Wines of Alsace Tasting

Alsace Tasting
Friday 17 july 2009
Taught by Mike Ferneyhough

This was a very interesting tasting. Mike has been on holiday to Alsace on many occasions; indeed all the wines for tonight's tasting had been purchased on his last trip there. This makes a massive difference to the cost - we get so comprehensively bilked by the tax on wine in the UK! It also means that this was an area which Mike knows very well. There is no substitute for the local knowledge which comes from visiting the region.

Also interesting was learning that, as suspected, the rather clean account given in the WSET advanced book about Alsace is not quite the true story. According to the WSET book the only white grapes allowed in Alsace are Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Muscat and Pinot Gris (the so-called noble varieties) and Sylvaner and Pinot Blanc. No mention is made of the fact that one third of the grapes planted and classified as Pinot Blanc are actually Auxerrois and that Chasselas (which is only mentioned in the very short chapter on Switzerland) is also allowed in the Alsace appellation.

I was also interested to discover that the Alsace Grand Cru system is also more complicated than the WSET course let on. Being true to the history of French wine classification there has been so much controversy associated with this classification system that some of the greatest producers in Alsace (and those who were instrumental in pushing for such a classification system to be set up) do not take any part in the Grand Cru system.

Tasting Notes
1. Dopff au Moulin Cremant d'Alsace 2005
Pale lemon colour, stony, bready and lemony aromas. Fine mousse, good acid, medium body and quite long. Dry and apply on the palate. This is excellent for 9.30 EUR.

2. Muscat Reserve, Cave Vinicole a Hunwihr 2007
Pale gold colour. Very floral (rose petal) and grapey, particularly on the palate. Medium-high body, medium acid and noticeable alcohol. A little short. Good, but not great. 6.20 EUR

3. Josmeyer "H" Pinot Auxerroiss Vielles Vignes 2005
100 % Auxerrois (tasted blind)
This is planted in the middle of the Hengst grand cru vineyard, but cannot be labelled as grand cru because of the grape variety used. Pale lemon, steely, a little residual sugar giving it a honey taste. Medium high body, medium acid. Good, if a little surprising. 17.60 EUR

4. Rene Mure Pinot Noir "V" 2006
Knowing where to put the red wine in an Alsace tasting is quite difficult. Normally one would want to have red wines after white wines. However, the Alsace Pinot Noirs are usually pretty anaemic and pale into insignificance compared to some of the Alsatian white wines. I think that this was the correct place to show this wine.

Pale red, almost a rose colour... and this is apparently quite dark for an Alsace Pinot Noir! Smells like young pinot noir - cherries and raspberries. Dry with high acid. Quite low bodied and very low tannins. Finish is a little acidic. This is OK, but certainly not appropriate quality for the price (23 EUR!). Alsace Pinot Noirs are always expensive because there is strong local demand for red wine and small production. In much the same way that English wine can be OK, but is always over-priced because of the alcoholic local population buying out of a misplaced sense of patriotism. (OK so this doesn't apply to some of the wines - particularly the sparkling wines.)

5. Hugel Gewurtztraminer "Hugel" 2007
Pale lemon green. Lychees on the nose and rose petal, plus some stone fruit and something smoky. High glycerol, medium acid. A little short but quite full bodied. Dry. Pretty good. 12.60 EUR

6. Gewurtztraminer Cave Vinicole a Hunawihr
Grand Cru Froehn 2005
Medium gold colour. A rich nose of dried apricots and honey. Full bodied with excellent length. Well balanced and silky, but with quite low acidity (common in Gewurtz). Dry with moderately high intensity flavours of honey, apricot and something floral. Also, some of the spicy notes for which Gewurtztraminer is named. This is awesome, and well priced at 11.90 EUR

