Earlier this week I attended a tasting at my local wine shop of wines from these two producers.
From Domaine Weinbach we tasted
Riesling "Schlossberg" 2001
The first bottle opened of this was thought to be a bit suspect so a second was quickly opened - that one was definitely corked but the third bottle was fine- it had an aroma that was of medium intensity and smelt of freshly pressed linen with hints of stone fruit. On the palate the fruit flavours were more obvious with peach and limes coming to the fore. It was a little hot on the finish and the length was huge but over all a pleasant wine.
Riesling "Ste Catherine" 2001
This wine was an improvement on the first. It had aromas of minerals (chalk?) and spice, citrus fruits with a touch of honey. On the palate, lovely balancing acidity but with still a palate cleansing zing, a long length with a melon finish. I know it may not be the most complementary thing said about a wine but there seemed to be a taste of melon flavoured jellybeans about it. Lovely.
Riesling "Ste Catherine Inedit" 2001
Oh now this was the real deal. Screamed Alsatian wine as soon as you stuck your nose in the glass. Much more intense nose with emphasis on the minerally aromas. On the palate the first thing I noticed was the increased acidity but this was needed to balance the residual sugar. Although more savoury tasting than the "plain" Ste Catherine this wine had intense lime fruit mixed with blossom and honey flavours. It had a lovely light and silky palate feel and finished with a beautifully long length. My favourite of the Weinbach Rieslings by a mile and may be my favourite of the night.
Tokay Pinot Gris Altenbourg 2001
Although others at the tasting were impressed by this wine I admit that I was not. It seemed to have a much more vegetal nose with a mealy "chicken feed" aroma that I found slightly off putting. I could also smell apricots, baked pears and manuka honey. The vegetal flavours followed through on the palate although not quite as obviously on the nose. There was more palate weight in this wine that in the previous Rieslings, and what tasted like more residual sugar and although the length on the finish was long I was not a fan. I don't think there was anything wrong with the wine - just not my cup of tea.
Gewurztraminer Altenbourg 2001
Well this wine just sung. Absolutely divine on the nose with intense floral, spicy and rose petal Turkish delight aromas with tell tale Alsatian mineraliness lurking in the background. Beautifully intense and complex. This followed through on the palate with an oh so sweet entry and a lovely thick palate weight, flavours similar to the aromas. An intense and lovely length - just a stunner.
From Domaine Marcel Deiss
Grasberg 2000
Smokey savoury nose with lemon and apples also coming to the party. Very intense. On the palate the flavours of this wine were not as pleasant as the nose had lead me to believe. It had a sort of canned apricots taste. It wasn't a dry wine but the residual sugar was balanced by the wines acidity. Intense on the palate with a long length but not my favourite of the four Deiss. .
Rotenberg 2000
Now this wine was fantastic. The nose was a lovely citrus and apple blend with floral hints along with a touch of spice and minerals. On the palate the acidity was gorgeous, balancing the wines thick but silky palate feel. There was a minerally creaminess to it along with a taste that was more tart apricot pie. An absolute stunner and my favourite of the Deiss selection. It was brought to my attention that this wine was the sweetest of the first three Deiss wines but I'd still like to think that the reason I favoured it was its wonderful zing of acidity.
Burg 2000
This wine had a more honeyed and creamy biscuit sort of nose with pleasant acidity on the palate but to me the finish was a bit astringent. There was this slight bitter element to it that to me just didn't seem to sit right. No where near as yummy as the Rotenberg.
Pinot Gris Ventage Tardive 2000
This wine had a beautifully golden appearance and a nose that was dusty and seemed to show that some of the late harvest grapes were botrytis affected. It was medium sweet on the palate with honeyed toast and floral notes coming through on the length. However it seemed a bit one dimensional to me - not as complex as I'd hoped but still very pleasant.
So to sum up my favourites of the tasting were the Weinbach Riesling "Ste Catherine Inedit" 2001, the Weinbach Gewurztraminer Altenbourg 2001 and the Deiss Rotenberg 2000. I'm still dithering as to which of these three was my all time favourite of the tasting.
Regards
Siobhan