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Alexander van Dülmen

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Steigenberger Hotel, Linz, Austria

Steigenberger Hotel, Linz, Austria

This place is attracting customers with misinformation: the hotel is, indeed, directly on the Danube  – but it’s surrounded by an industrial harbor, an Autobahn, and a refinery.  The location of this hotel is ridiculous. (http://de.steigenberger.com/Linz/Steigenberger-Hotel-Linz)

Since the room was totally overheated, I had to open the window – resulting in my room being filled with a strong “odor” of petrol and gas. It is like a deal with the devil: if you close the window it gets warm since you cannot regulate the heating and the “odor” remains in your room. If you keep window open, you at least can let the “odor” mixed with some cold air but you will be entertained the whole night by the Autobahn traffic noise.

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Heimann, Birtokbor, Szekszárd, 2011

Heimann, Birtokbor, Szekszárd, 2011, red wine from Hungary

4,5 points

My friend Gabor Kereszty brought me a box of six different wines from the Hungarian winery Heimann.  Although I thought I would know more than others about Hungarian wine, I must admit I didn’t know of Heimann, from the southern city of Szekszard.

Like all really good Hungarian wine, this is a cuvée! Birtokbor contains Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) and Syrah – according to the website of Heimann (http://www.heimann.hu/en/menu/wines). It is the very well-balanced combination of grapes that makes it very notable and, simply speaking, good.

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Sole, Chardonnay, 2014, Recas

Sole, Chardonnay Barrique, 2014, de Recas, white wine from Romania

2,5 points

According to the back label, there are only 25,000 bottles of this wine, which is produced from Recas’s best vineyards – “Dealul Tiganulul” or “Gispey Hill”. It was given to me by a brave Romanian who told me about the surprising quality of this Romanian chardonnay. I have always been surprised by interesting and good wines from Romania. But I believe I was always tasting only the top wines  – since the people who offered me some of these wines knew that I like wine and pretend to understand something about it.

Until then I had only tried red wines – this was the first white.

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Cosimo Taurino A 64, 2003, Salento

Cosimo Taurino A 64, 2003, Salento, Puglia, red wine from Italy

4,5 points

Sometimes there are moments when you are tired and exhausted. You look for something that will make you happy because you want to treat yourself. The very best wines of the world aren’t suitable for these moments, since you shouldn’t really drink expensive or extraordinary wine when you’re so fatigued. Outstanding wines are elegant and should be enjoyed at the right time, perhaps along with some very good food as well as, probably, with some friends. Cosimo Taurino is the perfect wine for what I’ve described above, it is only for you: it is rich, heavy, pretty voluminous and has quite a bit of alcohol (14,5%!).

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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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Aranyszarvas, Restaurant, Budapest, Hungary

Aranyszarvas, Restaurant in Budapest, Hungary

5,5 points      UNFORTUNATELY THIS RESTAURANT IS SHUT DOWN since 2017

This has been my favorite restaurant in Budapest for many years. It became a place of many lunches in the Hungarian capital as some years ago the office of an affiliated company I worked with was WP_20150303_007just around the corner. Today I only come at night and it is very nice as well.

This restaurant offers an appropriate mix of classic style, elegance and coziness. You feel immediately very snugly like in a familiar big living room.

The food is a perfect combination of high end Hungarian cuisine and an excursion into southern European styles.

The menu is constantly changing and oriented to the seasons, but probably also to the weekly inspirations of the chef. What I really like is that you recognize an individual character and – let’s call it – a signature in all of the dishes. Whether you take the fish, chicken or some lamb, the way it is prepared and cooked is somehow similar, always down to earth in its substance but subtly flavored.

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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.

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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.

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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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Cua Do Restaurant, Da Nang

Cua Do, Seefood Restaurant in Da Nang, Middle Vietnam

6 points for food

2 points for restaurant

There are probably even more than millions of seafood restaurants in Vietnam, in particular along the very beautiful cost but some of them are outstanding. I believe the people who run it aren’t really aware about it as the cooks, the service people and waitress are probably such doing a “good” job. Aside of the fact that the variety fresh available seafood is impressive you still should know how to prepare all these different fishes, shells, langoustine, lobsters, slugs and crabs.

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Hotel La Sommitá, Ostuni, Puglia, Italy

Hotel La Sommitá, Hotel in Ostuni, Puglia in Italy

7 points for hotel

6 points for restaurant

This is a really beautiful small hotel in Puglia (www.lasommita.it). It is located at the top of the historic center of Ostuni, a very beautiful little town between Brindisi and Bari. Because of its unique location, you find yourself in the middle of a vital old town but at the same time shielded from any noise but also from the southern Italian heat (if you’re there in summer). A small garden surrounded by high old walls offers an oasis of silence which at night acts as the outdoor part of hotel’s restaurant.

From the top of the building or from atop some of the walls, you can see the lowlands between Ostuni and the Adriatic Sea. During hot summers there is always a mild and refreshing breeze, while in spring or autumn it gets unexpectedly chilly at times.

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