Domaine Weinbach Tasting at The Wine Watch

"Old red wine, not worth a dime; we'll have to finish it after crossing the line."

Old Red Wine by The Who

We actually like Old red wine here at the Wine Watch- Well, as long as it has been stored/cared for properly. 

There is a special treat for our "Wine Drinking People" on this offering- our 1000 video upload special.  We felt like it was something and we should celebrate, the fact that we have recorded hundreds of hours of video over the last 2 years.  We get bored of just talking about wine so we thought we should celebrate by putting together this special video for your viewing pleasure.  We hope you enjoy this and remember - Always Drink the Good Stuff First!!

And now back to the serious business of drinking the world's greatest wines.  This is an annual event here at the Wine Watch and I know that we do not spend enough time on the great white wines of the world but I am always trying to put more great whites on the shelf and to put together unique tasting opportunities like this, for you to experience one of the best producers for a reasonable price.

Alsace produces some of the most profound white wines on the face of the earth. The wines from this storybook village can range from very average to very ethereal. Tonight we will be sampling wines from one of the greatest small producers of this region and one of the most unique because today, it is run by women. Théo Faller, a prominent figure in Alsace winegrowing, strove to improve the quality of Alsace wines. As a fervent advocate of the region's recognition as an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, he continuously promoted its incomparable terroirs and grape varieties. Théo was devoted to Domaine Weinbach. He developed, expanded and enhanced it. Since his death in 1979, his wife Colette and daughters, have carried on Théo's passion for the great wines of Alsace and his unrelenting commitment to delivering excellence. Join us as we taste through the current releases from this landmark producer from Alsace. Wine Watch Catering's Toni Lampasone will serving up a few tasty treats to accompany the tasting wines. This is a walk around tasting and is limited to 25 tasters. The fee for this tasting is $35 per person all-inclusive for reservations call 954-523-9463.

Domaine Weinbach Tasting at Wine Watch
Wednesday August 15th
7pm

Tasting Wines:

2009 Domaine Weinbach Sylvaner Reserve
Price: $20             Sale $17.60          Case $204
Quantity in Stock:

Origins: Clos des Capucins. Fresh, fruity, this admittedly modest but surprising wine has depth and body. The Sylvaner is good with cooked pork meats, oysters, fish. It is also a thirst-quenching wine.

2009 Domaine Weinbach Muscat Reserve
Price: $37.25       Sale $32.78          Case $380

(87 Points)  The largely-Ottonel Weinbach 2009 Muscat d’Alsace Reserve smells of spruce needles, oregano, elder flower, and apricot. Faint bitterness not only inherent in this variety but also common in this vintage (for example, in the corresponding Pinot Blanc) serves for cut and invigorating counterpoint in an otherwise softly-textured as well as unusually voluminous and low-acid exemplar of its genre; and there is enough primary juiciness as well as a streak of salinity to render the finish quite mouthwatering.   eRobertParker.com #194, May 2011

2009 Domaine Weinbach Pinot Gris Cuvee Ste Catherine
Price: $47.25       Sale $41.58          Case $482

Origins: the old vines of the Clos de Capucins. The Tokay Sainte Catherine has a nice power and a slight roundness, well balanced by a nice acidity. It is wonderful combined with white meats en sauce, risottos, poultry such as geese, ducks, etc.

2009 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Reserve Personnelle                 
Price: $29.25       Sale $25.74          Case $298
               
(91 Points)  This juicy Riesling shows fruit-forward flavors of mango, yellow peach and candied grapefruit peel, along with a saline, mineral quality and hints of honeysuckle and smoke. Fresh and well-cut, with a long, mouthwatering finish. Drink now through 2024. 900 cases made. –AN  Wine Spectator Issue: Oct 15, 2011

2007 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg Cuvee St Catherine l'Inedit
Price: $93.00       Sale $81.84          Case $949
Quantity in Stock: 6

The 2007 Riesling Schlossberg Cuvee Saint Catherine l’Inedit as usual represents Domaine Weinbach’s segregation of especially ripe material, and finishes with subtle sweetness. Like its “non-l’Inedit” counterpart, it offers both honeyed richness and high glycerin with vivacity and refreshment. Luscious apple, peach, musk melon, and quince are accented by nutmeg, peach kernel piquancy, and savory salinity. This should perform well over the next 15 or more years.

