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Alexander van Dülmen

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Spätburgunder Rosé, Grosse Reserve, 2013, Weingut Aldinger

Spätburgunder Rosé, Grosse Reserve, Trocken, 2013, Weingut Aldinger, rosé wine from Germany

4,5 points

The only difficulty I have with the winery is the location. It is in Fellbach which is a suburb of Stuttgart, simply an ugly city in the southwest of Germany where all people speak a ridiculous dialect called “Schwäbisch”.  God built the world within six days; “Schwäbisch” was probably at very end when he hadn’t anymore the mood to create something nice….

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One very nice thing about our life is that ugliness is so often very close to beauty. You need to keep eyes open even in the worst corners of the world because you will always discover something valuable. Germany would be poorer if there wasn’t this wonderful winery Aldinger. (http://www.weingut-aldinger.de/). They produce a huge variety of wines but their specialty is perhaps red wines which undoubtedly belong to the top top in Germany. You will find sooner or later, in other places on this blog, some reports about some other wines of Aldinger.

When I visited the Aldinger family, who have been winemakers for many generations, I got a gift: this rosé! Generally I am not really a big fan of rosé. In the most cases, rosé is really too sweet for me. Rosé is something which can only support a kind of a beach feeling for girls. Usually it isn’t filigree and rich of character. Considering this, I have to admit that that rosé is good and substantial. Instead of sweet it is natural fruity. Continue reading “Spätburgunder Rosé, Grosse Reserve, 2013, Weingut Aldinger” →

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Juliusspital, 2008 Würzburger Stein, Riesling GG

German Riesling from Würzburg

4 points

After more than two years I opened my last Bocksbeutel (the name of the special form of a bottle of wine from the Main area) of a Riesling from a pretty big wine producer from Würzburg called Juliusspital. My favorite of these wines is the Weißer Burgunder. Nevertheless tonight I am drinking a 2008 Würzburger Stein GG. It is wonderful, pretty heavy, rich and voluminous. It iWP_20150218_002s incorporable different than other great German Riesling as it isn’t too mineral and sour. Riesling isn’t gold of course in a glass, but if you would like to find a color of the taste you would take rather golden white wines as a reference. I opened the bottle today (18.2.2015) also because I had Nürnberger Bratwürstel, Sauerkraut and Kartoffelbrei (Nürnberger sausages, sauerkraut and mashed potatos); for this earthy and intense food it was a good complement.

In general you can buy Juliusspital’s wine  at their own website but also, for example, at the Kaufhof Galeria at Alexanderplatz in Berlin. I doubt you will find the 2008 vintages in any store, but you never know!

Cheers

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Saint Salonuis, Pinot Noir, Abbaye Le Lerins, 2008

Saint Salonuis, Pinot Noir, Ile Saint Honorat, Vine de Pays des Mediterrainée, 2008, red-wine from France

6,5 points

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The first time I drank this wine was at Cave Crevette in Cannes. I was looking for something unknown and had asked for something really local – and surprisingly they proposed a Pinot Noir from an island in the south of Cannes: Ile Saint Honorat. Obviously being very curious to taste a local Pinot Noir, this wine became a big discovery.

We all know that there is one domain of Pinot Noir in France, which is obviously Burgundy, and that many people would say this is the only area for something authentic – which is clearly stupid – since there are fantastic Pinot Noirs also in Germany, New Zealand, Hungary or even in Southern Tirol. There is one other little island which delivers fantastic French Pinot Noir.

You would expect to find grapes such as Syrah, Grenache or Mourvèdre in this region, but certainly not Pinot Noir. For me, this wine is one of the best but also one of the most unique Pinot Noir I know of. It is somehow very voluminous but also remarkably fresh. There is a note of pepper and you might even think you detect some salt in it. The soil must be rocky and stony as the wine has some unique mineral quality. Probably this has something to do with the weather conditions but perhaps the wind is different than on the mainland.

Continue reading “Saint Salonuis, Pinot Noir, Abbaye Le Lerins, 2008” →

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Bistro and Winebar Cave Croisette, Cannes

Cannes: Cave Croisette at Rue de Antibes

5 points

Everyone who knows me also knows how much I dislike Cannes. However, due to my business, I had to be there quite often.

WP_000737If you prefer to stay away from the touristic areas and horrifying food alleyways, if you like to avoid the grotesque freaks with some super models at the Croisette, and if you’d rather be around “normal” people, you should visit a small Brasserie and wine bar called Cave Crevette, at the beginning of Rue de Antibes. See here.

There is a very nice and nimble lady running this place – if I remember right, her name is Isabelle. The service is perfect and incomparably fast, considering the southern French and in particular Cannes waiter. As I was told, she is from the north of France as an explanation for her diligence.

Continue reading “Bistro and Winebar Cave Croisette, Cannes” →

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Schloss Proschwitz, Spätburgunder, 2009 Proschwitz

Schloss Proschwitz, Spätburgunder, 2009, red-wine from Germany

4 points

Schloss Proschwitz is a winery close to Meissen in Saxonia. Meissen is world famous because of its porcelain manufactory and its historical prominent assemble of its cathedral and castle called Albrechtsburg.

