Animal Collective - Fireworks

This is one of the most original bands to have become popular that I can remember in quite some time. Maybe too original for some, they're an acquired taste, especially some of Dave Portner's off the wall lyrics delivered in an equally weird style. 'Fireworks' is one of my favorites from the new record, Strawberrry Jam. Very cool video, with excellent contrast between dark and light. I really like how the song is in 3/4 time, goes through a minute or so transition around the 3 minute mark, and then switches to 4/4, with the melodic motif extended an extra beat per measure towards the end. The effect is that the melody seems to be slower, more deliberate. Animal Collective has really improved as songwriters, having made the progression from weird, occasionally one-dimensional material to more nuanced, dynamic, beautiful songs.

Cerasuolo di Vittoria - Sicily's only D.O.C.G. wine

Here is a wine that, despite its location in warm, at times scorching hot Sicily, never fails to make me wonder how red wine can be made in as brisk and fresh a style in such warm, sunny climes. What distinguishes Cerasuolo di Vittoria from Nero D'Avola, the Sicilian red most often sold in wine shops, is the addition of Frappato (up to 50%), which seems to brighten and lively up these wines.

Recently I had a bottle of 2005 Gulfi Cerasuolo di Vittoria. For less than $15 it really delivers a ton of flavor, purity, and versatility with food. Brisk mixed berry flavors were at first not quite as high-toned as I remember them, though they are still fresh and sappy if not exactly racy. On day 2, however, this wine shows a bit more minerality and the acidity becomes more pronounced, in a good way. Straight Nero d'Avola is fine, in particular if there is a good variety of aged Italian hard cheeses and hearty food around, but I'd really rather be drinking Cerasuolo. Some other good ones I've had in the past year are Planeta's '05, which I recall being more purely red fruited and a bit more edgy than the Gulfi, and an '05 COS Cerasuolo di Vittoria, which is somewhere in between with more spice and savory notes sneaking in there. Any of these three wines are just the ticket if you're looking for a fun, different type of Italian wine experience.

Two 2002 Loire Chenins

What a great Loire Valley vintage - 2002. They have been some of my favorite Loire wines - ripe fruit, not '05 ripe but ripe enough for me, with edgy acidity and the distinctive minerality of the various Loire appellations. Last night I re-visited a couple of dry Chenin Blanc wines, one from Saumur and the other a Vouvray. Both had spent several days opened up and hanging out in the fridge.

Chateau Tour Grise Saumur Blanc 2002 -

Beautiful nose, that really improved dramatically from when it was first opened. Persimmons, orange marmelade, and red apples. Full-bodied and very dry flavors, with decent fruit intensity and a hint of white flowers. Once again, very dry, heavy-weight Chenin. A bit atypical on the palate, the nose says Loire Chenin but the palate might suggest something else. Interesting wine.

Domaine de la Fontainerie Vouvray Sec Cuvee 'C' 2002 -

Fresh orange blossom honey and a bit of chai spice on the nose. This one smells, and tastes, a bit sweeter, though it is still a sec style (and labeled as such). Perhaps 'sec tendre' would be a more appropriate description. Unfortunately this wine was slightly corked, though it did not show so much on the palate. Underneath the cork taint is a wonderful wine, with a deft balance of sweetness, acidity and chewy Vouvray minerality.

As good as Loire Chenin is, it happens to be very prone to cork taint. Oh well - I am more than happy to live with occasionally corked bottles, given the amazingly high quality and consistent value these wines offer.

Monday night Rockers!

Dis one a classic movie, seen?

Teutonic Takeover - Austrian & German wine tasted today

Today in the shop we had a killer line-up of Austrian and German wines:

Schloss Gobelsburg Brut Reserve NV - This is a combo of Gruner Veltliner, riesling and pinot noir from the '01 and '02 harvests. As always, this is amazing bubbly; it seems to be getting better each year I taste it. And, as always, this is my favorite bubbly that is not Champagne, better than many an NV champagne that I taste. All this for under $30. On the nose the GruV comes through with its spice and clean citrus tones. Pure, pristine and invigorating on the palate, with excellent length. I'd love to stash a few of these away for 2-3 years. In fact, I'ma gonna do it.

August Kesseler Spatburgunder Assmanshausen Hollenberg 2004

Dark cherry, pommard like nose leads to a juicy, focused palate of PN fruit, with some good minerality. Serious wine, this. It is just as I remember it: very good spatburgunder, if a bit pricey for what it is.