7. Jean Sipp Pinot Gris 2006
This is from a named site - Trottacker, but not a grand cru vineyard. Pale lemon. Quite closed. Stone fruit and minerals are there on the nose but they require searching out (but maybe this is just in comparison to the previous wine). Medium-full body, medium acid and off-dry with noticeable banana flavour. A little 1-dimensional and a bitter finish. This wine has some good parts, but also some weird notes which make me ultimaltely come down on the side of not really liking it. 12.40 EUR

8. Jean Sipp Pinot Gris 2000
Again from a non-grand cru named site - Clos Ribeaupierre.
Medium gold colour. Honeyed nose. And something which reminds me of the petrol aroma which appears on old rieslings. Spicy and toasted notes. Off dry and rich on the palate with apricots, dried fruits and honey. Medium-high acid which cuts through the sweetness. Well balanced with great length and intense flavour intensity. This is so much better than the previous one and well worth the price (24EUR). I'd much rather have one bottle of this than two of the previous one.

9. Trimbach Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile 2001
Green on the nose, very sour apples. On the palate there is a clean granny smith apple flavour and high acidity. Well balanced. This is great stuff. 24 EUR

10. Hugel Riesling Selection de Grains Nobles 1998
Pale gold, tartrate crystals. Cooked apple and honey. Unctuous, well balanced, full bodied and medium sweet. This is an excellent wine. Pretty pricey too at 76 EUR

11. Hugel Riesling Vendage Tardive 1988
Medium gold. This has an unusual nose. Baked apple, petrol and something which reminds me of an amontillado sherry. Medium body, high acid and surprisingly dry - this is off dry at the most. Maybe a little past its best, but this is still excellent now.

Castello Brolio, Barone Ricasoli

For me this was the visit of the holiday. It was a fantastic visit for many reasons, but particularly because we got to meet the agronomist who showed us around the vineyard and explained all the various experiments they were doing with clonal selection and pruning. For anyone planning a trip to Brolio, this is part of the "Experimental vineyard tour" and is well worth doing. On their website it says that they will only do this for groups of 9 or more. There were only 7 of us in our group but we managed to convince them to let us onto the tour anyway. It may well have been harder to convince them to do this if we were visiting in the height of the tourist season though, but I'd seriously recommend you try.


There is some seriously high-tech equipment in the vineyard. As well as the usual sensors, rain gauges etc, there is what we nick-named 'robovine'.

This was a vine in the middle of the vineyard with sensors all over it. These sensors communicate with some central database by wifi, recording all aspects of the microclimate from precisely where the grapes are.

Another reason the visit was fantastic is the immense history associated with the estate. The castle was built in the middle ages and is a genuine castle, rather than a cool-sounding name. Also, Barone Ricasoli was the a bit of a polymath and, as well as being Prime Minister of Italy (twice), he was responsible for the creation of the first Chianti Wine "recipe". Finally, the grounds of the castle as the view you can see are fantastically beautiful (although this seems to be a bit of a theme for Tuscan wineries).



The Tasting
1. Torricella IGT, 2007
100% Chardonnay
Medium bodied, Quite high acid. Alcohol not noticeable on palate. Some oak influence. Medium intensity aromas and palate of green apples and melons. Medium length. Very good

2. Castello di Brolio, 2005
Chianti Classico DOCG
Dark fruits, oak and violets on the nose. Medium-high acid and tannin. Full bodied. Long, with a smooth, fruity finish. Excellent. Can drink now with food, but will clearly age.

As I understand it, this wine is more of a premium wine than the Brolio, but is not made as a Chianti Classico Riserva. Or at least it is not referred to as a Riserva.


3. Casalferro IGT, 2004
30% Merlot, 70% Sangiovese
Opaque ruby colour. Medium-high intensity aromas of black fruit, smoke, tobacco and black plums. Full bodied with high acid and high tannin. In balance, but still pretty aggressive right now. Intense black fruit on palate - almost like fruit sauce reduction. Needs time, but will be fantastic.