Burgberg mit Albrechtsburg und Dom (Leander Wattig)
Burgberg mit Albrechtsburg und Dom (Leander Wattig)

Schloss Proschwitz is one of the main and well known wineries in this area nevertheless many people who like wine would not expect some special wines from the north of Dresden. It is indeed a pretty northern region but because of this it may is even more surprising and interesting that you can discover some very notable wines. Continue reading “Schloss Proschwitz, Spätburgunder, 2009 Proschwitz” →

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RivaBella, Restaurant, Los Angeles, USA

RivaBella, Italian Restaurant, Los Angeles, USA

0,5 points

What a dreary and uninspired restaurant. I guess all the food here tastes the same, having no particular or distinguishing flavors, but is in an American way “rich” which in the most of the cases means that it is just heavy. Although the waiter was “so” nice, I could have selected any dish it would have been an excellent choice, if not the best of the night. Don’t be foolish enough to ask him about anything as he – honestly a really nice guy – would probably never have had a chance to taste any of the dishes he’s serving.

The place isn’t inviting and just shamefully expensive considering your experience. Any pasta dish is not below $20.00! Main courses are all at least $40.00!

Continue reading “RivaBella, Restaurant, Los Angeles, USA” →

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Cháteau Beau Séjours, 1998

Cháteau Beau Séjours, 1998, Bordeaux, St. Emelion Gran Cru, Red wine from France

5,5 points

I stumbled upon this bottle in my mother’s cellar. Not knowing anything particular about this wine, we just decided to open and decant it.

Simply speaking: very delicious but somehow stronger tannins than I am used to. The whole tasting experience was a graceful one, although it lacked some depth. There were a lot of flavors like dry fruits as plums and some real country flavors. Nevertheless, this wine wasn’t really filigree. Perhaps it would have been better to give the wine more than an hour air before you sip the first glass.

My drinking experiences is older than this blog. We tasted the wine more than one year ago. Hopefully it wasn’t too early.

It is probably not possible to get this wine (and vintage) at any store. Here is the website of the winemaker: http://www.beausejour-becot.com/

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Merengö, St. Andrea, 2006

Merengö Egri Bikavér superior 2006, St. Andrea, Red wine from Hungary

6,5 points

My favorite Hungarian wine maker is St. Andrea (http://www.standrea.hu/). So far I haven’t had a chance to visit them, although this is a producer I would really like to get to know. They produce a variety of wines: white and red, from typical grapes of the Eger wine region in Hungary, but also Pinot Noir. Most of the wines of St. Andrea are cuvées.

While I’m a big fan of their Pinot Noir, the most prestigious and certainly also their top wine is called Merengö. It is a cuvée made from ca. 50% Kékfrankos, then Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

Continue reading “Merengö, St. Andrea, 2006” →

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Terra Soprana, Cucée MORE

Terra Soprana, 2012, Red wine from Portugal

bad
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This worthless cuvée is made of Portugese grapes: according to the back side label is Touriga Nacional, Castelâo and Trincadeira.

It tastes artificial, uninspired and just flat. Nothing really happens even if you wait some hours after opening it.

This wine isn’t some stuff from any winery in particular but probably shuffled together by some wine importeurs. If you’d like to read something about these types of wines, you can find some stuff at (http://www.cmweine.de/sortiment).

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Jos. Christoffel Jr, Erdener Treppchen, Riesling Spätlese, 1996

Jos. Christoffel Jr, Erdener Treppchen, Riesling Spätlese, 1996, White wine from Germany

7 points

Yes you can keep white wine for decades: Many Mosel Rieslinge can be stored for years. Many of them get better.

This wine is such a classic that many people would think: “oh god, this looks like stuff my grandparents would have in their pantry: sweet German white wine which gives you a headache.

Continue reading “Jos. Christoffel Jr, Erdener Treppchen, Riesling Spätlese, 1996” →

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Grignano, Chianti Rufina, 2010

Grignano, Chianti Rufina, 2010, Tuscany, 2010, Red wine from Italy

3,5 points

Even though this wine is already four to five years old, surprisingly you don’t really taste the aging. There isn’t maturity or richness and dry fruitiness you usually experience when you open a “red” from Toscana. It is rather fresh, still very young, somehow a bit sour but pretty full of its own character. You may like it or you may not, but this wine doesn’t deliver any kind of Mediterranean flair like sun, heat, dry earth or straw. With my limits of tasting I guess – in the case I would have to taste the wine blindly – I would even tend toward some flavors I associate with nebbiolo. Nebbiolo is a grape of Piedmont. If you translate Nebbiolio into German something like “nebelig” would be a reasonable translation. “Nebelig” means foggy or misty.

Continue reading “Grignano, Chianti Rufina, 2010” →

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Poggia delle Faine, 2006

Poggia delle Faine, 2006, Red wine from Italy

2 point

This wine is a remarkable example of good marketing! It was ca. € 9 per bottle, although I don’t think you can still get it. The wine ranked on many wine testing charts within Top 5 and 1. Many magazines, wine testers and of course websites presented this wine as something very special. Based on this assumption I also bought some bottles.

Continue reading “Poggia delle Faine, 2006” →

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