"Confrontational Therapy" Protocol 2022

Throughout the past year I confronted my palate with grape varieties I usually do not enjoy all too much. Diplomatically put! Yes, I very much “enjoy” to confront myself with personal prejudice or other not all too pleasurable matters. In case of fermented grape juice, it might be a rather easy undertaking. In case other engagements, objects, affairs etc it is most certainly much more challenging. Anyway, I digress ... as always! For my palatal confrontation 2022 I've tried to select wines very carefully. Most of them have been consumed fully and over several days. A few were limitedly consumed over at least two days and subsequently these ones continue their rest-existence elsewhere. For instance the existence in a not all too shabby sauce or just venturing out into world of the discharge pipes and beyond. Furthermore I do not wish to bore the engaged reader longer than absolutely necessary – hence this time I will try to keep my tasting notes as concise as possible. Sometimes probably insufficiently short. I suppose a correlation between enthusiasm towards a specific wine and the length of the corresponding tasting note might be rather evident. Enough! Let's get it over with ...

Let's start with the Provance'ish Revelette Pure Rouge VdF from 2017. It was produced from 100 % Grenache. Well recommended by numerous unnamed sommeliers. It showed pretty clean and clear fruit – slightly superimposed though, some farm life as well, unfortunate mulled wine spices, a lot of orange liquor, even more mildly sweet licorice and a very substantial as well as disturbing punch of alcohol. Very very simple structured and overall quite infantile. Pizzawine! For me unfortuantely outrageously boring so la-la***. Les Terres Blanches Gamay de Bouze 2018 from the Loire valley showed very sappy, presented solid depth, pronounced acid, plenty of dark berries, no resemblances of granite tarmac spice BoJo sytle and almost a hint of elegance! Much more like a lean and not too spicy Syrah! Fun stuff! Decent****. Maison Trimbach Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre 2007 … which is pure Gewürztraminer!!! Plenty of exotic fruit aromas of orange zest, guava, tons of rambutan and mangosteen escorted by shy aubergines, linseed oil, perhaps some fish oil, more orange essence, slightly candied, a lot of smoke and even more salt. Not too sweet at all, still super young and really complex! Quite overwhelming character with a lot depth! Very decent *****! Very surprising! Having written that, surely not very suitable for a bender. 4 Gotes 2014 by Alfredo Arribas from Priorat – which was another Grenache. Unusually floral nose intermingling with sauvage fragrances of animals incl. their sweat. Nice spice from slate, a bit fleshy resp. meaty (horse) character, dark and quite restrained berry fruit. Pretty simple structure, however no superimpositions at all, no alcohol dominance and plenty of mostly respectably harmonious character! Not really me, but surly downright decent****! Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss Moenchberg Pinot Gris Vendages Tardives 1997 from Alsace! Tons of sugar and honey packed with life and character. Plenty of sage, some caramel, cinnamon, pepper and patê. Quite flinty for a Pinot Gris from limestone. Not chubby at all. Definitely a bit challenging. Proper profoundness! Corresponding food most certainly required! Absolutely far away from being boring - unlike 99% of all its fellow Pinot Gris. Very decent****. The Dolcetto d'Alba 2020 from Luca Roagna was surprisingly open and luckily absolutely not driven by cherry chewing gum or irritatingly beastly acid. Quite fluffy, velvety, chocolaty and well equippeded with pleasing and vibrant fruit flavours. Really modern style … in a convincing manner. Fun stuff with plenty of vitality! Definitely decent****. Weingut Tement Gelber Muskateller Sand & Schiefer 2020 from the south of Styria. Quite a measured, lean, fresh, somehow thoughtful, slightly peppery and almost kinda introverted Muskateller. Certainly not a loud speaker! Which I like a lot. For a Muskateller still really decent****. Azienda Agricola Gabbas Cannonau de Sardegna Dule 2015. Another Grenache! A rather sturdy one with a hint of gentry elegance. A lot of blood. True abattoir vibes. Rather earthy. Salty licorice. Dark dusty berries. Certainly serious stuff with a lot of serious orange based alcohol. No doubt about its qualities. Quite decent**** , but absolutely not me. Far too loud and nervous (and young) for my taste. La Spinetta Moscato d'Asti Biancospino 2020. Speaking of loud! This one was serious squaller! Extremely loud and nerve wrecking. Tons of honey, some overripe lemons and hints of white flowers. Very simple, very chubby, very sweet! Still consumable**, of course.

