Grandma, Nonno, and Molly's visit -- night 2

2007 Darting Durkheimer Nonnengarten GEWURZTRAMINER Kabinett (Rheinpfalz, Germany) -- A relatively rare German Gewurz (Grandma's favorite grape?). A lilting and light nose of sweet, musky, tropical fruit, ripe pear and a teeny bit of Gewurz lychee nut. Gentler fruit (pear, grapefruit, guava) coats the mouth, but with a light texture, leaving a clean, lingering finish with the barest hint of bitterness. Slightly sweet, light bodied (only 9.5%). Terrific aperitif style Gewurz. 87. $20 at Spec's on Smith.

2006 Rainoldi SASSELLA Valtellina Superiore (Lombardy, Italy) -- Disappointing. In my view the main flaw in the Nebbiolo wines from the Valtellina is that they are frequently maddeningly thin. Like this one. Medium-light ruby garnet. With lots of airing, it exhibited a medium intensity nose of spiced cherries, balsa wood, and crushed stones. Medium-light bodied, with refreshing, focused, if somewhat thinnish flavors -- cherry fruit and an earthy, woodsy component. Still a little tannin present, which actually helps give the wine some textural interest. 85. Drink soon. $16.99 from Zachys.com (NY).

2005 Trimbach GEWURZTRAMINER (Alsace, France)

It's really hard to find a bad Trimbach white. They're not the upper echelon of Alsace, but they are consistently good and typical of their varietal and region. This was a good, flavorful, and classic Gewurz at a fair price.

Bright brassy gold color. Rich nose of lychee nuts, essence of pear, and sweet minerals. Full and broadly-flavored, with pear, lychee, rose petal and grapefruit components and a slight (but pleasant) bitterness in the long finish. Drink now, as this is an open, low acid gulper. 88. (A tad more acidity and this would have been a superstar.) Was $21 at Spec's. (Importer: Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines).

2007 Helfrich GEWURZTRAMINER (Alsace, France)

This was a great buy (for an Alsace Gewurz).

Medium gold color. Big, ripe nose of lychee, pear, and spice. Fleshy and mouthfilling, with loads of uncomplicated fruit, fully body, and a nice bit of bitter grapefruit in the finish. 87. Drink over the next year with spicy Asian dishes. Was $13 and change at Spec's on Smith.

Vacation wines -- Day 3

2005 Vincent Arroyo Napa Valley Petite Sirah -- This is a small Calistoga winery that Liz and I visited in 1993, and that my brother and his wife visited last year. Usually the wines he makes are very soft, ripe, balanced, and drinkable upon release. This one was just bizarre. Everyone agreed it smelled like lemon-lime Gatorade powder.

2006 Edmeades Mendocino County Zinfandel -- Atypical, but very nice. Soft, berryish fruit, very fleshy and ripe. Won't age well, but nice for current drinking.

2006 Jean Albrecht Pinot Blanc (Alsace) -- This was very clean and fresh, with nice peachy fruit. Not complex or distinguished, but fun to drink.

2002 Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer "Vendages Tardives" (Alsace) -- This late harvest Gewurz was really nice. Lots of apricot and lychee nut fruit, long fresh finish. Not cloyingly sweet.

Dinner: Pasta with meat sauce; pasta with garlic, oil, and broccoli.

Thanksgiving Wines

I find it difficult to pair wines with turkey, so I usually don't break out the most expensive stuff on Thanksgiving. Generally, what I find I like best (or dislike the least) with the dang bird are deeply fruity, non-tannic reds (Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, 1-2 year old Beaujolais). For whites, I generally go with a German Kabinett Riesling, Alsace Gewurz, or off-dry to slightly sweet Chenin Blanc.

So for this Thanksgiving, I went with a coupla wines I've already reviewed here: the Lolonis Vineyards LADYBUG RED Cuvee V (Redwood Valley), previously reviewed here and here, and the 2002 Trimbach Gewurztraminer, previously reviewed here. Both were soft, fruity, and went (relatively) well with turkey.

For dessert, we had a 2004 Rudolf Muller Hainfelder Ordensgut RIESLING EISWEIN. It was surprisingly inexpensive for a true Eiswein -- $19.99 at Central Market. Not the most complex Eiswein around, but very nice. Piercing nose of contrasting smells -- honeyed peaches and tart granny smith apples. Fairly sweet, fruity and long in the mouth, with mouthwatering acidity keeping everything very fresh tasting and light. It was gone before I could go outside and take some more critical notes about it. I'm going to get more of this!

Wines from the DC./Northern VA trip

Just some brief "from memory" notes on some nice wines I got at Arrowwine (a very good wine shop just off of Lee Highway in Arlington, VA) while in the DC area the last few days.

2004 LUDOVICUS (35% Garnacha, 30% Tempranillo, 25% Syrah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon) (Tierra Alta, Spain) -- this was a very good value at $11. Lots of ripe cherry fruit and minerally flavors. Medium full body, with a nice finish and very good balance.

2004 "Yasa" GARNACHA (Calatayud, Spain) -- This was a GREAT buy at $6.99. Textbook grenache nose of spicy ripe raspberry liqueur. Good concentration and loads of clean, ripe fruit in the mouth, with a soft finish with lots of fruit and mineral flavors.

2005 Seifried GEWURZTRAMINER "Nelson" (New Zealand) -- This was my second Gewurz ever from New Zealand, and it was very nice. Ripe, lychee fruit nose. Full and round in the mouth. Off-dry, with great balance and tremendously pure fruit. Was $15.99. This wine has moved up "learning more about New Zealand's wine regions" on my "to do" list. Apparently, Nelson is the northern-most wine region on New Zealand's south island.

Two More Wines from Mom & Dad's Visit

All of the wines from back on November 17 are from Mom & Dad's visit. That explains why I've gotten into some of the "non-cheapies" in my wine closet. These will be the last two from the visit, and then it's back to more reasonably priced fare.

2002 St. Clement Carneros Chardonnay -- This was a really good California Chardonnay, and I'm not that big a fan of California Chardonnay anymore. It had a nice, lightly toasty, smoky nose with lots of ripe apply-pear scents. No cheap oak, cloying butterscotchy-ness. Huge body (15.4% alc.!), but nicely balanced and still fresh. Got it at Richard's on San Felipe about 9 months ago. Can't remember the price.

Three Rivers Winery "Biscuit Ridge Vineyard" Late Harvest Gewurztraminer (Walla Walla Valley, Washington) -- A moderately priced, light bodied, soft dessert wine, with nice, if not inspiring Gewurztraminer character. Auslese style. Very pleasant, but not very complex or deep. About $14 a half bottle at Whole Foods on Bellaire.

2002 Trimbach Gewurztraminer (Alsace)

88. This is one of the nicest basic Trimbach wines I've had in years. My usual complaint is that their entry level wines are on the thin and austere side. Not this one, though. Textbook gewurztraminer nose of lychee nuts, rose water, and a hint of grapefruit. Richly flavored, medium bodied, and balanced in the mouth. Off-dry in style. While not necessarily reflecting any particular terroir in Alsace, it represents a classic example of Alsace gewurz. With its balance, it will hold for another 2 years at least. $11.69 (a steal!) on sale at Cost Plus World Marketplace on Richmond. It went really well with spicy Thai squid with basil and peppers.