A review by Mark Zeller
The Wine and Dine News
On October 29th 2019 Sopexa, the French government agricultural export promotion body, presented a combined wine tasting with Wines of Germany, a sister organization, financed by the European Union. They titled the US tour 'Clink Different', a play on the phrase 'think different' since placing competing exporters France and Germany together is unusual. Furthermore, besides both French and German producers in attendance, American distributors specializing in these nation's wines were invited. Thus a wide ranging selection of vintages was shown. Held at the Ventri Cucina restaurant on the 56th floor of the Palms Casino Hotel overlooking the Las Vegas Strip, some 38 distinguished wines were on offer. From the broad sampling of reds, whites, roses and sparkling wines this reporter will limit the review to what was, in his opinion, the best of show for quality and price.
Prüm "Wehlener Sonnenuhr" Kabinett Riesling 2016
100% Riesling (Mosel, Germany)
Prädikatswein
Presented by Taub Family Selections (Taubfamilyselections.com)
The Prüm family has been making wines for over a century now so the know how to do it and do it well. This is a superior quality Riesling beyond any doubt. For a suggested retail of $45 it should be. And it is. With a small production of this particular vintage said to be only around 500 cases it is priced appropriately at its supply and demand curve intersection. This is a wine snob's wine.
It arrives with a deceptively simple nose. A totally traditional Riesling aroma of spring flowers growing in slate hills. The surprise arrives when you take your first sip: A perfectly balanced sweet and dry attack on the tongue which in an instant explodes into a cerebral inquiry of citrus and tropical fruit flavors. What is it? A little bit of dragon fruit, passion fruit, hints of nectarine, but then it finishes with unquestionably non-acetic pink grapefruit and leaves a reminder like a sugary hard candy.
This is so good that anyone might easy finish the whole bottle by themselves, but avoid such selfishness and share it with others (or buy a bottle for everyone in attendance).. If you want a star in your collection find this. Check the Taub Family Selections website to find a retailer near you and do it now or it will be sold out!
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Ballarin
Cuvee Noble Brut
Cremant de Bordeaux (Sparkling wine)
Presented by Celene Bordeaux
This Cremant de Bordeaux is a champagne except in name. It is 'method champagnoise' meaning that it is made using the same method as champagne but because it is not from the Champagne territorial region under French wine laws it can't be called 'Champagne'. However it sure tastes like champagne. With a pleasant blend of grape varieties (50% Cabernet Franc, 30% Semillon, 20% Muscadelle) it gives a well rounded body and offers a wonderful hint of chocolate as it departs. Like many champagnes it twists the tongue with an acidic attack (great when having hors d'heuvres at a fete) and leaves you wanting another flute when it is gone. Expect to find it for around $25 retail, near the price of American varieties of French brands like Mumm Napa or Piper Sonoma. However this Cremant is French, real French, and worth it.
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Château Suau
Bordeaux Blanc Sec 2017
Presented by Pacific Highway (distributors)
Going out to find white Bordeaux wines are generally like taking a swing at a piñata since you never know what is going to fall out of the bottle. But if you hit this bottle everyone getting a glass is getting a prize. Bottled at the chateau, it is a rather traditional blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, no big surprise there. Unfortunately it is bottled with a somewhat pedestrian screw top which, at $14.99 suggested retail, put me off prior to tasting it. However once in the glass it has a brilliant nose of apples and apricots that explodes in the mouth with pears and sweet beets. Having sampled thousands of Bordeaux Secs I can report that this happens to be a really good dry white Bordeaux at a reasonable price and even if it is a screw top you won't be getting screwed if you buy it.
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Wechsler
Weissburgunder 2017
Rheinhessen Trocken (German)
Presented by Franco Wines
This is a really nice Trocken made from 100% Pinot Blanc. Some may find it a bit overpriced at a suggested retail of $29.99 and reluctant to buy it without a good reason why. But there is a good reason why: the quality is there. That's why it is listed here.
While there is not much of a nose to speak of, your mouth will be immediately impressed with hints of green apples and cinnamon. It is a wonderfully smooth wine, without hints of bitterness or acidity as it departs. It is an impressive wine if you are presiding among wine aficionados, but the hoi polli lacking fine wine appreciation probably won't understand the complexity.
Koehler-Ruprecht
Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2018
(Pfalz, Germany)
Presented by Vin Sauvage
This 100% Riesling hits you with a great nose filled with apricots and oranges with hints of pink grapefruit. This incredible nose is surprisingly strong for a Trocken as they are dry wines and the aromas present would be more expected in a sweet wine,. There is a broad body that hints of the fruity elements you sense at the beginning yet it only imparts a mild mouth attack. This is a very good wine for a fish meal where the lightness of the wine will not overwhelm the elements of the seafood. A relatively inexpensive suggested retail of $22.99 that is is certainly not extreme to true wine enthusiasts with an educated tongue who know how to mix the right wine with the right meal.