I know - everybody likes Malbec! I don't! Well, at least not as a solo dancer … in most cases. Château du Cedre Le Cedre 2000 was at least a little bit different. It was packed with leather – almost a bit impertinent – besides that it showed plenty of Mediterranean herbs, some prunes, a lot of blood, cloves, chilli, bread crust, pine cone, really nice black olives and a convincingly firm structure. Even after 20 years still very very young at heart and robust. Really complex, quite cool for a 2000 and pampered with an almost “crisp” character. Not one of those many many insignificant sappy plum juice Malbecs with far too much booze. Downright very decent***** drinking experience. Domaine Thillardon's Moulin à Vent form 2020 had absolutely no moist racing course in the morning ambiance. It conquered my heart with its spectacular vibrancy, pure elegance, a wonderfully lean and airy body. Aromatics were already very much in beautiful shape and captivatingly refined for a Gamay. Of course still rather juvenile. Anyway, super enjoyable! Kinda fantastic****** Pinot Noir substitute. Now, it is time for a certain style of wine, not a garpe variety in general. I am not particularly fond sparkling wines made from Riesling. The Geheimrat J Brut 2009 by Weingut Wegeler in Rheingau was quite impressive, however not really inspiring ... at least for me. It showed plenty of Rothenberg attributes. Very smoky characteristics with an exceptionally strong citric salty touch. There were rather nice resemblances of assorted pastries, some elegant herbaceousness, a mostly mellow structure and even some firm substance – which is rather often missing in Riesling fizz. The distinct sweetness of this Brut was a little bit difficult for me to get jiggy with it. There are definitely plenty of fans of this kind of style. For me still a challenging enjoyment! Nevertheless a very decent***** wine! Weingut Rainer Schnaitmann's Muskattrollinger 2020 had a lot of lean and invigorating cheer-up potential! Rosé'ish berry fruit in lemon vinaigrette. No real nutmeg terror! Lucky me! Really good example for a potentially dangerously awkward grape variety. Pretty decent**** summer party fun time stuff! Weingut Rosi Schuster's Rotburger 2015 from Burgenland has chosen a much more becoming name. In most cases this grape is more famous with the name of its very controversially unpleasent “inventor”: Zweigelt. This one with the alternative name was a pure red currant infusion plus some beetroot and fresh cut human blood on a crude iron blade. Blood seems to be my thing ... which it isn't at all! Plenty of earth, black pepper and wild portion of tar. Not soapy or fluffy-sweet at all. Well aged, very dry and light bodied Zweigelt. Decent**** with a lot of earnest fun potential, whatever that might mean. Weingut Hornstein am See Müller-Thurgau 2020 from the Bavarian shores of Lake Constance was perhaps the most convincing and serious Müller-Thurgau I had in my entire life … or maybe the only convincing and serious in my life. Very citric, very dry, very crisp, showed a nice saline touch, quite flowery, super zesty and blessed by lean and precise body. Have I mentioned that it was really dry!? Hard to believe, right?! Absolutely decent****. Schloss Gobelsburg's Sankt Laurent Reserve 2016 showed unusual substance and certain profoundness for a Sankt Laurent. I got some red and black currants, well composed mix of herbs, foliage, some iron and perhaps a bit too much oak. Tannin was polished however still quite evident. The acid infusion was quite lively and slightly sharp. Respectably decent**** representative of this rather often nimble and pretty tricky variety. The 2017 Dolcetto d'Alba by Tenuta Bartolo Mascarello was bright, vital, fresh and full of boyish charms. Totally fruit forward with plenty of blueberries and some plums intermingling with ethereal spices, violets, tar, smoke and perhaps some dusty choco. Of course no trace of dumb residual sugar or even jamy'ness. However a lot of yummy'ness with reduced grandeur and fair complexity! Another really convincing Dolcetto. Certainly downright decent****.