Renner Zweigelt Burgenland 2005 -

Plums on the nose. On the palate, this wine is a solid, persistent mid-weight, with the density and dryness that I prefer my Zweigelts to have. Some versions run a bit too sweet, this one is just about right. Persistent as well.

Gritsch Singerriedel Federspiel Gruner Veltliner 2006 -

Sort of like a vinous, Playskool 'My First Gruner Veltliner.' Similarly, one might consider this as a gateway GruV. In other words, this is pleasant wine, with stone fruits on the nose and palate and an easy-going, round, mouthfeel. It does not have the snappiness and acidity of a light-weight gruner veltliner, nor does it have the spice, weight, minerality or flavor authority of more ambitious gruner veltliner. As such it's not the wine for me, but maybe for someone who wants to say they're drinking GruV but would really rather be drinking something else?

Nikolaihof Riesling Wachau 2005

I really like this wine. A lot. It must have taken me 5+ minutes to get over this wine and move on to the next one. Maybe 10. The nose was full of that lees goodness, like some oatmeal with milk and dried apricots mixed in. More of the same on the palate, with a beautifully soft, rich character, and completely seamless. A lesson in texture. As I type this note, I'm listening to the best reggae version of an R&B or funk song I've ever heard - it's distractingly good. It's some Jamaican studio band I don't recognize covering 'Shaft,' on a Bigga Bush compilation. WOW!!!

Freie Weingartner Domaine Wachau Achleiten Riesling 1993 -

14k gold color. Intense, baked stone fruits on the nose. Lots of other things going on as well, really intense and complex aromas. As exciting as the wine was on the nose, it was equally boring on the palate. Very soft, subtle and understated, so much so that I wondered what happened to the beautiful wine that I smelled. Either I need a lesson in appreciating subtlety, or this wine is just in a weird point of its evolution. Too bad there was not enough left in the bottle to put in the fridge for a few days and track its development. I had a bottle of 1982 Cuvee Fallstaff from this winery that was a lot more impressive.

Heidi Schrock Weisburgunder 2006

Clean pear and white nectarine on the nose lead to a delicious, delightful palate of Pinot Blanc from one of its most skillful growers in Austria. Fun wine, great producer.

Jakoby-Mathy Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Kabinett 2006

Aromas of lime, spiced pear and slate jump from the glass and lead to one pretty, tasty, Riesling. Very drinkable, and it tastes the way a Mosel Kabinett should.

Heribert Kerpen Bernkasteler Bratenhofchen Riesling Spatlese 2006

Way ripe, one-dimensional and simple Spatlese. I have liked H. Kerpen's Wehlener Sonnenuhr offerings before and was looking forward to tasting this. Unfortunately, there is just not a lot there.

Hauth-Kerpen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 1996

More '96 - YES! I was not familiar with this producer, but the wine definitely left a huge impression on me. I'm wondering how this estate has fallen under the radar. A tropical guayabana-like nose leads to a palate of delicious, silky, maturing Kabinett. Loads of kaffir lime flavors and mouth-watering acidity. Delicious wine that should still have a few years of improvement ahead of it.

Hauth-Kerpen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 1994

Even better than the above. The nose had a bit more sweetness, almost a sweet quinine aspect to it. Very similar to the '96 Kabinett on the palate, with more length and a minerality not as thoroughly integrated as on the Kabinett. Delicious now and probably a lot more so in 5 years.

MYSTERY WINE (I think it was Kurt Darting Durkheimer Spielberg Riesling Spatlese 1977)

This was very mature Riesling, with creme brulee and a strongly caramelized nose - which would make sense given the caramelized notes Pfalz rieslings tend to show. The fruit is barely hanging in; it tastes like bitter oranges and limes that have been hanging out in the fridge for too long but you have to use them because it's all you have. Also there is a lack of purity on the nose and palate that I can't ignore. An interesting wine to taste, but I'll pass this dutchie to the left hand side - and probably not come back to it.

Gangstarr - You Know My Steez

A little bit later vintage (1998) than I usually post here, but a great track from the classic Moment of Truth LP. Video is a creative one, too. Hype Williams directed, maybe?

JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Vertical

With the soothing post-rock tones of Godspeed You! Black Emperor emanating from the Acoustic Energy sub + satellite speaker hi-fi system, I am hoping to deliver a thorough, yet entertaining report of an incredibly fun and educational vertical tasting of JJ Prum Auslesen from one of my favorite vineyards in the world, Wehlener Sonnenuhr.

First, a little background on Manfred Prum and his wines. They are truly some of the best expressions of Rieslings in the world, and as such are priced accordingly, i.e. they will probably cost more than most of the other Mosel producers in your local wine shop. They are definitely worth it. They need time though, as they are in want of bottle age to begin with, in addition to being liberally sulphured (even by German standards). My understanding is that Manfred wants his wines to last a while, and in order to assure that there are no secondary fermentations or bacterial issues in the bottle, he adds a lot of sulphur.

Thank you to Jeff Vierra for contributing many of these wines. Thanks also to the Westby's for hosting, providing some of these wines, and having sausages and potato salad on the ready to sate our appetites. We tasted 11 vintages in all, dating from 1983 to 2002. I will list each vintage with sparse tasting notes, proceeded by my ranking and the group ranking.

2002 - The nose was strongly slatey and showed intense apricot preserves. Sulphur is definitely still present. On the palate this wine was pure, pure, pure, with the intense pink grapefruit note that I love to get in Wehlener Sonnenuhr wines. Joe - #4 Group - #3

2001 - At first this wine did not reveal too much on the nose, other than sulphur. Some apricot and chamomile aromas eventually revealed themselves. I love the '01 for its very powerful, pure, extracted flavors. The wine was like ripe, pink Florida grapefruit eaten in January, with a touch of sugar added (for the record I'm not a sugar on grapefruit type of guy, but that is what the flavors brought to mind). Joe - #3 Group - #5

2000 - This was a wet vintage. The nose was a bit spicier, still slatey, and showing some persimmons. Didn't really enjoy the lack of fruit purity here, though there was some decent persistence and length. Joe - #9 Group - #10

1999 - Pretty, golden delicious, autumnal nose, with a touch of a caramelized aspect. Direct, juicy, simple apple cider type flavors. Joe - #8 Group - #8

1998 - The nose seemed slightly unclean (grey rot?) and showed some ripe banana smells as well. Similarly unfocused, unclean flavors on the palate. Joe - #10, Group - #9

1996 - This was a stunner. Candied fruits, including some red, as well as ginger and mandarin on the nose. On the palate, the amazingly clean, piercing acidity was the definining characteristic (what is it with 1996 Champagne, Mosel rieslings, and many other classic European whites, and this phenomenal acidity?!) Joe - #2 Group - #2

1995 - Others weren't as into this wine, but I loved it for its integrated acidity, intensity, and mouth-filling richness of flavors. I don't know why but it reminded me of Krug MV. Great stuff. Joe - #5 Group - #7

1994 - While the nose was a bit funky and muted, the palate showed pure fruit, with some red currant. Great acidity and silky texture. If we were going by NFL rules I'd overrule the call and rank this higher. Joe - #7 Group - #6

1993 - Unforunately, there was clearly something off with this bottle. It smelled very woodsy and eucalpytic. Kind of Bengay like. This wine finished last.

1990 - A pretty and cidery nose led to a wonderfully balanced Auslese. Sort of a blend of '95 richness and a bit of the '96 acidity. Finessed, well-defined and pretty. Joe - #6 Group - #4

1983 - Beautiful, 18K golden color. This mature Auslese showed a strong vanilla extract and cookie dough note. Someone else mentioned yellow cake batter. After a bit of time ripe pear and honey showed as well - definitely a botrytis wine. Acidity is present on the palate, but very mellow, and the fruit is similarly subtle and tough to pinpoint - the fruit is there and it is delicious. Joe - #1 Group - #1

After the tasting we had some cheese (Mahon, Roaring 40's blue and Bravo Farms sage cheddar), and Gary broke open a bottle of 1999 Joachim Hager Spatburgunder from the Baden. It was aiight. I don't have much experience with Spatburgunder; the best I've had have been August Kesseler's fancier offerings, but it has been a while since I've had them and they were quite pricey. Auslese (or even Spatlese or ripe Kabinett) and blue cheese, as some of you may already know, is a killer combo.

Mmm, mmm mmm!

It has been quite the week of fine food and drink. I hope that I don't catch a case of the gout....