Evan Fitzsimmons of Vin Sauvage with Koehler Ruprecht Riesling
In a world full of reds the commonplace prevails so let's begin our selections with the outstanding price/quality wines encountered.
A couple of pleasant surprises at the show came from the same distributor:
#1) Château La Mothe du Barry
Vielles Vignes 2015
Bordeaux Superieur Rouge
Presented by Wust Fine Wine Imports
**Best Bang for the Buck**
At only $14.60 suggested retail this is probably the quality/price winner of the tasting. As often happens some Bordeaux vintages are best to drink young and this is one of those. While the old vines (Vielles Vignes) bottled here are at least 25 years of age I don't expect this wine to be as delicious in a quarter century as it is now. You nasal passages are surprised with a fully diverse aromatic experience of thick purple fresh cherries, blackberries, and plums encased with freshly hewn oak, all of which are equally present when you take you first, second or tenth sip. This is a wine that will be the highlight of a rich meaty meal whether it is beef or pork, an Indian curry or a Chinese feast. This wine is worth phoning around to local retailers to ask if they carry it.
Kevin Wenck of Wust Fine Wine Imports with Château La Mothe du Barry
#2) Ziereisen
Tschuppen Pinot Noir 2104 (Baden, Germany)
Presented by Wust Fine Wine Imports
The Pinot Noir vintage is one of the hardest varietals to grow properly. Combine that fact with the strict German wine laws and getting it right is especially tough. So that is why this 100% Pinot Noir is an especially nice wine. It has a nice musty nose, like a visit to a swamp at dawn, which is augmented by a surprisingly rich dark burgundy color that under the German laws must be natural and not augmented by added coloring (unlike U.S. wines). It has a nice mild Pinot body and departs the mouth leaving a pleasant lingering of dried apricots and then morphs into the light tartness of dried cranberries. At a suggested retail of $22 this is a nice drinking wine which will impress and is comparable to $60 Napa Valley Pinots.
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Château des Combes 2016
Bordeaux
Presented by Franco Wines
*2nd Best Bang for the Buck*
It is possible to argue that this is the best bang for the buck in the current market since this wine carries a suggested retail of only $10! Not that this is an extraordinary wine which will age well in your cellar for the next 10 years, this mix of 69% Merlot and 31% Cabernet Sauvignon is ready to drink now. It provides the buyer with a good representation of the namesake with a traditional Bordeaux body and nose. This is a winner because of quality and price.While the wine lacks the complexity and richness of Château La Mothe du Barry Vielles Vignes 2015 (noted above) it will go well with a hearty meal or just as a conversational sipping wine. The strict French wine laws mean that there is no fake coloring and no cheating on the what your getting in the bottle versus what is said on the label, so for $10 you're getting a good value.
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Château de Parenchchere 2015
Cuvee Raphael
Bordeaux Superior
Presented by Vin Sauvage
This chateau bottled blend of 50% Merlot 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc is a really good bottle of wine for a suggested retail fo $23.99. A rich musty nose reminiscent of damp cotton socks and the linty odor of a clothes dryer is a welcome blast indicative of a hardy Bordeaux. This wine has a thick rich exsanguination of blood red which drops along the wine glass edges in thick legs. It has all the hearty taste qualities that would be expected in a Bordeaux of 10 years older than a 2015, which is to say buy it and drink it now because the future is uncertain.
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Mouton Cadet
2016 Rouge (Red)
Baron Philippe de Rothschild
Presented by Shaw-Ross (shawross.com)
Having been a standard bearer of the Bordeaux brand seemingly forever, the House of Rothschild knows how to make a quality example year after year. The 2016 is a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc blend which at $12.99 is a good bottle. You can't go wrong by bringing this along to a friend's dinner. This year's product has a good rich body with a mild tannic attack, a pleasant taste and a mild aftertaste. It's not a 'great wine' but for the average US consumer it's a recognized name French wine that anyone would appreciate having along for a good meal.
Also presented was the Mouton Cadet 2016 Reserve Rouge which is slightly pricier at a retail of $17.99. This has the same selection of the Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc varietals but in a different formulation and different terriors of origin. It is a bit more tannic than the regular 2016 Rouge but unless you're preparing for a hearty beef meal the budget conscious consumer would do just was well sticking with regular blend.