Vibrant Whites Flashcards
FORREST, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2018
Sauvignon Blanc
$39
The wine is left on its lees to develop that textural creamy mid-palate, before being blended with a small oak component and bottled ready for summer.
Tasting Notes
Classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - all passionfruit, grapefruit, elderflower and flowering blooms on the nose.
To taste, tropical fruits - passionfruit and guava, aromatic herbs -lemon thyme and sage with hints of white flowers. It’s full and generous in the mouth, yet crisp, refreshing and dry with just a hint of salty minerality on the finish.
LINDEN VINEYARDS, “Avenius”, Warren County, Virginia, 2016
Sauvignon Blanc
$60
This is a very adult Sauvignon: both graceful and generous, it is more site-driven than varietal. The warmer 2016 vintage is respected with the wine’s big mid-palate weight, but the classic Avenius acidity and nervosité persists.
Domaine Matthias et Emile Roblin, Ammonites, Sancerre, France, 2013
100% Sauvignon Blanc
$63
This is a textured wine with strong minerality as well as ripe white stone fruits. It is still young, full of life as well as intense fruitiness. The herbal hint at the end will integrate as this fine wine ages further.
ALPHONSE MELLOT, “La Moussiere”, Sancerre, France, 2016
Magnum
Sauvignon Blanc
$109
The wine is sophisticated. It has a strong mineral texture and fine ripe citrus and pear fruits shot through with acidity. With its finishing fruitiness, this is already an attractive wine.
TEGERNSEERHOF, “Smaragd”, Wachau, Austria, 2016
Gruner Veltliner
$54
The nose of this wine boasts pear, celery salt and herbal spice notes. The palate delivers a savory tingle of white pepper and salty soy but also adds luminous, fresh, ripe lemon zest for an incisive, savory and dramatic package. The finish is lip-smacking and long. Drink 2018–2028.
NIKOLAIHOF, “Im Weingebirge Federspiel”, Wachau, Austria, 2016
Gruner Veltliner
$79
Earthy, juicy ripeness of Russet pear is evoked vividly on the nose, while white pepper and ground stone shimmer in the background. The palate is juicy at first, but soon the salty, yeasty, almost cheesy core spreads its savory magic, not without adding vivid apple notes. A very complex and deeply satisfying wine. The finish belongs to zesty, clean lemon.
DOMAINE OSTERTAG, “Les Jardins”, Alsace, France, 2017
Riesling
$56
This 2017 Ostertag is light and dry with beautiful perfumed aromatics. It is clean and pretty with a refreshing finish.
André Ostertag marches to the beat of his own drum, but the wines he crafts carry that rhythm in a most beguiling way. He is not afraid to take risks, but he knows exactly what he’s aiming for in the cellar. Ostertag is not shy about oak usage, for which he exclusively sources locally from the Vosges Mountains. His wines are some of the most versatile in Alsace, given that he ferments almost everything completely dry. The Riesling “Les Jardins” comes from a 2.5-ha plot of 30+-year-old vines on a mix of the four different soil types.
PEWSEY VALE, “Museum Reserve Contours”, Eden Valley, Australia, 2011
Riesling
$69
This is a classic example of an aged Eden Valley Riesling. Pale gold in color, aromas of lemon curd, kerosene, crème brûleé and dried herbs carry the nose. The palate is rich but balanced by mouthwatering acidity and a herbal finish. There’s plenty of life left.
Pewsey Vale The Contours is characterized by a special site, sensitive vine growing and astute winemaking. The Contours Riesling is produced from old vines farmed on the coolest slope within this ruggedly beautiful single vineyard. Bottle ageing for five years before release transforms this Riesling into a complex wine. More richness and complexity will accumulate over future decades.
Pale straw in color with green hues, there are intense classic lemon fruit aromas, with a hint of white flowers. Bottle aged characters of toast, clove oil and lemon grass have started to emerge. The palate shows great length and depth with concentrated power, pristine fresh lime juice overlaid with toasted brioche, sage oil and lemongrass.
The wine finishes with fresh acidity, balancing the flavour intensity. This wine is released in 2017 after 5 years of bottle age, but will gracefully continue to age for many years for those who appreciate bottle aged Riesling.
Try with Foie Gras or duck breast with five spice glaze or fresh gnocchi with olive oil and shaved truffles.
RICHARD BOCKING, “Schlossberg”, Mosel, Germany, 2015
Riesling
$69
Luscious green plum and white grapefruit flavors mark this taut, steely off-dry Riesling. While light in body, it’s creamy in texture, filling the mouth with juicy fruit flavors off set by zesty, lime-inflected acidity. The finish is long and persistent.
