WTN: Pre-4th Wines

[Brad Ballinger]

Had some friends over on July 3 for dinner. Starter of variations of goat cheeses, entree of grilled pork tenderloin with cascabel chile honey glaze. Dessert of cherry cobbler.

2003 Schloss Gobelsburg Zobinger Heiligenstein Riesling, Langenlois. I’m not sure I’d pick this out as a riesling if I didn’t see the label. Fat stone fruit. Low acidity. Viscous mouthfeel. And not as dry as one might expect. Lacking minerality. Just weird.

2005 Nicolas Paget “Harmonie” Touraine Azay-Le-Rideau. Oh my, does this go down easy. Lighter-bodied, harmonious balance (have to steal the word from the label) of citrus fruit and stony mineral. Bright acidity. Clean, rain water-like finish.

2001 Domaine du Baumard “Clos du Papillon” Savennieres. Unless you dig deep, this is nothing but mineral at its current stage of development. Almost in a funky way. This wine probably need some time in a decanter to be fully experienced and ultimately enjoyed. Still, it paired well with the goat cheese assortment we had.

2000 David Coffaro Syrah, Dry Creek Valley. I believe this was the first vintage for syrah from Coffaro. FWIW, it gave more of a Dry Creek impression than a syrah impression, if that makes any sense. Ripe red berries, a bit of pepper, short on acid and soft tannins. A light, but ripe wine (if that also makes sense).

1995 Ridge Zinfandel, Lytton Springs Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley. 84% zinfandel, 14% petit sirah, 2% carignan. Take the Coffaro syrah and increase the acid, the tannin, the spice, and add complexity to the fruit, and you approach this wine’s profile. Some secondary elements of toasted oak, some chocolate, a bit of nettles. Very ready right now.

2007 Elio Perrone “Sourgal” Moscato d’Asti. Absolutely love this wine. Bottled in the fall of 2007 not long after harvest. Meant for early consumption. Light, floral, citrus, pear, and not too much sugar.

1993 Philip Togni “Ca’ Togni” Sweet Red Wine, Spring Mountain District. From a 375ml bottle. Pretty sure this is made from something called black hamburg, a version of black muscat. Although I’ve never had the wine before from any vintage or at any stage of development, my impression is that this one has faded and bit. Even so, there was a nice mixture of plums, violets, sweet cherries, and raisins. Soft and syrupy in texture.