May Wine Focus: Aromatic Whites!

[Robin Garr]

The subject is wide open, and the definition is really up to you. Viognier and Muscat make the cut, and I think Gewurztraminer and its kin clearly qualify. Torrontes, Scheurebe, you name it, just bring it!

Finishing up a Mercurey red tonight and then I will open a Gewurz from California tomorrow. Will look for some Muscat or Torrontes also.

Definitely add arneis to the list of candidate grapes. I've had some excellent examples of arneis, especially from Roero in Piemonte.

-Paul W.

[David M. Bueker]

Scheurebe and Muskateller are in queue for me.

Since you said the definition is up to us...

2010 Navarro Vineyards Pinot Blanc is a wine that we've recently fallen in love with. It's aromatic in the extreme, with a nose of white flowers and stony minerals, but it's also got a lovely sense of fruit on the palate, mostly in the white peach vein. It's got excellent acidity and a light enough body to pair nicely with food. It is probably my favorite domestic Pinot Blanc, though that's not a particularly high bar.

Mark Lipton

I think I have a couple domestic Arneis wines so maybe I will open one of those this month also but the Gewurztraminer is in the line-up for tonight. I also picked up a Torrontes/Viognier/Chardonnay blend at the grocery store yesterday (15% Chardonnay.) It had been reduced $6.00 in price. The grocery store also had a bottle labeled just Torrontes and I may go back for that later. Will have to check whether I have any Scheurebe left--I may have finished them off.

It seems I have finished my Scheurebe bottles but I have an Italian Arneis and possibly a domestic one.

My fave winestore downtown has about 6/7 Torrontes on the shelf and most would qualify as "crowd pleasers" I feel sure. Wine bar next door had a Balbo open so tried a glass with some light munchies.

WTN: 2011 Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes, Cafayate Arg.

SC, $18 Cdn. Pale lemon in color, nose has some citrus tones, floral, peach.
Dryish entry, good acidity, grapefruit, pineapple, peach. "Canned fruit " comment from fellow taster. I expected more from Ms Balbo, decent everyday but has to be better out there.

***might go back and try the 2011 Vermentino di Sardegna "Costamolino" from Argiolas. I posted on an Argiolas white last year, think it was the `10 vintage?

Gelber Muskateller 2012 - Nigl, Kremstal - (€16). This was my first Muscat from Austria and very good it was too. As often with dry Muscat I got an impression of a mismatch between the fragrant, spicy and exotically fruited nose, which seemed to presage a wine with some sweetness, and the crisp bone dry palate full of minerals and lively acidity in addition to the spice, ginger and exotic fruit from the nose. However, this mismatch, if that is the right word, was stimulating in the way that discords can be in music. Very good 16/20 but I guess to be drunk fairly quickly. The merchant recommends this with asparagus.

I thought the usual Austrian match to asparagus was Gruner Veltliner. Nice notes Bob and Tim to get things rolling.

Tim always seems to come up with some enterprising food/wine matchups, but then his wife appears to be an excellent chef .

In Germany, Austria and Alsace, Muscat is a very popular choice with white Asparagus. Silvaner though, is most peoples ‘go-to’ option and I would guess that the vast majority of German Silvaner is sold in March, April and May (Spargelzeit).

Green Asparagus is of course suitable only for cretins and the criminally insane and shouldn’t be consumed by civilized people.

Cheers,
Bill

I went to the VDP-Pfalz tasting yesterday and among the many Rieslings and Weißburgunders that I tasted were a couple of outstanding Muskatellers and Scheurebes. The Minges 2012 Scheu is a delight -probably as perfect as Scheurebe gets. Pfeffingen was good as usual, but was considerably out-classed by the Minges. Great as always was Rebholz Muskateller trocken which is even better and more expressive than the 2011. The Meßmer Muskateller Feinherb was also a treat, though in a slightly sweeter package (I want to say 24 g/l RZ). I also had an excellent Gewürztraminer Auslese from Bassermann-Jordan which was quite sweet (ca. 65g/l).

Cheers,
Bill

I have had the 2012 Tercero Gewürztraminer The Outlier three times in the last week (once at the tasting room in Los Olivos, a bottle at Los Olivos Cafe with a beet and burrata salad, and last night with sashimi at a Tercero wine dinner). I am very impressed with it. The nose softly says Gewürztraminer, but on the palate it is all mineral and lemon curd, with none of the sweetness, perceived or otherwise, that I find off-putting in most G wines. A terrific food wine.

JD, similar experience with a Gewurz from Alto Adige last night. Will post later today after finishing the bottle.

Acquiesce Winery (Lodi, California)

Their 2011 Roussanne and Viognier (Estate fruit east of Lodi proper) was quite aromatic. I really liked the Rousanne, which had layers of fruit and a real savory note, along with strong floral elements.

The Viognier was relatively light-footed for a warm climate California Viognier, with elegant mouth feel, aromatic peach and floral elements.

Both were very pleasant and worth a trip back in a car (I ran across this small, elegant winery while on a bicycle). They also use unique French bottles that look more like large perfume bottles than traditional wine bottles. (The labels were very Frenchified as well). This winery also produces Grenache Blanc, Picpoul!!!! and a little too sweet rose.

Interesting notes, Brian. You come across some wineries on your bicycle that are unknown to the masses.

[Robin Garr]

I wasn't sure before tasting if Greco would make the grade as an aromatic, but I think it qualifies. Nice wine!