SELBACH-OSTER, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlese, Mosel, Germany, 2017
Riesling
$75
From Johannes Selbach’s best site, his finest wine. The fragrance is turning on an exotic charm, which is totally borne out by the delightful zesty and juicy expression of grapefruit and orange on the palate, supported by the most tasteful of bitter nuances and a fine spicy quality. Add an exquisite herbaceous finish and a fine sprinkling of dusty minerality and you have sheer Spätlese joy. Splash it all over. (MS) 18/20
Sonnenuhr (with an old sundial), southwest facing, rocky slope. The steepest single vineyard in the village of Zeltingen with large outcroppings of rock Chunks of blue Devonian slate, very shallow subsoil of decomposed slate on top of slate bedrock
WINE FACTS Winemakers: Johannes Selbach Klaus-Rainer Schaefer Producer: Weingut Selbach-Oster Variant: 750 ml Average Age of Vines: 70 years Average Vineyard Altitude: 40-45 % steep Density: 8,000 vines/ha Production: 4,000 bottles Sustainably Farmed: Yes Harvest Method: By Hand Sorting: By Hand Fermentation and Maceration: No maceration, cold fermentation Aging: 25-35 years Alcohol: 8% Vintage: 2011 Country: GERMANY Grape Varietal: Riesling SKU: GR19
RAUL PEREZ, “La del Vivo”, Bierzo, Spain, 2016
Godello
$75
Single-vineyard Godello from Bierzo, where the harsh continental climate begins to be moderated by the Atlantic. Organically farmed, the fruit is fermented in 500 and 700L oak barrels and old amphorae, with 20% of the wine kept in contact with the skins for a year. A dense, expressive, concentrated wine, with aromas of beeswax, chamomile, almonds, green apple, pear, and lemon followed by a rich, full-bodied palate with a long, complex finish.
From clay and sandy soils of the village of Valtuille de Abajo in Bierzo. To make this wine, the grapes are divided into two parts. Approximately 80% of the grapes are pressed and decanted, then fermented in 500-liter and 700-liter French barrels. That wine remains untouched in the barrels for one year. The remaining 20% of the grapes ferment with skins in clay amphorae where the wine then remains untouched for one year. The two parts are then blended and the wine is bottled without fining or filtration.
MARCHETTI, “Tenuta del Cavaliere”, Marche, Italy, 2018
Verdicchio
$39
BRIGHT, TANGY LEMON AND CRYSTALLINE ACIDITY
Imagine picking a smooth dark stone from a fast-flowing river. Hold the wet stone to your nose and inhale deeply; it’s a sharp, clean, yet earthy smell, one famously reproduced by the best Verdicchio wines. Maurizio Marchetti harvests his grapes slightly on the late side, which in this case adds intensity and concentration to the wonderful waves of rocky acidity. There’s also plenty of tangy citrus, a hint of starfruit, and glorious natural petillance.
WEINGUT WIENINGER, “Gemischter Satz”, Vienna, Austria, 2017
Grüner Veltliner, Weißburgunder, Welschriesling, and Chardonnay
$39
Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC comes from 70% Bisamberg and 30% Nußberg and is a traditional field blend where several varieties are co-planted, co-harvested and fermented together. This field blend of 14 varieties includes Grüner Veltliner, Weißburgunder, Welschriesling, and Chardonnay with small contributions from Riesling, Rotgipfler, Zierfandler, Sylvaner, Traminer, and Neuburger.
Because a Gemischter Satz consists of many different varieties harvested at the same time, this dry white wine will include some unripe grapes and some overripe grapes and results in a wide range of aromas and flavors. Lemony citrus notes, herbs and white flowers co-mingle with ripe tropical flavors of melon and pineapple.
Gaierhof, Trentino-Alto Adige 2016
100% Pinot Grigio.
$36
Straw-yellow with greenish highlights, the Gaierhof Pinot Grigio has an elegant nose suggesting fruit aromas of peach and banana, surrounded by jasmine.
Complex and well-structured, it is filled with lush flavors and a straight forward acidity in the finish. This wine is a perfect companion to appetizer, poultry, seafood and cheese.
Eric Luis 2020 - $59
Our Sancerre appears pale golden in colour with upfront citrus and tropical fruits aromas combined with minerality and hints on the nose. The palate is full, fresh and delicate with passionfruit and zesty lemon, somewhat chalky with a lively acidity, the finish is long with hints of stony minerality.
