wBlog id:  T1-b-M

Wine school by Viinilehti 25.4.2016

Topic: Alsace

Instructors  :  Mika Vanne & Antti Rinta-Huumo

alsace-005

My first wine school event by Viinilehti was like I expected:  Analyzing colors, aromas and palate from typical Alsace variety wines. Event obviously included a presentation of grape varieties, terroir and history

Here you can find a good package of information Wikipedia.

Wine consult Mika Vanne was acting as a main instructor and Antti-Rinta Huumo was sitting in back row and focused to brake the ice with some humoristic comments. Below you can see the list of wines with my personal review and also some detailed information from the presentation which I did not know before.

Information tips

  • Phylloxera doesn´t survive  in sandy soil.  Sand is one of key soil elements together with limestone in Alsace.
  • There is only one Grand Cru out of 51 in which is allowed to use Sylvaner-variety.
    • This GC is Zotzenberg

sylvaner

  • Friends of sweet wines should check the label to find letter combinations such as VDT= late harvest and  SGN = grapes with noble rot.

 

WINES IN TASTING

les princes abbes

 

 

 

 

  1. Domaines Schlumberger Les Princes Abbes Pinot Noir 2013, (Alko order selection ~25€) 
    • Color: Transparent red which is typical for Pinot Noir from Alsace.
    • Nose: Raspberry, strawberry and cherry
    • Palate: Cherry follows in palate and strong acidity leads to fact that first impression is sour cherry.
      • Length : short-average
    • Body:  light
    • Conclusions: Basic Pinot Noir from Alsace, not worth of money but I am sure that it will be nice with chicken salad at sunny terrace.

 muscat

2. Wolfberger Muscat  (Muscat Ottonel, Muscat d`alsace) 2014 (Alko 12€)

Viinilehti:  *** Quality fits with price

  • Nose: Mango and herbs
  • Palate: dry, mango and herbs follows to aromas
    • Length : Average
  • Body: light
  • Conclusion:  This wine didn’t really stick in my mind

 

  gustave-lorentz-pinot-blanc-evidence-alsace-france-10713764

3. Gustave Lorenz Evidence Pinot Blanc Biologue 2013 (Alko order selection  15 €)

  • Nose: Mix of strawberry and pear, hints of apple
  • Palate: dry and mineral, grapefruit-like bitterness
    • Length: Average
  • Body: light
  • Conclusions: This wine didn’t stay on my mind. Constuctor Mika Vanne guessing that wine is not Pinot Blanc, instead  Auxerrois Blanc and Chasselas Blanc, which varieties can be used for blend without mention in the label.

 

leon

4. Leaon Beyer Pinot Gris  2011 (Restaurant selection, price unknown)

Information for this wine

87 pts David Schildknecht,  Robert Parker´s Wine Advocate

  • Nose: Canned champignons, nuts
  • Palate: Clearly residual sugar, still quite dry, tropical and citric fruits.
    • Length: Average
  • Body: medium
  • Conclusions: Basic Pinot Gris but not from top list.

trimbach

5. Trimbach Gewurztraminer  2013 (Alko order selection  19€)

89 pts Stephen Reinhardt,  Robert Parker´s Wine Advocate

  • Nose: Ripe tropical fruits such as banana, perfume, spices
  • Palate: semi -dry , mango and spices
    • Length: Average
  • Body: medium
  • Conclusions : This was my favorite and also winner in this tasting, quality meets value.

 

ostertagmuenchberglabel-460x460

6. Domaine Ostertag Grand Cru Muenchberg Riesling 2013 (Restaurant selection, price for restaurants about 40€)

Information for this wine

95 pts Stephen Reinhardt,  Robert Parker´s Wine Advocate

  • Nose: tropical, vanilla
  • Palate: Extreme mineral,  high acidity,  hints of toasted aromas
    • Length: Long
  • Body: medium
  • Conclusions: Very good wine but as Mika Vanne told that this is can not be recognized as a Riesling. Vanne thought that there has been some issues in the vintage. I think one reason could be that a wine is way too young to drink. According to Wine advocate the drinking window is 2018- 2035.

-Markus Laukkanen, WineConnection Finland