Poggio Anima 2011 "Gabriel" Basilicata Greco ($13.99)

Transparent light gold, with a sprinkle of tiny bubbles on the glass. Fresh white-fruit aromatics, pears and green figs. Mouth-filling and textured, rich but dry and appropriately acidic with food-friendly 12.5@% alcohol. Ripe white fruit and a citric snap in a long, clean finish. U.S. importer: Vine Street Imports, Mt. Laurel, N.J. (April 30, 2013)

FOOD MATCH: I like aromatic whites with dishes kicked up to bold or spicy flavors. It made a fine match with crispy pan-fried tofu on a Thai-style red curry with green peppers, onions, garlic and ginger and just enough heat to get the endorphins working.

WHEN TO DRINK: Greco is generally thought of as a "drink-me-now" wine, and it will certainly reward opening while its white fruit aromatics are ripe and fresh. Its richness and balance, though, suggest that it might evolve in interesting directions with a few years' cellar time. If you like it, it wouldn't take a major investment to give it a try.

VALUE: Well worth a mid-teens retail price. My local price tag is a couple of dollars below the $16 U.S. median price reported on Wine-Searcher.com.

WEB LINK:
Here's a link to the importer's page about the Poggio Anima line, with photo links to its six wines including the "Gabriel" Basilicata Greco.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Wine-Searcher.com shows only a few vendors for Poggio Anima "Gabriel" Basilicata Greco, but U.S. consumers can find distributors in most states on this interactive map from the importer.

Interesting notes, Brian. You come across some wineries on your bicycle that are unknown to the masses.

Well...until I one day decided I was bored with my "usual" wine country (i.e. Sonoma and Napa Counties) riding, I didn't realize there WERE other kinds of wine in Lodi other than Michael David gobs of hedonistic fruit zinfandels.

2011 Joseph Swan Vineyards Gewurztraminer, Saralee's Vineyard, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, CA. 14.1% abv. Pale gold color. Fragrance wafts beyond the glass. Perfumed with spiced stonefruits (initially I thought peach or apricot but later decided it was closer to spiced pear.) Very acidic on the tongue with a crisp,clean feel and a persistent finish. Spiciness is prominent on the palate as well as in the aroma. The first evening I had this with chicken with artichoke and thinly sliced mushrooms, green beans, and baked potato. The second evening I had this with sweet and sour chicken and rice. I thought it paired better with the chicken and artichoke. I could see it going well with spicy Asian fare but the sweet and sour chicken was not spicy. If I were rating this against my favorite wines of any variety it would probably score in the 80's but rating it against other Gewurztraminers I've had, I would rate it 90 or 91 points. I would be curious as to how those who are more familiar with Gewurztraminer from Alsace would rate it.

Seems to me that these Californian Gewurz are gathering some nice attention and rightly so it would appear. My wine from last night was from Alto Adige (will post some notes soon) and it too had some merit. I find most from Alsace too sweet and would think that many there over the pond will scoff at our Gewurz experiences here. I hasten to add that I have also enjoyed some very good wines from the Okanagan, BC.
Barmès-Buecher, Rolly-Gassmann, Dirler-Cadé are names in Alsace to note...along with some Munster cheese.

We popped the [url]2012 Müller-Catoir Haardter Muskateller Trocken[/url] tonight. This is a yearly case purchase for me and one of the few wines that I couldn’t imagine living through springtime without. It is consistently awesome, but at this early stage 2012 is my favorite since 2004. More ginger and acid than usual and a little leaner and more precise than last year. It might be slightly outdone by the Rebholz 2012 Muskateller (as it has been for a couple of years), but what a wine. Wow.

This is no longer labeled ‘Kabinett’ per the new VDP rules, but no worries: besides the omission of that word the style is the same.

Cheers,
Bill

2011 Vietti Roero Arneis. 13% abv. Somewhat floral on the nose with hints of wild flowers, quinine, hay and white pepper. Nice acidity and salinity. Mineral notes on the palate of rocks and streambeds. This would pair well with shellfish but I had some leftover chicken to consume. Another evening I had it with a boiled artichoke with butter/lemon sauce. As a late afternoon snack it went well with a Vermont goat cheese infused with bay leaf. (The label on the cheese suggests pairing the cheese with white wines, Blanc de Blanc Champagne or sparkling wine and Pilsener beers.) I would consider buying this wine again. Retails for about $18-$23 in some New York and California wine shops. I got it on a closeout sale for $5.00.

WTN: 2010 Colterenzio Schreckbichi Gewurztraminer Alto Adige-Sudtirol.

14% alc, $28 Cdn, poor natural cork, opened one hour.

Go-ahead co-operative, has a good track record, remember a delicious Pinot Gris last year.

Color. Medium straw-yellow.

Nose. Typical aromas of rose petals, lycees, tangerine. Quite lively, fragrant.

Palate. Entry is quite dry, medium acidity, not that sweet. Spice, peach, nice depth but quite bitter on day 2. "Orange peel....finish off-putting" from across the table. Never really hit the spot with me however.

Today was warm and I ate outdoors at Blue Moon Cafe having the Blue Moon Signature Salad. I ordered a glass of 2011 La Yunta Torrontes from Famatina Valley, province of La Rioja, Argentina. I found some melon on the nose as the wine list description suggested and possibly some white peach. Pleasant on the palate with unobtrusive touch of oak.