WTN: Two cheapies from Dressner

[Mark Lipton]

On Sunday, we engaged our son Andrew in preparing a pizza dinner wherein we each assembled two small pizzas for ourselves, a game that Andrew greatly enjoyed. To go with our pizza, I opened a bottle of:

2007 Iché "Les Heretiques" VdP de l"Herault
nose: cherryish fruit, stony minerality
palate: simple fruit, decent acidity, medium-light body, mild tannins

Not a complex wine by any stretch, but a fine pizza wine in a CdR-ish sorta vein (without the gamey qualities I prize in CdR).

Tonight, with a dinner of leftover chicken eaten after Jean and I returned from running review sessions for our classes (at different times -- tag-team parenting) I opened:

2007 JP Brun Beaujolais Blanc
nose: initially, malolactic butter, later turning more mineral and pineapply
palate: initially soft, turning mineral and acid, with lemon and pineapple fruit and a lightly creamy finish

Louis/Dressner imports, who brought in both these bottles, has become over the past few years our principal source of QPR imports. The Les Heretiques sold for less than $10 and the Brun for about $12 (during the
CSW moving sale) and both wines punched well above their weight, to employ one of Dale W''s metaphors.

Mark Lipton

[David M. Bueker]

The Brun is a consistent value. I've not had the Iche.

[Marc D]

I had a very enjoyable bottle of the 2007 Heretiques last week. Really fresh acidity in this years version. I think it is old vine carignan, maybe some other grapes too. I have never tried Iche's higher end wines, but the Heretiques is sold at the local co-op and comes around every vintage. It is a steal for the price.

[Jenise]

I had a very enjoyable bottle of the 2007 Heretiques last week. Really fresh acidity in this years version. I think it is old vine carignan, maybe some other grapes too. I have never tried Iche's higher end wines, but the Heretiques is sold at the local co-op and comes around every vintage. It is a steal for the price.

Thanks for the tip--I'll look for it next time I'm at the co-op.

[Marc D]

I had a very enjoyable bottle of the 2007 Heretiques last week. Really fresh acidity in this years version. I think it is old vine carignan, maybe some other grapes too. I have never tried Iche's higher end wines, but the Heretiques is sold at the local co-op and comes around every vintage. It is a steal for the price.

Thanks for the tip--I'll look for it next time I'm at the co-op.

Look for this label (except its now the 2007 vintage):


grapes from 70 year old Carignan vines and some syrah in the mix.

[Tim York]

I am getting increasingly impressed by how reasonable some US prices are for European wine. This is understandable, perhaps, for bottles imported when the dollar was stronger but that cannot apply to Brun's Beaujolais blanc 07; its price here in Belgium from an importer who is not a greedy pricer is €9,20 (approx. $ 12.30) but I did manage to pick up some bottles just over the border in France for €7,50 ($10). Still, you are doing very well over there.

[Mark Lipton]

I am getting increasingly impressed by how reasonable some US prices are for European wine. This is understandable, perhaps, for bottles imported when the dollar was stronger but that cannot apply to Brun's Beaujolais blanc 07; its price here in Belgium from an importer who is not a greedy pricer is €9,20 (approx. $ 12.30) but I did manage to pick up some bottles just over the border in France for €7,50 ($10). Still, you are doing very well over there.

"some" is the operative term here, Tim. Yes, a few importers and their vignerons have done a wonderful job of keeping pricing reasonable (i.e. low) but there is no shortage of €10 bottles selling stateside for upwards of $50. Our much-lauded three-tier system hides any number of egregious abuses.

Mark Lipton

[Lou Kessler]

JBL and I will be seeing J. Dressner towards the end of this month and we know he would like you to refer to his wines as less expensive.

[Mark Lipton]

JBL and I will be seeing J. Dressner towards the end of this month and we know he would like you to refer to his wines as less expensive.

I'll be certain to take that under advisement, Lou. As I've likely already burned whatever bridges might have existed between us, I don't quite see what the downside to non-compliance is, though, short of him siccing the Park Slope mafiosi on me.

Mark Lipton

[Lou Kessler]

JBL and I will be seeing J. Dressner towards the end of this month and we know he would like you to refer to his wines as less expensive.

I'll be certain to take that under advisement, Lou. As I've likely already burned whatever bridges might have existed between us, I don't quite see what the downside to non-compliance is, though, short of him siccing the Park Slope mafiosi on me.

Mark Lipton

Hoke doth understand the wrath of Joe D. Have thou also felt the blows of the Manhattan meshugah ?

[Mark Lipton]

Hoke doth understand the wrath of Joe D. Have thou also felt the blows of the Manhattan meshugah ?

Compared to Hoke (or Joe Perry), I'm Joe D's best friend, I'm sure. I've merely stepped over the line a time or two with below-the-belt comments. Nothing to incur a full-blown vendetta, mind you, but nothing to endear me, either.

Mark Lipton

[David M. Bueker]

Please, please, please can we call them utter cheapies?!?!

[Lou Kessler]

Please, please, please can we call them utter cheapies?!?!

Yes, Yes, Yes and I'll not tell Dressner where you live.

[Hoke]

Please, please, please can we call them utter cheapies?!?!

You mean, me and Perry? I've been called worse. And so have you, Mr. [Insert wrong spelling here]

Seems like the more you like Dressner's wines the more he goes out of his way to crap all over you.

Interesting business model, that.

[David M. Bueker]

It is odd that I seem to buy more of the wines. Ah well - hate the importer not the wines they always say.