2004 Schoffit Harth Alsace Gewurztraminer Cuvée Alexander Vieilles Vignes (France, Alsace, Haut-Rhin, Alsace AOC) 13.5% – appears darker gold hue, beautiful, smell bit perfumed, big honeyed pineapple, hint of zest, sweet yet light, mouthfeel good bound-together texture, tight, almost syrup-like, taste wonderful delightful entry, nectar, honeyed elements, good 5-6 distinct flavors floating around, intense, then emerges great lurking darkness of bitter root, grapefruit and pineapple rind, stark and wonderful element that gives wine great standing, the finish is absolutely awesome—crisp and refreshing, the wine has stunning balance and did the trick for me keeping me intrigued all the way through, worked well paralleling the constellation of flavor in my latest attempt at spargel and new potatoes, the different elements of this wine play excellently off of each other—a wine that kept me on my toes, would love to revisit again
2005 Heinrich Braun Rheinhessen Riesling Kabinett Trocken (Rheinhessen, Germany) 12.5% – appears bright gold, tiny bit of fizz clinging, smell apple, melon, green apple jolly rancher, mouthfeel hint of spritz, bit heavy texture at first, but lightens up a bit, taste crisp apple, quite crunchy with refreshing tartness, hint of minerals, crisp, clean finish, almost one dimensional overall with tart apple skins, good simple flavor profile, but bit too heavy and weighty on tongue—something lighter would have worked better
N.V. Acorex Wine Holding Cabernet Sauvignon Acorex Select (Moldova) 13% – appears dense purple, lots of visible fizz residue, smell burnt blackberry, bit cough inducing, with air, heavy and thick hanging fruit, rather simple nose, mouthfeel medium-heavy, obvious spice, taste thick berry fruit, lots of spice, but not too badly integrated, cool on tongue, very simple drinkable wine, nothing special about it, but okay enough not to offend, stays a bit tart which is a nice alternative for the sickingly jammy fault for many wines in its price range (about US$6)