Reinhard and Beate Knebel
Winninger Hamm Kabinett Feinherb
Riesling
2005
12.5 alc.
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany

After sampling several New World rieslings recently, I was reminded by this wine why I shouldn’t stray too long from the Mother World. Riesling is a grape that unabashedly expresses its terroir. And the Mosel’s steep, slatey terraces showcase the grape’s fine singular character like no other place in the world. The light, sandy vineyards of the Winninger are situated on some pretty stunning and vertiginous cliffs, just south of Koblenz in the Lower Mosel. It’s the most northerly outpost of the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region. Wines of the Lower Mosel have never really enjoyed all that much attention: it has few prestige estates and spring frosts can wreak havoc on wine production. And wines from the Winninger Hamm, a small site there, can vary in quality. But it’s on the cultivated terraced sectors of the site that good quality wines originate. And in this case, good value as well. Among the best producers from the site is Knebel. A winery that exhibits riesling’s drier style.

 Reinhard Knebel died in 2004. The winery is carried on by his wife, Beate. The grapes are grown in soil from choice parcels predominantly composed of gray and blue slate. Knebel strictly controls the vines’ yields. There’s no whole-grape maceration: just handpicked grapes that are lightly crushed with some prefermentation maceration to give the wine some light skin contact, and thus more flavor. The grapes are fed lightly through a pneumatic press. The fermenation proceeds slowly in stainless steel tanks. There are no added yeasts. I drank this wine a couple of days ago. The 2005 vintage shows remarkable flavor and maturity. The wine presented a pale gold color with aromas of kerosene, moss, flint, green apple and bath salts. It was off-dry, though only slightly. While the alcohol appeared to be low, it came in at 12.5% and as a medium-bodied wine. The flavors were pronounced: layered tastes of grapefruit, wet stone, Bartlett pear, petrol, honeysuckle, almond and citrus blossom, with a finish that simply receded—like a butler quietly leaving the room. There also was a slight nuttiness in aroma and flavor.  I found that the wine gained in richness as it opened, with apple and lemon later emerging. This is a wine of great concentration leading to a harmonious and intense palate: as if one were drinking a cord of interwoven flavors. This is not a relaxed wine. Like me, you’ll want to study this wine. For the price, you could make the party in your home a study hall. Importer: Mosel Wine Merchant. $17.99. 7/25/09. 

CedarCreek Estate Winery
Ehrenfelser
2008
13.3% alc.
Kelowna, British Columbia

Do you know ehrenfelser? Son of riesling and silvaner. The Germans bred this grape in 1929 at the Geisenheim Research Institute as a frost-resistant substitute for riesling and named it for a ruined Rhine castle, Ehrenfels. Today, German viticulture contains less than a hundred hectares of it. While the grape ripens earlier and can grow in less hospitable locations than riesling, it’s a vigorous vine demanding laborious attention. And because the acidity in ehrenfelser is not as high as in riesling, the wine does not lend itself to cellaring. It is a wine for immediate consumption.

There are experimental plantings of ehrenfelser in Washington State. However, Canada, with its cool northern terroir and its winemakers’ affinity for German hybrids, seems to have embraced ehrenfelser, much like a dog lover who takes on a stray puppy in hopes of training it into a nice, productive doggie. The variety has strong aromatic qualities and typically is used as a blending ingredient in white wines. The Canadians have gone further, though, by producing single varietal ehrenfelser table and ice wines. And they are popular.

This month I shared a couple of bottles of ehrenfelser table wine with a Canadian friend in Vancouver who enthusiastically introduced me to the 2008 CedarCreek Ehrenfelser from the Okanagan Valley just outside Kelowna, British Columbia. Most Canadian winemakers I encountered consider CedarCreek, whose ehrenfelser vines are 25 years old, to be the best producer of ehrenfelser table wine in Canada. The 2008 vintage shows a pale lemon core with pronounced youthful aromas of lychee, peach, melon and citrus. It comes medium-bodied, with quite crisp acidity and pronounced flavors of pink grapefruit, mandarin orange and pineapple. The length was quite long. Indeed, pink grapefruit dominated the trajectory of flavor from start to long, leisurely finish. On the label, the producer refers to this wine as a “fruit salad in a glass.” I’d call it a slam of grapefruit. The wine’s linear palate has the zip and energy of a darting minnow.

