Fayetteville Wine Society met August 31 at Fig Cafe in Westwood Shopping Center. With a variety of mid-Eastern dishes (tabbouleh or tabouli salad, pita bread with hummus, etc.) and half sandwiches with ham, beef, or turkey we had white wines from Germany and Alsace. The idea was to have chilled wines for a hot, humid summer evening, but the weather was very cool for a NC summer night (about mid 60's.) I didn't have room to take much in the way of notes (knocked off my pen and even lost a half-sandwich off the plate while cutting another dish) but here is what we had.
#1 Jahreszeiten Durkheimer Feuerberg Gewurztraminer Kabinett, 2007, Pfalz
Sweeter than the Gewurz from Alsace but had the spicy fragrance I want in Gewurz.
#2 Marc Tempe Zellenberg Gewurztraminer 2005, Alsace
Spicy, mineral, pear juice, hint of petrol. Drier and more mineral-driven than the German wine. Would be good with snails or onion tart. Priced around the $30 mark and I ordered a bottle for later pickup.
#3 Villa Wolf Pinot Gris 2007, Pfalz
Dr. Loosen is the winemaker. Off-dry. Some crispness and acidity. More fragrant than wine #4
#4 Lucient Albrecht Cuvee Romanus Pinot Gris 2007, Alsace
I prefered this to #3. Slightly tart and mineral-driven.
#5 Ziegler Mauler Riesling Schlossberg "Les Murets" 2005, Alsace
A grand cru vineyard in Alsace. Built for aging. Tight, not yet showing full potential.
Some petrol on the nose. Hand-harvested grapes.
#6 Von Kesselstatt Piesporter Goldtropchen Riesling Kabinett 2007, Mosel
Chewy, refreshing, floral with apple compote flavor. Slate soil seemed to come through on the palate.
#7 St. Urbans Hof Ockfener Bockstein Rieslig Spatlese 2007, Mosel
Peach or nectarine stone fruit notes. Not as crisp as some Ockfener wines I have enjoyed in the past.
#8 Seebrich Niersteiner Hipping Riesling Auslese 2006, Rheinhessen
From red slate soil. Sweet but balanced. Very elegant and nice. I ordered two bottle of this at $30+ each.
#9 Dr. Loosen Beerenauslese 2006, Mosel
Caramel note. Botrytis or Edelfaule or "Noble Rot" affecting the grapes. Again some petrol notes. Again I prefer Auslese or Eiswein over Beerenauslese.
We also had a few sips of a 1987 Alsheimer Riesling Spatlese from the Rheinhessen (old gold color, with honey and nutty taste elements.)