Reviewing Germany - Tasting The Mosel

The Mosel wine region of Germany is along the river valley of the Mosel River from Koblenz to Luxemburg. The climate is continental with cold winters and warm summers. Over half of the vineyard area is planted to Riesling. Some of the vineyard area is on flatter sites producing lower quality wines often from other varieties.

Black Slate Riesling 2009 - $12
Clear, medium lemon yellow color. Clean, medium intense youthful aromas of pineapple with a touch of honey and canned vegetable. Off-dry, medium body, medium+ acidity, medium- alcohol with flavors of peach and pineapple with a medium+ length. Good/Drink now.

Dr Karl Christoffel Riesling 2010 - $7
Clear, pale lemon yellow color. Clean, medium- intense youthful aromas of lime and peach. Off-dry, light body, medium+ acidity, medium- alcohol with diluted flavors of green apple with a short length. Acceptable+

The region's reputation for quality comes from the historic Mittel Mosel where Riesling dominates the vineyards on steep, south-facing slopes on the famous blue Devonian and red slate soils. Many villages known for high quality Riesling are located here such as Bernkastel, Graach, Piesport and Wehlen. Much of their reputation comes from wine produced from the grapes of high quality single vineyards on the best part of the slope. Confusion, however, may occur when reading the labels where a vineyard name may follow the village name. Understand that some of the names are of high quality smaller single vineyard sites while some may be a huge grouping of vineyards with variable quality.

Grans-Fassian Piesporter Riesling Kabinett 2007 - $24
Clear, pale lemon yellow color. Clean, medium intense developing aromas of kerosene and peach. Off-dry, medium body, medium+ acidity, low alcohol with flavors of juicy peach, citrus, honey and some minerality with a long length. Very Good/Drink now.

Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken 2007 - $25
Clear, medium straw color. Clean, medium intense developing aromas of kerosene, peach and lime. Off-dry, light body, medium+ acidity, medium alcohol with flavors of green apple and lime with some minerality with a medium+ length. Very Good/Drink now.

Markus Molitor Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett 2008 - $15
Clear, pale lemon yellow color. Clean, medium- intense developing aromas of kerosene and peach. Medium dry, light body, medium acidity, low alcohol with flavors of peach and citrus with a medium- length. Acceptable+/ Drink now.

Dr Karl Christoffel Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese 2010 - $20
Clear, pale lemon yellow color. Clean, medium intense developing aromas of kerosene and citrus pith. Medium dry, light body, medium acidity, low alcohol with flavors of peach and orange and a bit of minerality with a medium length. Good/Drink now.

Monchhof Robert Eymael Urzig Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese 2009 - $30
Clear, medium straw color. Clean, medium intense youthful aromas of citrus blossom, lime and a hint of kerosene. Medium sweet, medium+ acidity, low alcohol with an orange cream medium- length finish.

Eifel-Pfeiffer Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 2010 - $20
Clear, medium lemon yellow color. Clean, medium- intense developing aromas of citrus blossom peach and lime. Medium sweet, medium body, medium+ acidity, low alcohol with fruity flavors of ripe pineapple and peach with a bit of sweet grape flavor and a long length. Good/Drink now or hold.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Beerenauslese 2006 - $30/ half bottle
Clear, medium gold color. Clean, medium intense fully developed aromas of nectarine, pineapple and marmalade. Sweet, medium+ acidity, low alcohol with pina colada flavors, a medium+ length with a slight mineral finish. Very good/ drink now or hold.

Winemaker, Andrés Sánchez of Alcance

I was invited to a media and trade tasting lunch at Backstreet Cafe with Andrés Sánchez, the winemaker for Alcance, a Jackson Family winery. As guests arrived, we were greeted with a glass of lightly chilled Alcance Chardonnay 2016, a perfect start for a hot summer day in Houston. This rich and elegant Chardonnay is grown on granitic soils in a coastal mountain vineyard in the Valle de Itata. Despite my multiple wine classes, this was a growing area with which I was not familiar. This vineyard is located between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean about 12 miles from the coast which as Sánchez pointed out adds a nice sea influence to the wine. The Chardonnay was pleasantly fresh with light citrus notes and a touch of butterscotch with a distinct saline mineralty throughout the slightly creamy finish. A mixed appetizer platter with Gulf Coast Beignets, duck spring rolss, asparagus and zuchini flatbread, and lump crab cakes on red pepper beurre blanc were br...

Darioush Wine Tasting at Pappas Grill

I went to a Darioush wine tasting last Friday. What a delight! I found every bottle we tasted to be exceptional. Darioush is well-known for their Bordeaux styled wines so I was already familiar with both the Darioush "Signature" and the Estate Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. They are both highly rated and consistently good. The Caravan is the lower priced of the two and is something that I keep in stock at home. The wines in the line up for the evening were all from Napa Valley and included: 2008 Signature Viognier, 2005 Signature Chardonnay, 2005 Signature Merlot, 2007 Signature Shiraz, 2007 Estate Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon, and both the 2006 & 2007 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2007 was opened by mistake which was a bonus to all who were present. The Viognier varietal has been hit and miss for me at tastings in the past but this offering was an absolute stand out. It was very fragrant with floral notes of jasmine and or...

"The Zen of Zin" Tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks

On Friday evening, my husband and I attended the Zinfandel wine tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks. My husband gets totally pumped up for any and all things Zinfandel but what I found really intriguing in the line up of wines were the aged offerings. Brent Sloan, managing partner at Houston's premier wine storage facility Nos Caves Vin, had provided Fleming's with four 18 year old bottlings and one 17 year old bottling from his collection of some of his favorites. I found this interesting because 1. I don't believe that I have ever had an 18 year old Zinfandel before this evening and 2. From various wine classes, I had always heard that at best Zinfandel had very limited aging ability. So, I was definitely excited to give these wines a taste. There were also an additional five younger Zinfandel wines that are some of Fleming's best sellers. The entire tasting line up for the evening included: 2009 Orin Swift Saldo - California 2007 Schulz "Lampyridae...

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