I just loved. Had a very old world profile with a little extra fruit. Almost a smokey aroma on it as well. Forest floor, barnyard and fruit... Medium tannins, but they are soft. Elevated acidity that just cuts through it... I loved this with Turkey dinner, also worked well with the ham. Argyle is one of those producers that never seems to get much love but I find their wine to be great quality. I also love that even their highest level reserve wine is under screwcap!
2013 Françoise & Denis Clair Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Sur Le Sentier Du Clou
A bit too young. Tart cranberry, elevated acidity, medium tannins and medium bodied. Started to develop after being open an hour. Not as earthy as I was hoping for but good clean tart fruit. Opened this the day before Thanksgiving and had with Steak, mushrooms and Époisses, but saved a glass to try with Thanksgiving. Not bad, but I did prefer the Argyle with Thanksgiving, had a little more body to stand up to all the different choices.
2012 Erbhof Unterganzner - Josephus Mayr Kerner
I picked up a ton of these recently on clearance and thought it could be a good fit for Thanksgiving so I brought it along. Dry with phenolic bitterness, apple peal, citrus and a hint of a floral aspect. Medium to medium plus acidity, with medium body. Not my favorite pairing, but I still really like Kerner
2015 Fausse Piste Syrah Garde Manger
Really interesting Syrah from Washington. Had the pepper aromas I expect from Syrah, but none of the funk I was hoping for. Fausse Piste is a “Natural” producer and I was surprised how clean this was. Was lighter bodied than many syrah and showed red fruits as well. Actually worked well with Turkey and Cranberry.
2015 Red Newt Cellars Dry Riesling
New York Dry Riesling. Reminded me of Aussie Riesling without as much lime zest. Had a mineral edge, but also was a little lacking in fruit… Most people really liked the wine, which was truly dry, many “dry” Rieslings I find to have residual sugar, but this did not show any. I thought it was decent, but will stick to Austria and Alsace for my dry Rieslings
2011 Domaine Berthet Bondet Côtes du Jura Tradition Blanc
This is essentially a baby Vin Jaune, but with Chardonnay mixed in with the Savignin. Aged 4 years in a barrel, which they allow the “voile” (mold similar to flor in sherry) to grow in. I’m all for a weird funky different wine, but this was tough even for me. Not as funky ands out there as Vin Jaune, but no fruit to make up for it… Like they went half way and then just stopped and it taste like half a wine, just something missing. I have 5 more so I’m hoping another 20 years will do the trick...
2012 Sanctum Winery Pinot Noir
Slovenian Pinot Noir, why not? I actually thought this was great with Thanksgiving dinner! Not as much depth as some of the other wines, but just went well. Tasted of tart red fruit and medium to light in body. Great food wine and a winner!
2014 Clos Ste. Magdeleine Cassis
Floral nose, with a lot of peach and nectarine aromas. Medium body and a great balance. I love this wine, but didn’t work the best with Thanksgiving.
2014 Domaine Laurent Gauthier Morgon Côte du Py Vieilles Vignes
Great depth of flavor for a Beaujolais! Worked great with dinner also. Did show aroma of Bubble Gum, but wasn’t overpowering. Also had a lot of earthy aromas and some tart fruit. I see why BoJo is a classic pairing for Thanksgiving it worked very well.