 

Yves Leccia's Patrimonio 2019 produced from Corse Vermentino was quite an expressive fellow … compared to the watery masses with mouldy tap water sensation like most Vermentinos. This one got nice woodruff, expressive white peaches, white flowers, some apricots, unripe lemons, salty toothpaste and a tiny scoop of honey. Quite a lot of body and appeal. Definitely decent****. I tried to evade the Primitivo situation with the help of its notorious cousin: Rombauer Vineyards Zinfandel from 2018. The 15,9%er was dark and deep and showed tons of vanilla, cinnamon, danish, hints of beef jerky, sincere Bailey's feelings and an overwhelming mouthfeel I might call: a snack in the face by over-creaminess. Luckily no totally over-boarding sweetness. The 15,9 % of alcohol weren't in the centre of attention either. Honest - absolutely not me, but I will never forget this one and undoubtedly there was quality to this tasting experience. Surely decent****, maybe even a bit more. The El Jorco 2017 Grenache by Vinedos del Jorco in Cebreros near Madrid was simultaneously a quite complex and challenging wine. It showed plenty of bold fruity vigour from ripe brambles, juicy pomegranate and earthy red currants. There was also plenty of dark chocolate, Kahlua coffee liquor, blood, orange zest, salt, horse sweat and rather malty whiskey. Complexity-wise not reason for complaining. Even the structure was firm, but already mildly mellowed. Unfortunately I got really exhausted by drinking more than a glass of it. In total a very demanding and intimidating wine. Especially the alcohol imprint was far to hefty and nervous for me. Qualities are indisputable! Probably quite decent**** … but unfortunately not me at all ...again. Daniel Huber's Vignetti di Castello 2019! Merlot! A difficult and never ending story for me! There are not so few that I really enjoy. Especially the cooler fellows from Ticino in Switzerland are mildly dear to my heart. Others, the majority of quality Merlots, are somehow puzzling. This Ticinesi wasn't in the best shape I am afraid. It was relatively gaunt to skinny, showed plenty aromas of plums and brambles. Foliage, olives and hay weren't missing either. Not to forget black pepper. It also showed the usual chilly Alpine characteristics. But the structure was confusingly empty and it showed far too much sweetness for my taste. Was a rather strange experience! So la-la*** I am afraid. The last Gamay came from the northern Rhone near Cornas. The Gamay de la Vallée du Doux Combeaux Massardières 2019 from Domaine Guillaume Gilles showed relatively de-fruited aromas and a really strong earthy side. There was plenty of barnyard and horses, charcoal, tar - but no tarmac, licorice - but no rubber, black tea, colves and colver and overall more than a hint of too much alcoholic fire. The fresh cassis and the skinny bramble were quite restrained and shy. Rustic in structure and solid in depth. Perhaps still decent**** should do it. Too much inharmonious alcohol for me! My final Dolcetto d'Alba came from a specialist in the field of Dolcetto: Rivella Serafino! The 2014 was understandably brickish on the rim. It showed tons of Mediterranean herbs, extra sappy blueberry juice and a lot of black earth. The sweet spot was it's perfect pretension of Domori's 80% chocolate. A downright sublime aroma! Besides that a wounderfully fitting straight acid boost and crispness to the moon and back. Actual subtlety wasn't this Dolcetto's strong suit. Its harmony and vitality were much more impressive. Perfect companion for Pizza, really really good Pizza! Charming and very decent***** indeed!

So, in conclusion: Most of those confrontations where somehow fruitful. Some even showed certain game changing potential for me. For instance my once upon a time "palatal arch enemy" Dolcetto or even gullible Gamay! Having said that, I still have a lot of love left for Duc Philippe le Hardi!!! Actually solely Grenache has given me a hard time. For this guy, single player mode is probably not my thing. In collaboration with Carignan or/and Syrah, and even Mourvedre, I am much easier to convince! By the way - this happes for some strange reason quite often, No Rayas heckling, please! I am perfectly aware of the OCCASIONAL qualities of the grand vin or other somehow comparable and filthily expensive cuvées. Luckily I am not rich enough to spend fortunes for rather … well, I better do not finish this thought … What's more important: any ideas for a new confrontational therapy lesson in 2023?!