4. Granello IGT, 2007
Sauvignon Blanc late harvest. (plus a little gewurtz - I think)
Pale yellow. Grape and grapefruit on the nose. Sweet, full bodied and acidic. More floral on the palate than on the nose. Concentrated, long and with a crisp refreshing finish. Very good.



Barone Ricasoli
Cantine del Castello di Brolio
53013 Gaiole in Chianti (Siena)
+39 0577 7301
barone@ricasoli.it
www.ricasoli.it

Guicciardini Strozzi

Our superb visit to Castello Brolio overran somewhat. This, combined with getting stuck behind every tractor, cement mixer and caravan on the road meant that we were seriously late for our visit to Guicciardini Strozzi. Not a winery I knew much about before we visited - this one was organised by Adam (and I think it was another one which was recommended in the Monty Waldin book). Fortunately, we were still able to have a tour of the grounds and a tasting of the wines despite our severe tardiness.

This is a winery with immense history. The first documentary evidence for the estate is from 994, which makes the Mazzei family (Castello di Fonterutoli) look like absolute newcomers! We were met at the estate by the Principessa who took us on a tour of the winery before taking us to the tasting room. It's not every day you meet someone who is related to both the Mona Lisa and Winston Churchill. The tasting room was filled with pictures of the Principessa meeting famous people from around the world
(including an excellent photo of Berlusconi clearly saying something very rude to her judging by her expression in the picture!) so we were clearly in good company.

I was very impressed with the wines - particularly since my expectations were low because of the other Vernaccia di San Gimignano I had drunk before. The normal Vernaccia was the best example we found during our Tuscan holiday and the Cusone "1933" was the most interesting white wine of the holiday.

The tasting
This was the final visit of the holiday. Despite the heavy wine-drinking of the preceding few days our tired palates still found plenty to excite us

1. Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2008
An excellent example of how the classic style of Vernaccia should be done. Bitter almonds, herbs and medicinal notes on the nose. Dry, with high acid, bitter and mineralic. Long with an interesting and mineralic finish. Very good.

2. Cusona "1933" 2007
This one is Vernaccia made in an unusual way: some oaked grapes, some unoaked grapes and some partially dried grapes. Medium intensity tropical fruit and oak. Honey, melon, banana. Smooth mouthfeel. Dry, but tastes a little sweet from the dried grapes. Intense tropical fruit on the palate with some mineralic notes. This is full bodied
for a white. Outstanding.

3. Sodole 2005
100% Sangiovese IGT
Deep ruby. Medium-high aroma intensity - meaty, blackberries, violets, leather, vanilla. Medium-high acid and high tannin. Full bodied. Plenty of liquorice. Long, but with a grippy finish. Needs time. Very good, particularly after a little time in the glass.

4. Vigna Re 2005, Bolgheri
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot blend
Medium ruby with a pale rim. Blackcurrant, vanilla. Very high tannin, high acid. Full bodied. Finish a little harsh. Good, should improve with age

Castello di Fonterutoli

We got totally lost on the way to Castello di Fonterutoli since we were looking for a castle whereas the estate is actually a collection of medieval buildings and a super-modern winery. This would have been useful information since we spent a long time driving round very close to the winery (and past the enoteca which is where we were actually supposed to go) until we had to admit defeat and call for directions. Don't make the same mistake if you are going.


We had an excellent guide for our tour who not only showed us around the estate, barrel hall and (very modern) winery, but also explained to us the legend behind the Chianti black rooster. The story goes that in the middle ages the Sienese and Florentines decided that the best way to decide the position of the frontier between Siena and Florence would be to have a race. One horseman would set out from each city as the rooster first crowed in the morning. The place where the horsemen met would be the frontier between the two. The Sienese chose a pampered, white rooster who crowed at the usual time. The clever/devious (delete depending on one's allegiance to either city) Florentines chose a thin, hungry black rooster which they had starved for a couple of days and kept in the dark. Shortly after midnight they brought the rooster out of the dark and he promptly crowed. The Florentine horseman set of hours earlier than his Sienese counterpart. The result of this was that the boundary between the towns was set only a short distance from Siena. So, whilst highly implausible, this story does at least explain the iconography.


