Wine Tag: G

[Brad Ballinger]

Working our way through the alphabet we come to the letter "G." Tell us about wines made from gamay, grenache (garnacha), grignolino, gruner veltliner, greco, grechetto, grauburgunder, or gewurztraminer. Tell us about wine from the villages of Graach, Givry, or Gevrey-Chambertin. Tell us about wines from the vineyards of Goldtropfchen, Les Genevrieres, Grands-Echezeaux or Griotte-Chambertin. Tell us about the Bordeaux chateaux of Giscours, Gloria, Grand-Puy-Lacoste, or Gruaud Larose. Tell us about wine from the Italian DOCs of Greco di Tufo or Gavi. Tell us about grand crus, grand cru classes, first second thrid fourth or fifth growths. Tell us about grapey wines and gamey wines. Tell us about anything made from grapes.

2002 Domaine Barmes Buecher Rosenberg Silice Pinot Gris. This is a stony, smoky, spicy, orangey, smooth mouthful of delight. The nose took a while to open up. Showed some beeswax-like aroma, with smoke, and orange peel. Quite mineral-driven on the palate, with spice and rich citrus flavors. Moderate acidity and a somewhat lush texture, but not even close to flabby. This is nowhere near an "in your face" Alsatian pinot gris, and is quite lovely in its understated presentation.

1995 Domaine Santa Duc "Prestige de Hautes Garrigues" Gigondas. Anything but subtle -- at first. The first several tastes of this wine showed an angry monster that had been rudely awaken from a restful slumber. It also appeared slightly reductive. After an hour of aeration, it had transformed into a rich textured, multi-layered wine that gave off rich earthy minerals, black pepper, spice, olives, and blackberry. Gripping, ripe tannins. Finishes strong and goes on for well over a minute. I had been sitting on this wine, looking at it from time to time, wondering is it ready, beyond ready, what. Anyone with some can leave it alone for a while yet.

[doviakw]

M. Chapoutier Chateauneuf du Pape "Barbe Rac" 1999

Where's the G? The wine is 100% Grenache!

In my opinion, this is a wonderful wine full of earth and dark fruit (my wife thought "plums", I couldn't get that specific) with a touch of leather/tobacco in the back. The fruit was not at all forward (maybe still a bit closed?) but enough was there to give a succession of flavors. A medium finish with enough tannin to stand up to the lamb but not so much as to be distracting. I don't have enough experience to have followed the progression of any wine for more than a few years but I "feel" that this CdP should age gracefully for awhile and I think that I'll enjoy following this one.

[David94928]

Working our way through the alphabet we come to the letter "G." 

←

2002 Rosemount Estate GSM Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre McLaren Vale

53% Grenache 41% Syrah 6% Mourvedre

Fairly dark in color - very deep red

Aromas of dark cherries, some crushed raspberry, brown sugar, just a hint of mint/eucalyptus - not overly complex.

Soft in the mouth...flavors of raspberry liqueur, not much else. Just a little bit of heat from the 14.5% alcohol in the finish.

Nothing too exciting but it will do for tonight.

Got this at Trader Joes about a year ago for about $6.99

Edited January 8, 2007 by David94928 (log)

[dinwiddie]

2001 Gravner Ribolla Gialla Venezia-Giulia Anfora

Amber colored, a huge wine for a white, more powerful than some of the reds I've had. Pineapple, appricots, with a touch of honey and spice. This wine changed character as it opened. One of the more unusual white's I've ever had.

[Brad Ballinger]

2001 Gravner Ribolla Gialla Venezia-Giulia Anfora

Amber colored, a huge wine for a white, more powerful than some of the reds I've had. Pineapple, appricots, with a touch of honey and spice. This wine changed character as it opened. One of the more unusual white's I've ever had.

←

I would say that last sentence is probably an understatement. You've opened a not-very-cheap bottle of wine, and Josko Gravner's first Ribolla Gialla that was fermented in terracotta amphorae buried in the earth. The amber color of Gravner's wines made in this fashion should not scare anyone off (although it's understandable to think one should be scared). They are fully alive, as dinwiddie experienced. This particular wine (although a 2001 white) wasn't released until the Fall of 2005.

Glad you posted about it.

[dinwiddie]

2001 Gravner Ribolla Gialla Venezia-Giulia Anfora

Amber colored, a huge wine for a white, more powerful than some of the reds I've had. Pineapple, appricots, with a touch of honey and spice. This wine changed character as it opened. One of the more unusual white's I've ever had.

←

I would say that last sentence is probably an understatement. You've opened a not-very-cheap bottle of wine, and Josko Gravner's first Ribolla Gialla that was fermented in terracotta amphorae buried in the earth. The amber color of Gravner's wines made in this fashion should not scare anyone off (although it's understandable to think one should be scared). They are fully alive, ad dinwiddie experienced. This particular wine (although a 2001 white) wasn't released until the Fall of 2005.

Glad you posted about it.

←

Brad,

I got it at Dino in Washington DC. (If you are in town you should check out his list, it is exceptionally well priced and quite large.) He had it for $150 on his list, but it was wine madness so it was (only) $100. I shared it with my wife, son, sister, and nephew. None of them are major wine geeks, but they all loved it. I don't normally spend that much on a bottle of white wine but it was well worth it, and it was a great night of fun and family.

Edited January 19, 2007 by dinwiddie (log)

[dinwiddie]

‘85 Torres Gran Caronas Mas La Plana Estate “Gran Reserva”

This was brought to a dinner in December and it was one of my favorite wines of the night. Over 20 years old but still youthful. It has the appearance, flavors and structure of a wine that a quarter of it's age. Smoke, loam, leather, mushrooms and dark fruit on the nose and even more on the tongue. A perfectly balanced wine that was a joy to drink.

[doviakw]

‘85 Torres Gran Caronas Mas La Plana Estate “Gran Reserva”

This was brought to a dinner in December and it was one of my favorite wines of the night.  Over 20 years old but still youthful.  It has the appearance, flavors and structure of a wine that a quarter of it's age.  Smoke, loam, leather, mushrooms and dark fruit on the nose and even more on the tongue.  A perfectly balanced wine that was a joy to drink.

←

I have a few bottles remaining of the 1989 version of this wine (A Pennsylvania LCB "Chairman's Selection" about a year and a half ago). While not as "deep" as your description of the `85, it's still got a lot of the complexity that seems to come with age ... not that I have too much experience with older wines!

[Brian Murdock]

Plenty of Garnacha in Spain, especially in Aragon (D.O. Calatayud, D.O. Campo de Borja and D.O. Cariñena), and in Priorat and Montsant where the old vine Garnacha plays a key role in those blends.

One variety I'd like to add is the grape Godello, which makes delicious whites from Galicia. The most famous region is D.O. Valdeorras. A good "G" Godello worth trying is "Gutián". You can also find Godello in some other parts of Galicia, and even in El Bierzo (León) which is right next door.

G could also be used for Galician wines in general: Albariños (Rías Baixas), Ribeiros, Ribeira Sacra, Monterrei and Valdeorras. One interesting thing about those wines is that no foreign grapes are used, and most wines made available are made from grape varieties that are native to the region, so it's a good chance to try something different.