This year, Domaine Weinbach will receive its official certification as organic and biodynamic growers. The Fallers did well in the difficult 2006 vintage – especially with those Gewurztraminer harvested before botrytis gained the upper hand – and with good reason expressed elation over the vibrancy and refinement that characterizes most of 2007s.

2009 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Cuvee Theo
Price: $37.50       Sale $33                Case $382.50                     
Quantity in Stock: 2

Origins: Clos des Capucins. The Gewurztraminer Cuvée Théo is fine, with a slight and elegant roundness, it is good with spicy dishes (curry, colombo) or exotic cuisine such as North African stew, smoked salmon (without lemon!)…

Menu

Panko crusted Chicken with curry honey mustard dipping sauce

Shrimp and pork shumai served with Asian black vinegar

Salmon tartar with Chile lime glaze on a sesame crisp

A bit about Domaine Weinbach:

This fairy tail wine producing region has a history that is somewhat violent and tragic.  The citizens here have been traded back and forth between the Germans and the French until after world war II, when they finally ended up on the French side.  The first mention of a form of the name Alsace occurs in the time of the Frankish and Merovingian kings when it was termed Alesia.  This is thought to have been derived from Alisa, or from a combination of ‘ill’ from the river, and Sass, old German for ‘resident’.  In medieval times the wine was known in England and the Low Countries as Aussey.

The sorted history of this area as well as the unique climate and soil types here make the wines coming from this region truly unique.  The rhine basin is confined on one side by the Vosges and on the other by the hills of the Black Forest.  Both these ridges are comprised of either granite or gres rouge, a very compact red sandstone, you will see this used in the local buildings.  Millions of years ago, when these alps were formed, a violet quake caused the the Alps to rise above the surrounding waters, the black forest and the Vosges chains rose as well, leaving a fault between them.  This fault remained flooded, and also saw further erosion as glaciers came and went over the following years.  This resulted in a soil structure which is as varied and complex as you will find anywhere.  You could probably find a sample of practically every type of soil known to man here in Alsace; clay, limestone, sand, gravel, chalk, marl and loess , there is granite at Turckeim and Wintzenheim, yellow loam at Guebwiller and rich in fossils at Eguisheim and Barr. 

The vineyards in this tiny, yet important wine producing region are even more fragmented in ownership than those of the rest of France. With over 9,000 growers sharing a total of 30,000 acres, the average individual holding is just over three acres.  It is rare that even the larger more established estates here are larger than 100 acres.  The Faller brothers got into the wine business here in 1885.  They purchased 62 acres of monastic land, the Clos de Capucins.  Located in the picturesque village of Kayserberg, they became a family of growers rather than a negociant (someone who purchases fruit and wine to bottle under their own label).  The Faullers quickly became known as one of the most respected names in all of Alsace.  The grandson of these men, Theo Faller was a man of uncompromising taste and would stop at nothing to produce the best possible wines.  Upon his death, his wife madame Colette Faller took over the day-to-day operations and the passion that Theo ran this estate with.  In a country that boasts some extraordinary women winemakers today (Madame Gros of Domaine Jean Gros, Lalou Bize-Leroy of the Domaine Leroy, madame Ferret of Pouilly-Fuisse, Dany Rolland, wife of Michel Rolland and a famed enologist in her own right, and Christine Fabre of Chateau Troplong-Mondot), Colette stands out among these women for the sheer force of her personality and extraordinary elegance.  Madame Colette Faller, believes that without risk there is no reward, she harvests extremely late when she has to, risking the entire production if all does not go as planned, however the rewards of patience are usually great.

