WTN: Christmas Wines

[Brad Ballinger]

This was an odd Christmas. Typically we get together with my wife’s immediate family around (never on) Christmas, and that did happen this year. Typically, we get together with my brother’s family on Christmas Eve, and that did not happen. Typically, we get together with my wife’s extended family on her mother’s side on Christmas Day, and for the first time in my 14 years of knowing her and her 43 years of life, that did not happen. Christmas day is all about Grandma (who will turn 95 in January), and each year it seems the great-grandchildren are growing exponentially in number. This year, the event was just too huge for anyone to host, and we’re all getting together in a week for Grandma’s 95th, so a tradition comes to an end.

Compounding all of this, my mother is staying with us. My stepfather passed a few days before Thanksgiving, and my mother wanted to get out of the house around the holidays. So we’ve had her since December 20th, and will until January 7th before she flies back to Colorado. My brother is relieving me of some of the sonly duties for a couple days.

My mother likes to visit or have me visit because it means she will get to try wine that isn’t of the jug variety. She had never had a dessert wine before, so after the candlelight service a church on Christmas Eve, we set out some cookies we had baked earlier in the day, and I opened a 1998 A. Kracher Muskat Ottonel Trockenbeerenauslese No. 5, Burgenland. She has never had a wine from Austria either. If I had to pick a grape that would be a terrific perfume, a strong case could be made for muscat. Pronounced orange blossoms and orange oil on the nose, and I said to myself, “this wine is going to be killer with the cookies.” I’ve had some of Kracher’s wines that have amounted to little more than syrup. Not this one. While there is that initial cloying of vanilla anc viscosity upon crossing the lips, the acidity quickly takes over, and the wine is a pure explosion of oranges and honey, with just enough undercurrent of floral and spice to keep this from being a low-alcohol version of Grand Marnier. Held in the mouth, the wine seems to gain power. It’s one that can be ignored for at least 10-15 years, but it’s hard to ignore it when it’s so damn good right now. Merry Christmas, Mom.

On Christmas Day, I carted mother over to my brother’s, and Marcia and I faced a two day back-to-normal respite. I built a fire downstairs, set out some DVDs I had procured from Blockbuster, and set out a spread of what we call “fun food” – a pate, a terrine, some fruit, some cheese. With this particular spread, I picked up a jar of something called “pear mustard” – 85% pears, 15% sugar, and a little mustard essence. I figured it would go great with the goat cheese, and I was right. I’ll be picking up two more jars of this stuff today. With the spread, I thought a mature Rhone white would do the trick, and I opened a 1992 J.L. Chave Hermitage Blanc. The color was on the borderline between a rich golden and a light amber. The nose showed some oxidation, which was not entirely unexpected. The nose also showed some roasted hazelnut, lemon, and minerals. On the palate, the wine was full of life. The acid level was incredible. The fruit, although obviously fading, hadn’t yet tipped out of the canoe. There were some nice citrus and dried fig elements here. Finally, a nutty/resiny texture. The wine finish with power and showed sleek minerality, and a skosh of lemon pith. We had the bottle opened for two hours, and the integrity didn’t fall off one bit from start to finish.

[docsconz]

No jug wines those.