A Monday in the Hamptons with some Burgundy Superstars: Wölffer Estate Chardonnay Reserve 2004, Long Island

What a start into a new week!!! Chardonnay all over the place! This time I went back to Wölffer Estate on Long Island with some big shot names from Burgundy. On the one hand the highly profound and mineral Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 2004 from François Raveneau and on the other hand the more “surprising” Puligny-Montrachet 2005 from Louis Carillon.

Supermarket Sweep Part 3: Plantaze Vranac 2009, Basen Skadarskog jezera

Back to my little Russian supermarket round the corner! This time it was a real premiere for me. I never ever had wine from Montenegro. I can't really tell you why they had this Montenegrin wine in a Russian supermarket in Germany!?! Maybe a certain cyrillic connection?!?

Vranac or Vranec is an autochthons varietal of the central-southern Balkan (Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo) which produces wines with a firm tannic structure, plenty of potency and extreme lively acid. Apparently the actual name means something like “black stallion”. I hope it won’t be a very wild one!

Again, Again, ... : Coto de Gomariz Ribeiro Gomariz X 2009, Ribeiro

And again back to the North-West of Spain. I guess, my fascination with the whites from Galicia & Co. is getting a bit bugging! Well, whatever … as long as it is good wine ;-).

This time, for the first time on this Blog, it is Albariño Time. Probably the most impressive and prestigious white grape varietal of Iberia. This one was produced by Coto de Gomariz from the Ribeiro region. The “winemaker” Caco Careiro is one of the restorers or pioneers (depending on how one looks at the history of wine in Galicia) of Galician quality wine. What else to know? 100% Albariño – sloppy schist, granite and sand soils – influenced by not so rainy Atlantic climate – mostly bio-dynamic production.

Olympic Spirit: Gaia Estate Assyrtico Wild Ferment 2010, Santorini and some Chardonnay Medal Candidates

After a short “creative (or sluggishness)” break, I’ll try to convey some Olympic Spirit to you guys out there! In the limelight it got to be wine from Greece! What else?! It is the Gaia Estate Assyrtico Wild Ferment 2010 from Santorini and two late nominations from Burgundy and Pfalz.

Truely European Wine: Fellbacher Weingärtner / University of Pécs Partnerschafts-Cuvée Rot 2009, European Union

Well, today we are entering the Bizzaro-Zone. Last week, in a local supermarket (with a relatively nice wine selection) I spotted something I never deliberately or voluntarily had in my life. A red blend officially made of grapes resp. base wines from two different countries. From Pécs Region in Hungary: Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. From Fellbach in Württemberg Region in Germany: Lemberger and Cabernet Dorio (a modern hybrid of Cabernet Sauvignon x Dornfelder). Apparently it is suppose to be a wine to mark the 25th anniversary of the Pécs-Fellbach town-twinning. Created was this blend by the Institute of Viticulture and Enology at the University of Horticulture and Food Industry in Pécs and the Fellbacher Weingärtner (a pretty large cooperative wine producer in Württemberg Region). The bottling itself took place in Fellbach. The wine is declared as: “Wein aus der der Europäischen Gemeinschaft" (for you German speakers out there; I guess the double “der” on the label was just a misprint). Enough blathering! I really can’t tell you more about this creation, because there wasn’t all too much input on the web.

Profoundly Pleasurable Pear Potation: Eric Bordelet Poiré Granit Grand Cru 2011, Normandie

Slightly inspired by Hendrik Thoma's new Wine Blog "Wein am Limit" I most certainly had to give this pear juice a chance. Personally I am not so much into Cider, but this stuff bewitched me with its overwhelming qualities right from the first sip. Eric Bordelet, a once well known sommelier, created this Poiré Granit from pears of very old trees (up to 300 years old) in the South of Normandy. His apples (approx. 20 varietals) and pears (approx. 15 varietals) were cultivated according to bio-dynamic principles, were hand picked and were dehydrated for 3 to 5 weeks before pressing. Natural fermentation, gently low alcohol (in this case 3,5% Vol.) and a clear "Non" to chaptalisation are self-evident for Bordelet. Enough! Now, Wine! …Um … Poiré of course:

Freshness Again and Again and ..: Bodegas y Viñedos Gancedo Capricho Val de Paxariñas Blanco 2011, Bierzo

I guess I get a little bit obsessed with those fresh whites from the rainy North-West of Spain. This time I indulged myself with a Godello (with 15% Dona Blanca) from Bierzo. Godello is one the prominent white varietals of the North-West of Spain and the North of Portugal. Since the late 1990s it came once again into fashion and enlarged its cultivated plantation substantially. The producer of today’s wine was Bodegas y Viñedos Gancedo. A relatively young winery (est. 1999/2000) with autochthonous varietals ((e.g. Mencia, Godello etc.) in cultivation only (e.g. Mencia, Godello etc.). By the way: the elevation of the vineyards is up to 1000 meters (in general between 500 and 650 meters), the aging took place in stainless and the vines were approx. 20 (Godello) to 60 (Dona Blanca) years old.

Untamed Down-to-Earth Etheral Powerdrink: Quinta Vale Dona Maria Van Zellers Rufo 2008, Douro

Once more back to Douro! I guess, one of my most favourite viticulture areas on the globe. This time it had to be a red blend from one of the most highly regarded Port Quintas: the Quinta do Vale Dona Maria owned by the legendary Cristiano van Zellers. Today’s wine is his basic red blend called Rufo which was created of a whole bunch of varietals (Touriga Nacional approx. 60%) and aged in stainless steel.