Their most sought after wines come from the monopole vineyard, Clos des Capucins.  This 12.5 acre vineyard produces both Tokay and Riesling of profound proportions (the Grains Nobles wines are incredible and impossible to find).  They grow all of the traditional Alsacian varietals here, from Pinot Blanc, to their cuvees of Riesling (there are usually four, Reserve Personelle, Schlossberg, Cuvee Theo and Clos Ste. Catherine).  Faller makes spectacular Pinot Gris and a number of Gewurztraminers that are rivaled only by those of Leonard Humbrecht.  Her best two Gewurztraminers are consistently the exotic, honeyed Cuvee Theo and the rose-scented Reserve Personelle.  In certain vintages there is also an off-dry, dense, chewy, lychee nut-scented and flavored Cuvee Laurence.  In addition to the Grains Noble wines they make a few “vendange tardive” (late harvest) wines from Tokay and Gewurztraminer

Other Domaine Weinbach wines that are available:

2009 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Altenbourg 
Price: $55.50       Sale $48.84          Case $566

(91 Points)  A silky, off-dry version, offering a subtle weave of creamy apricot, lychee, mango and candied orange peel flavors. There's good intensity to the refined acidity, which finds lovely integration with the honeyed fruit profile. Ends with a lightly smoky finish. Drink now through 2020. 477 cases made. –AN  Wine Spectator Issue: Oct 31, 2011

2009 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Cuvee Laurence       
Price: $47.75       Sale $42.02          Case $487.05

(92 Points)  This lively, medium-bodied Gewürztraminer delivers finely meshed flavors of kumquat, fleshy yellow peach, cantaloupe and candied pink grapefruit peel, with vibrant acidity that's layered seamlessly in this elegant format. The lingering finish shows a salty tang of minerality. Drink now through 2024. 807 cases made. –AN  Wine Spectator Issue: Oct 31, 2011

2009 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Furstentum Grand Cru            
Price: $62                             Sale $54.56          Case $632

(91 Points) This Gewürz is just off-dry and very juicy, delivering lightly honeyed flavors of patisserie apple, candied grapefruit peel, lychee and pineapple. This is mouthwatering and creamy throughout, with a lightly smoked finish. Drink now through 2020. 357 cases made. –AN  Wine Spectator Issue: Web Only - 2011

2009 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Reserve Personnelle             
Price: $30.50       Sale $26.84          Case $311

(89 Points)  Light-bodied, showing smoke and spice notes, with delicate flavors of lychee, clementine and ripe pineapple. This is lively, with juicy acidity and a lightly honeyed, creamy finish. Drink now through 2019. 628 cases made. –AN  Wine Spectator Issue: Oct 31, 2011

2009 Domaine Weinbach Pinot Gris Altenbourg                
Price: $54                             Sale $47.52          Case $551

(92 Points)  A silky, off-dry version, with lush flavors of peach, mandarin orange sorbet, almond, lemon curd and papaya. Offers juicy acidity, creating a mouthwatering impression, with an undercurrent of smoky mineral and spice. A candied note echoes on the clean, minerally finish. Drink now through 2025. 279 cases made. –AN  Wine Spectator, Issue: Oct 31, 2011

2009 Domaine Weinbach Pinot Gris Cuvee St. Catherine (375ml)            
Price: $29                             Sale $25.52          Case $296

(93 Points)  Ripe fruit flavors and floral notes of orchard blossoms and honeysuckle run through this finely tuned Pinot Gris, playing off the salty mineral undercurrent, with white peach, almond and candied lemon zest character. A delicate wine overall, with the pieces seamlessly integrated, ending with a long, mouthwatering finish. Drink now through 2029. 671 cases made. –AN  Wine Spectator Issue: Oct 31, 2011

2007 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg
Price: $51.00       Sale $44.88          Case $520
Available

The Weinbach 2007 Riesling Schlossberg smells of apple, pineapple and grapefruit; is clear and refreshing on the palate; and delivers cleansing fresh fruit accompanied by tingling salinity, citrus zest, and fruit skin in a long finish. This will be a delight to follow for at least a decade.

This year, Domaine Weinbach will receive its official certification as organic and biodynamic growers. The Fallers did well in the difficult 2006 vintage – especially with those Gewurztraminer harvested before botrytis gained the upper hand – and with good reason expressed elation over the vibrancy and refinement that characterizes most of 2007s.

