Grosses Gewachs

Have you noticed the GG designation after the Einzellage name on the label? (Also that the village names were not on the labels - Hofberg is in Dhron and Pechstein in Forst). GG stands for Grosses Gewachs (literally Great Growths) a designation for the members of VDP, the Association of German Pradikat Wine Estates, for their top dry wines from top sites. Although widely used, it is not a legal designation (VDP membership is optional and some top estates are not members). The Rheingau, on the other hand, has another designation - Erstes Gewachs, for their corresponding wines, but this one is defined by Law. There is also another symbol designating GG, that is the one behind Hofberg on the label on the left, the numeral 1 with an elongated baseline (hence looking like capital L) with a cluster of grapes. Apparently this will be the official symbol for GGs some time in the near future.

Schilfwein

Schilfwein (Schilf = reed) or Strohwein (Stroh = straw) is one of those Pradikats which exist in Austria but no in Germany (cf Ausbruch). The two terms are sort of interchangeable and refer to the Pradikat for wine made from grapes dried on straw, ie the Austrian version of "vin de paille". The grapes are dried for at least 3 months, to reach the sugar level for Beerenauslese, though the grapes can be pressed if the sugar level of Trockenbeerenauslese is reached after two months.

Austrian Schilfwein is not readily available in Hong Kong until recently. I had seen one advertised in a catalogue but had not got around to getting one when I saw them at this year's wine fair. This wine was available for tasting and I also ended up buying a bottle of Zweigelt Schilfwein. A golden yellow colour, this Muskat Ottonel Schilfwein had a sweet nose which surprising contained notes reminiscent of botrytis. The sweet fruity palate was nicely balanced by a long acid finish. The Zweigelt needs another tidbit when I have tried it.

Caro

To round off this series on joint venutres, we take a look at another Rothschild (Lafite) collaboration, this time with Catena in Argentina. With the name derived from an amalgamation of CAtena and ROthschild, the idea of the collaboration was first mooted in 1998, to produce a wine that would combine the two cultures as well as the two signature grapes of the two producers, Cabernet Sauvginon and Malbec (though if the truth be said, Malbec is actually also a Bordeaux grape (cf Gruaud-Larose)). The first vintage was produced in 2000, Another wine with a fruity style derived from a higher proportion of Malbec was launched in 2003 - Amancaya. Finally the collaboration produced a Malbec varietal, Aruma last year.

Ex Ex 8 - Marselan from Emporda

This is Ex Ex 8, a varietal Marselan from Emporda. Marselan is a Cabernet Suavignon x Grenache cross bred in France in 1961. It is allowed in small amounts into Rhone and Languedoc/Roussillon blends. This however is a varietal from DO Emporda. It is still only an experimental wine as far as DO Emporda is concerned, but if the results from Castillo Perelada and other wineries are promising, then it can be allowed into the normal wines of the DO.

This experimental wine is from the Ex Ex series made by Castillo Perelada (Ex Ex stands for Exceptional Experiences). For some years they have been making small quantities of unique experimental wines, which they will not repeat. As you can see from the edge of the label, they only made 1347 bottles of this wine, so I was most surprised to be able to taste it at this year's wine fair. Deep purple at the rim with a dark core typical of young wines, it had a sweet fruity nose with wood much in evidence. The palate was sweet woody and fruity, but with some alcoholic heat and the finish was mildly acid but tannic.

Sassicaia

This is the famous Sassicaia, one of the first Supertuscans wines. The wine was first produced by Maio Incisa della Roche in 1948 using Cabernet Sauvignon (reputedly sourced from Lafite) for family consumption. Small quantities were released commercially in the 1970s after international consultants had been engaged to improve production. Initially only a Vino di Tavola because it did not conform to the wine laws of the time, it was then promoted to IGT before becoming the first estate to receive its own DOC (Bolgheri). Although it has now been somewhat overshadowed by Ornellaia and Solaia, incidentally produced by his cousins, Sassicaia remains an important Supertuscan, especially as it was one of the first to win international recognition, with the 1972 vintage coming first in a 1978 Decanter blind tasting of 33 "great clarets' from 11 countries.

What of this bottle? Acid and fruity on the nose, it was soft with less pronounced fruit (compared with the nose) on the palate. Acidity was abundant and of the type that makes the mouth water, appearing late in the palate but continuing to a nice long finish. Nice!

Louis Michel Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

The Michel family have been growing grapes in Chablis since 1850, in vineyards which have been cultivated since the 11th Century. Emphasizing the terroir of these ancient vineyards and with a philosophy of bringing out the best Nature has to offer, they have switched to fermenting in stainless steel around 40 years ago to help ensure purity of fruit. Their Grand Cru holdings include the climats of Vaudesir, Les Clos and Grenouilles, whose wines are matured over fine lees for 18 months. Their Website suggests aging these wine for 10 years to show the wines at their best. A Taiwanese book suggest minimum of 10-20 years, with the capacity to age for up to 40 years!

The label above came from one of a half dozen 1991s, which I bought at the Club some 10-12 years ago. I opened a bottle not long after I bought them and the wine was not that impressive. I gave a bottle to my sister and forgot about them. The second of the bottles I opened was when the wine was 10+ years old and I then found it quite nice. A later bottle was even better. Now I've only got one bottle left. Should I open it now that it has reached twenty, or shall I keep it a little longer? The 10 years suggested on the website should perhaps be an indication of minimum length of aging for particularly impatient souls.

A Georgian white wine made in clay amphorae

Georgia is one of, if not, the oldest wine region in the world, having been growing wine for around 8000 vintages. In the old days, wines were fermented in amphorae (cf Greece, but also China - see blog on Lou Lan) and this has continued to this day in Georgia, for the wine in the picture is made in this way. I met this wine at the Georgian Pavilion at this year's wine fair. Made from the Mtsvane grape, it was not only fermented in clay but spent some time aging in clay amphorae. That winery used to be a Monastery, hence the name Monastery wine. Golden yellow in colour, clay pot notes were evident on the nose together with the wine's orangey fruity bouquet. These clay pot notes were also there on the palate complementing the off-dry orangey fruity wine, which has an acidic finish. Interesting!