The Tasting
1. Rose Belguardo IGT
(Sangiovese, Syrah)
5 hours of skin contact for the syrah, 20 hours for the sangiovese.
Salmon rose. Medium-high intensity aromas of red fruit. Dry, medium acid, very low tannin. Good length, with red fruit and crisp acidity. A little hot on the finish (not sure what the actual alcohol is). Good (for a rose). Drink it in the sun and forget about it otherwise.

2. Zisola, Sicilia IGT
Nero d'Avola bush vines.
Deep ruby. Pronounced black fruit and some rustic aromas such as leather. Medium acid, tannin and body. Alcohol noticeable on palate. Medium all round really. Solid quality, but not amazing.

3. Bronzone, Morellino di Scansano
100% Sangiovese
Deep ruby, pronounced red fruit, berries and spice. Medium-high acid, high tannin. Intense red fruit on the palate. Also some bitter chocolate and spice. Quite complex - more so on the palate than on the nose. Very good

4. Fonterutoli, Chianti Classico 2007
Medium intensity red fruit, floral notes. High acid (a little too prevalent). Should balance out in time. Good, needs time or food

5. Castello di Fonterutoli, Chianti Classico 2006
Deep and brooding. Concentrated black fruits, cinnamon, white pepper and liquorice. High tannin and acid. Full bodied. This is very good and will be better with time

6. Siepe, IGT 2006
(50% Sangiovese, 50% Merlot)
Medium-high intensity aromas of liquorice and black fruit. Very high tannin and high acid. Intense and concentrated palate. Depth of flavour. Long. This one is outstanding, but needs time.

7. Castello di Fonterutoli, 2005
Medium-high intensity nose. Green pepper making an appearance over the black fruit. This one is showing much better than the 2006. Smooth, with some vegetal notes coming through over the fruit. The acid and tannin are in balance now, but both very high. Excellent stuff

Enoteca di Fonterutoli
+39 0577 741 385
enoteca@fonterutoli.it
www.mazzei.it

Villa Cafaggio

An interesting visit. This is a relatively large producer with high-tech production methods. Based in the Golden Conch around Panzano it has excellent vineyard location, beautiful views and great wine.


Tasting
1. Chianti Classico DOCG 2006
This is made in quite low yields - 8 bunches of grapes per vine. Ripe black fruit, sweet spice, liquorice and fresh leaves. Long, with a good balance between acid and tannin. Medium body. Very good. Drink now, but will not be hurt by age

2. Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2005
This is made with even lower yields - 6 bunches of grapes per vine. Black fruit, floral some vanilla. Very ripe fruit on the palate. Concentrated palate. High acid and tannin. Not really balanced yet but will be great in a bit of time.

3. San Martino 2000 IGT (100% Sangiovese)
At nine years old this is still very young. Pronounced black fruit, but slightly cooked fruit. Developing some green pepper notes too. High acid and very high tannin. Full bodied and very long. Still needs time. This is excellent - particularly once it has had a little time to open up in the glass.

4. Cortaccio 2003 IGT (100% Cabernet Sauvignon)
Medium intensity black fruit. A little tobacco and cedar. Smooth mouthfeel. Much more approachable in its youth than wine #3. Full body, high tannin and med-high acid. Round, pleasant and well balanced. Long and complex finish. Outstanding.


Buying Old Vintages
At the estate you can buy all the old vintages they still have stock for at the same price as the current vintage. So we got the oldest bottles we could find (ll early 90s - sadly I didn't make tasting notes) of the Classico, Riserva and San Martino and tried them. The old San Martino was fantastic, the riserva held up quite well and the classico was past its best.