2007 Domaine Weinbach Pinot Gris Cuvee Ste Catherine
Price: $69.50       Sale $61.16          Case $709
Quantity in Stock: 4

(90 Points) Succulent ripe peach and marrow-like meatiness mingle with piquant fruit pit and toasted nuts in the Weinbach 2007 Pinot Gris Cuvee Saint Catherine, which displays surprising firmness of texture and vibrant acidity, finishing with peaty smokiness and invigorating salinity as well as the persistence of carnal and ripely pit-fruited flavors. For a Pinot Gris that combines richness with refreshment; is as mineral as it is fruity and carnal; and comes off dry-tasting, this is hard to beat, the only drawback being a bit of finishing heat. Furthermore, I don’t doubt it will remain pleasurable for at least a decade.

This year, Domaine Weinbach will receive its official certification as organic and biodynamic growers. The Fallers did well in the difficult 2006 vintage – especially with those Gewurztraminer harvested before botrytis gained the upper hand – and with good reason expressed elation over the vibrancy and refinement that characterizes most of 2007s. eRobertParker.com # 188, Apr 2010

Other Wines from Alsace that are Available:

NV Lucien Albrecht Rose Cremant Alsace
Price: $19.50       Sale $17.16
Quantity in Stock: 17

This is a methode Champenoise style sparkling wine from Alsace made with 100% Pinot Noir and one of the best values in the sparkling rose category that we have in the store! Light raspberry and strawberry like fruit on the nose, very forward and pleasant aromas. Fresh light red berry fruit on the tongue with smooth creamy bubbles leaving the tongue fresh and clean on the finish, a real crowd pleaser style. Finish 35 EXCELLENT

2000 Lucien Albrecht Riesling Vendage Tardives Alsace 375ml
Price: $46.00       Sale $40.48

Quantity in Stock: 8

2001 Lucien Albrecht Riesling Clos Himmelreich Alsace
Price: $99.00       Sale $87.12
Quantity in Stock: 2

2002 Blanck Gewurztraminer Alsace 375ml
Price: $15.00       Sale $13.20
Quantity in Stock: 14

2003 Domaine Ostertag Pinot Gris Zellberg Alsace
Price: $50.50       Sale $44.44
Quantity in Stock: 9

White peach and Asian pear fruit highlighted by notes of lime blossoms, and fresh stone minerality on the nose. Focused and intense minerality on the palate with crisp acidity holding the rich and ripe stone fruit together with excellent intensity and balance through the finish, zesty with a host of mineral notes to the end. Finish 45+ MOST EXCELLENT

2003 Domaine Ostertag Pinot Gris Muenchberg Grand Cru Alsace
Price: $65.00       Sale $57.20
Quantity in Stock: 10

2003 Domaine Ostertag Gewurztraminer Fronholz Vendage Tardive
Price: $66.50       Sale $58.52
Quantity in Stock: 2

2004 Domaine Ostertag Pinot Gris Zellberg Alsace
Price: $47.50       Sale $41.80
Quantity in Stock: 6

2005 Domaine Ostertag Muscat Fronholz Alsace
Price: $33.75       Sale $29.70
Quantity in Stock: 14

Ostertag confesses that he would not bother to bottle a Muscat if he were not so attached to his old vines, warning that “they won’t be around for ever,”

2005 Domaine Ostertag Pinot Gris Zellberg
Price: $50.25       Sale $44.22
Quantity in Stock: 19

(89 Points) Brown spiced apple and peach in the nose of the 2005 Pinot Gris Zellberg lead to a palate that nicely incorporates fresh fruit into its rich, chalky, oily, lush palate. Smokiness – and a bit of heat from the wine’s nearly 15% alcohol – emerge in the finish.

Andre Ostertag continues to render some of the most distinctively delicious and thought-provoking wines in Alsace. He now has 120 parcels among his 35 acres, and no grower of my acquaintance gives more thought to aesthetic and stylistic considerations when it comes to vinifying and assembling his many lots. Wine Advocate # 175, Feb 2008

2006 Domaine Ostertag Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes
Price: $24.25       Sale $21.34
Quantity in Stock: 5

(89 Points) Ostertag’s 2007 Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes is delightfully and (for this variety) surprisingly floral and citric in aromas, with fresh lime, honeydew melon, wafting perfume, and familiar suggestions of chalk and cherry pit informing a texturally caressing yet refreshing palate. Would that there were not only more of this wine to go around, but more testimonies from the cellars of other growers as well to the potential charms of Sylvaner! This wine sells out almost immediately, and I failed to score a bottle of 2006. eRobertParker.com # 188, Apr 2010

