WTN: Wines with food

[Florida Jim]

1999 Nigl, Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben:
I am often at a loss for specific adjectives with veltliner; suffice it to say that this is viscous without being cloying, broad on the palate and yet still focused, has lots of spicy and mineral tinged complexity but as a part of an integrated whole, and is extremely long in the mouth. ‘Decades left in the cellar and, I suspect, development at a glacial pace – still, drinking it now is a very fulfilling experience and not to be avoided lest one be in one’s early twenties.
And along side pasta with zucchini in cream sauce, out of this world.

2002 Dom. Les Fines Graves (Jacky Janodet), Moulin à Vent:
Slightly closed on the nose and palate but showing dark fruit and spice with chalky tannins, good depth, excellent balance and, with air, layers of scent and flavor. A very good wine now and, I expect, a superb one in a few years.
Fine accompaniment to a grilled tuna with white bean salad and crostini.


Dinner with Tim:

With Roquefort and leek tart:
2000 Huet, Vouvray Demi-Sec Clos du Bourg:
At first, quite closed with a distinct smoky, stony scent; later it develops herb tea aromas and flavors as well as unripe pineapple notes; more sec tendre than demi-sec and not as viscous or intense as expected. But with the dish, it is spectacular in a way that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. One of the best wine/food pairings I have tasted.

With grilled shrimp on rice with peas, snow peas and mushrooms:
2002 La Chablisienne, Chablis Cuvée LC:
Correct, ripe Chablis that is approachable and accompanies the dish as an equal player; neither outdoing the other. Very nice

With aged Gouda and pistachio nuts:
1999 Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco:
This has “younged-up” since release with very primary scents and flavors and a slightly awkward delivery; still fine nebbiolo-ness with good depth and balance. Needs time and better with the cheese than without.

Best, Jim

[wrcstl]

Jim,
I have 4 bottles of '99 Producttori dei Barbaresco and have been wondering if I should open a bottle. Sounds like you like it but I should wait a couple of years. I had the '00 Nigl Riesling and it was an awful acidic mess. I hand carried it down to Costa Rica as a special wine and was really dissapointed. Hopefully it was a freak bottle as I have two more left.
Walt

[David M. Bueker]

Jim,

Thanks for the notes. I have been plowing through my older Austrians ('95s and '97s) & they really show what a few years of patience will do. Great stuff.

[Florida Jim]

Jim,
I have 4 bottles of '99 Producttori dei Barbaresco and have been wondering if I should open a bottle. Sounds like you like it but I should wait a couple of years. I had the '00 Nigl Riesling and it was an awful acidic mess. I hand carried it down to Costa Rica as a special wine and was really dissapointed. Hopefully it was a freak bottle as I have two more left.
Walt

Walt,
I like the Barbaresco but it is showing so very young that it is, frankly, hard to get a read on. As I say, it tastes younger now then it did at release. I will hold mine for several years before trying another and will likely air it a bit when I do.
I have had several 2000 Nigl rieslings that I thought too acidic for my tastes (especially the Goldburg) but haven't had many GV's that were - maybe that was their variety in 2000.

David,
Nice that you have some with age on them. To my good fortune, I went very long in 1999 and 2001, both of which seem to be pretty good vintages in Austria. But its hard to wait - even though its obvious I should.

Best, Jim

[David M. Bueker]

I am pretty much down on 2000 in Austria. I have not had many that are not either an acidic mess or totally oxidized at this point.

[Marc D]

1999 Nigl, Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben

Jim, What color was this wine? I'm not into optics and all that, just that a bottle of the 2001 Nigl GV I tried maybe 6 months ago was a disturbing deep yellow, almost gold color which seemed pretty advanced for a 2001. It was bought from a store I haven't dealt with before and made me wonder if storage caused it to age prematurely.

Can this happen BTW? I mean poor storage or exposure to heat cause a white wine to color gold prematurely? Or is it more likely that an individual bottle had a bad cork that let O2 in?

Thanks,

[David M. Bueker]

1999 Nigl, Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben

Jim, What color was this wine? I'm not into optics and all that, just that a bottle of the 2001 Nigl GV I tried maybe 6 months ago was a disturbing deep yellow, almost gold color which seemed pretty advanced for a 2001. It was bought from a store I haven't dealt with before and made me wonder if storage caused it to age prematurely.

Can this happen BTW? I mean poor storage or exposure to heat cause a white wine to color gold prematurely? Or is it more likely that an individual bottle had a bad cork that let O2 in?

Thanks,

Bad storage or a bad cork can cause this. But also Gruner tends to be darker in color than say Riesling.

[Florida Jim]

1999 Nigl, Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben

Jim, What color was this wine? I'm not into optics and all that, just that a bottle of the 2001 Nigl GV I tried maybe 6 months ago was a disturbing deep yellow, almost gold color which seemed pretty advanced for a 2001. It was bought from a store I haven't dealt with before and made me wonder if storage caused it to age prematurely.

Can this happen BTW? I mean poor storage or exposure to heat cause a white wine to color gold prematurely? Or is it more likely that an individual bottle had a bad cork that let O2 in?

Thanks,

Marc,
I agree with David re: causation, but I will say that there may be many causes for such a state.
The wine I had was pale straw and not even remotely oxidized. As a matter of fact, it was so sound that it gave the impression it would age forever - and who knows - it just may.
Best, Jim

[David M. Bueker]

Marc,
I agree with David re: causation, but I will say that there may be many causes for such a state.
The wine I had was pale straw and not even remotely oxidized. As a matter of fact, it was so sound that it gave the impression it would age forever - and who knows - it just may.
Best, Jim

Given that a 1995 Nigl (granted a Riesling, not GV) I had a few weeks ago (with a lousy, leaking cork) tasted like a 3 year old wine I would concur that the '99s could be immortal.

[Bill Spohn]

Jim - I have a case of the Produttori in magnums. Any guess at when it would be a good idea to try one?

I went through a case of 1985 regular (non-single vineyard) and drank it right into the late 90s with pleasure.

Best co-op going, I think.

[James Roscoe]

Are GVs meant to be darker than rieslings? We had one recently in a Thai restaurant and it was unusually golden as well. It tasted great and went very well with my first foray into Thai food. (A journey I will be making again as soon as possible.) I can't recall the producer, but the color was a little funny causing some remarks around the table. I believe it was a 2004 vintage. Again it tasted really nice.

[Florida Jim]

Are GVs meant to be darker than rieslings? We had one recently in a Thai restaurant and it was unusually golden as well. It tasted great and went very well with my first foray into Thai food. (A journey I will be making again as soon as possible.) I can't recall the producer, but the color was a little funny causing some remarks around the table. I believe it was a 2004 vintage. Again it tasted really nice.

James,
Each producer has there own methods and the color varies accordingly. In other words, I doubt there is a 'standard' for color.

Bill,
Mine are all in 750 and I will likely try one again in about 3-4 years. I have several so it won't be a big deal if its not ready then.
'Hope that's of some assitance.
Best, Jim

[James Roscoe]

Thank you for your answer. Quite frankly the color was odd enough to cause a few off-color jokes. On the whole GVs are something that I am really getting into especially with Chinese food and my new Asian favorite Thai.