Paul Blanck – one more magic wine

22 Aug

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Last hot days of summer…I took a look into my wine cellar and discovered this wonderful and fresh white wine. I decided to have a cold dinner in the garden…prepare everything in advance and then enjoying the entire dinner sipping this great Vendages Tardives.

As you probably noticed I love Paul Blanck’s wines. I visited a couple of time his Domaine in the southern part of Alsace wine country and have appreciated the quality and prices of wines from this excellent wine producer.

The grapes are picked in an over-ripe state several weeks after the start of harvesting and
the development of “noble rot” (Botrytis Cinerea) dries them out on the vine. The resulting sweet wine is rich and complex, with great ageing potential.

This Pinot Gris Altenbourg VT 2007  has pear at the nose, discrete green notes and some tropical notes. At the palate opened up with orange rind and citrus freshness, pear, good acidity, and some spices.

Calem 1988 Colheita – a great Porto

7 Aug

porto

Today somenthing different from the other posts…

Last evening this amazing bottle I bought some time ago during a trip to Portugal came to an end. This is probably not the best “summer wine” to write you about but it is definitely a masterpiece.

Port is a fortified wine. This means that there is an introduction of some type of distilled spirit to the wine during production

Produced exclusively in the Douro Valley of Northern Portugal, Port wine with its unique characteristics has become a favorite the world over.

Porto Cálem Colheita is from a single 1988 high quality crop and  reveals special characteristics which are developing whilst ageing in the wood casks for a period not less than 8 years. Colheita presents a tawny brown colour, smooth touch in the mouth and a bouquet of vanilla, honey and dried fruits

There are scores of different grape varieties used in the production of port. This wine is more about the production methods used and the fortification with spirit than the nuances that the fruit has to offer.

It’s ideal to go along with cakes and deserts or to be sipped and enjoyed on its own.