2007 Domaine Ostertag Fronholz Pinot Gris Alsace
Price: $51.25       Sale $45.10
Quantity in Stock: 17

(91 Points) Effusively musky, carnal, decadently floral (narcissus and faded lily) as well as peachy scents in the Ostertag 2007 Pinot Gris Fronholz are followed by a palate of subtle oiliness, imposing richness, and ripe peach succulence, supported by the subtle sweetening effect of high glycerin (in a wine of already well over 14% alcohol) and 12 grams of residual sugar that are utterly discreet. Yet, in the manner of the best Pinot Gris of its vintage, this retains lovely freshness, vivacity, and primary juiciness. Nut paste; spiced pear and peach; and musky liquid floral perfume linger on the palate as well as in the empty glass. This should remain a treat for at least 6-8 years, though one should monitor it thereafter for signs of alcoholic heat. Ostertag uses mostly older barrels for Fronholz as he thinks its cool, sometimes – as in 2007 – Riesling-like personality is temperamentally opposed to flavors of oak.

Andre Ostertag was like most of his region’s best growers very selective about what he chose to bottle in 2006. He is especially enthusiastic about his uncompromisingly intense 2007s and the sense in which the Rieslings resemble a throwback to the moderate must weights and refreshing acidity that was common in Alsace before the string of warm vintages that has been nearly uninterrupted since 1988. I was surprised to find myself as impresses as I was with the 2007 Pinot Gris bottlings here, but Ostertag says it was simply unfair until very recently to compare his results with that grape to those with Riesling, because the vines of the former were too young. They’ve passed 20 years of age now, and that, he opines, is why they can start to show their real potential (and, I would add, stand up to Ostertag’s use of barriques). While I hate to take up space with this matter, readers should be aware that wines from this estate that formerly bore the village name “Epfig” will now merely be coded with the capital letter “E” because of certain limitations that the authorities have now imposed on the use of village designates and the definition of “village level” names. (Frankly, I wouldn’t even want to understand the regulation if I thought it would prove intelligible!) eRobertParker.com # 188, Apr 2010

2005 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve Alsace
Price: $22.50       Sale $19.80
Quantity in Stock: 7

2007 Trimbach Pinot Blanc Alsace
Price: $17.00       Sale $14.96
Quantity in Stock: 3

2008 Trimbach Riesling Alsace
Price: $24.00       Sale $21.12
Quantity in Stock: 3

2008 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Alsace
Price: $27.00       Sale $23.76
Quantity in Stock: 9

2008 Domaine Zind Humbrecht Zind ( 66% chardonnay, 33% Auxerrois )
Price: $21.00       Sale $18.48
Quantity in Stock: 12

(90 Points) From the Windsbuhl, and consisting of two-thirds Chardonnay, one-third Auxerrois, the 2008 Zind finished with 12.6% alcohol, leaving behind seven grams of sugar that largely supports its flavors of ripe yellow plum, pineapple, and orange along with underlying richness of veal stock. As with a number of Zind-Humbrecht 2008s, there is a decidedly fungal overtone, though taking the form of sauteed champignons that also marry rather well with the wine-s overall character. Interestingly, Humbrecht was at pains to point out that the volumes involved this year led him to put most of this cuvee into a new fuder whose relatively un-toasted interior was bound to convey a certain amount of sheer woodiness, but I personally found this much less noticeable - and certainly less potentially controversial - than the mushroom notes. The balance of sumptuous creaminess with citric refreshment is quite deft and the saliva-inducing savor to me at least quite irresistible. This should be fascinating to pair with a wide range of cuisine, but I would tentatively plan on doing so within the next couple of years. (From 2009, Humbrecht elected after following the evolution in barrique of his Windsbuhl Chardonnay to belatedly blend it into what would otherwise have constituted the Zind cuvee, so we shall end up with a quite distinctive Zind from that vintage, and not one which was amenable to tasting yet when I visited last November.)  . Wine Advocate—David Schildknecht, May 2011.