Yet I somehow grew fatigued by it. I wanted the insistent pink grapefruit to relax and let some other flavor emerge. I suppose one could pair this wine with Indian or Thai food. Not much more, I think. I can imagine sharing a bottle with some beautiful tanned people poolside at the Mondrian Hotel in Miami. Such people party, but don’t eat. As I said, this is a wine of the moment.

We Americans, with our constant demand for thirst-quenching flavor, will like this wine. At approximately $18.00 Canadian, this also is a superlative bargain. A pity it’s still only available in British Columbia, and at this time not even there! But the 2009 vintage looks promising. For those of us who like to travel north. 7/16/09.

Clos Saron
2005
13.8% alc
Sierra Foothills, California 

I’ll tell you the moral at the outset: Read labels closely! This wine came highly recommended by a merchant whom I like and whose tastes I respect. But I couldn’t believe he waxed so enthusiastic about the “pure mountain fruit” he tasted in a pinot noir from—of all places—Texas Hill Country. Once I left the store and took a closer look at the bottle—ah! Silly me: Only then did I realize he’d been saying “Texas Hill Road,” the name of the vineyard, which in fact is where Clos Saron is located in California. This may be why he looked puzzled when I kept talking about the Lone Star State. Well, it’s a perfectly good California pinot noir, quite tasty, although I didn’t get the mountain fruit. Whether it’s what you want in a pinot noir is another question. As with many American wines, the emphasis with Clos Saron is on delivering flavor—a rich, symphonic burst on the palate, following a rich, initial nose of barnyard, graphite, red fruit, bacon and moss. I tasted lots of red and dark fruits in the wine. But that’s all you get really, those strong, firmly delivered notes of fruit and spice. That, I suppose, and the pretty tendril of Franco-feeling in the “Clos” of the name: There wasn’t much nuance, no minerality, no structure that teased out its layers on the tongue. Just the same wowie-kazowie of flavor with every sip. It’s as if Beethoven’s Fifth never moved beyond the powerful opening bars. And it wasn’t cheap either at $46. And to experience its pleasures for that price can be dicey: there is no sulphur used at any stage of vinification. But for those who love strong West Coast-style upfront flavors—and Lord knows they are not a small, retiring population—this could be your pinot. 7/7/09.

Clos Ste. Magdeleine
Rosé
2008
13% alc.
Cassis, France

Along the French Mediterranean coast are dozens of small wine appellations that appear to be somewhat indistinguishable from the next. Cassis, located adjacent to Bandol, just to the south of Marseilles, might be a perfect example of a tiny Provençal appellation that offers primarily quaffable yet  forgettable wines to slake the tourist summer thirst, but for one domain: Clos Ste. Magdeleine, which sits on a spectacular piece of coastal property. One might say that Clos Ste. Magdeleine is Cassis. Cassis produces mostly white wine to match some of the freshest seafood found in southern France. The whites from Clos St. Magdeleine are lush and full-bodied and match perfectly with fish. The domain also produces a rosé worth seeking: The 2008 vintage, made mostly from mourvedre, with a smattering of other traditional southern Rhône red grapes, has a copper-salmon core with medium-intense aromas of flowers, mint and strawberry. It’s dry and crisp with medium alcohol and flavors of lemon peel, lavender, tea, strawberry and spice. There’s a a twist of citrus on the finish. Not a hefty  rosé, but one with a satiny mouth feel and layered fruit. The wine really brought out the tarragon in my halibut last night. I know that sounds like some salacious yet obscure innuendo, but it’s not. Higher-priced than most rosés you’ll find on the market—but then, far cheaper than a memorable trip to the Côte d’Azur. Importer: Kermit Lynch. $27.99. 6/23/09.