Reserve Naturelle Chardonnay 2012

Light straw yellow, first nose has a touch like gooseberry then it follows fresh grass and a hint of lime. Quite fresh in the mouth and velvety feeling with a touch of butteriness. It offers an easy drinking and a surprisingly balanced character for its price/quality ratio. The fresh final is short-moderate but fun with a touch of minerality. It can be a friend for a lot of dishes like salads as a main dish or seafood plates. With this price/quality ratio, this wine could be your daily white. It is also an organic product. 10,47€/75cl/Janaury 2014

Austrian Wine Tasting Helsinki 08.10.2013

Last Tuesday, I was exploring the Austrian wines in a very wide range for the Finnish scale in Restaurant Sipuli which is nearby the Uspenski Cathedral in the heart of Helsinki.
Few weeks ago, I received an e-mail signed by the names Marketing Manager Barbara Arbeithuber and the Marketing Assistant Petra Kotlan. I was grateful to them for inviting me but after the tasting when I got back home, I was not only grateful to them but also extremely impressed by the Austrian wines.

Austria in Finnish is "Itävalta" which literally means "East Power". Such a masculine naming right? But for their wines, no, with few exceptions, it is not working at all... Such elegant, chic, characteristic, charming wines Austria has that from the first sip to the last, they state a nice smile of satisfaction on the face. It is beautiful, it is feminine, it is charming, it is entertaining, it is intelligent, it is caring, it has, "personality".


During the tasting, I had the chance to taste indigenious varieties of Austria such as Grüner Veltliner, Sylvaner, Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch, St. Laurent and international varieties like Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and more, as monocepage and coupage. The coupage wines were mostly good examples but some of them really resembled wines made of industrial/commercial concerns. But only some of them. After all, when I left the tasting, the only thing remaining in my mind was how great characteristics the wines had.

If you would like to know the producers and companies which attended to that event, here is the link for the booklet of Helsinki Tasting:

http://media.austrianwine.com/pindownload/pindownload.do;jsessionid=6FD3E8E56C39400B96C28C6D750E4CA9

Uspenski Cathetral on top of us "like a boss"

Geyerhof

Birgit Braunstein

I have visited the stands of several producers and I am totally surprised how producers can reflect themselves in their wines. There are "7 Elements of Uniqueness" attributed for Austrian wines and one of them is stated as "The People". That is not just a show of fancy words, that is true, totally true. I have met some of the representatives or producers of the wines and I felt the visions of the people at my palate. For example Birgit Braunstein. When I started to taste her wines while listening her kind voice and watching her warm and friendly eyes, I could see that, this stylish and kind person was "the mother of the wines". As much as she spoke and I taste, the wines became a part of her, or she became a part of them. There was a strong reflection/relation between. The same words I can really say for Ilse Maier of Geyerhof. Great wines, elegance, kindness, the warmth and care of a woman´s friendly eyes... She is definitely another "mother of wines". Geyerhof is also an Organic Wine producer, unfortunately, they are both not available in Finnish Monopoly yet.

Beautiful Design

Esterházy was another producer with great wines presented by the charismatic representative Susanne Janotka. The wines were very "Austrian" in sense of the significant character and elegance. But there is one more thing, that the great label designs. The bottle design is one of the most important reasons for the average consumer and Esterházy has great modern designs; it is not "new", it is "modern"( as everything "new" is called "modern" on these days, nonsense). Here 2 bottles to see, from the producer´s internet site www.esterhazy.at (Click on the pictures if you want to see bigger).


Among the producers that I had time to visit, H.u.M. Hofer, Winzer Krems, Umathum and Zantho are all very good producers for their price-quality ratio with great floral notes, cherry/berry aromas, high acidity with a satisfying minerality. Quite a lot of the producers do not have importers in Finland yet, so I hope in the near future, we can have a wider range of Austrian beauty.

Another Beauty

I left the tasting event with a smile on my face and some new visions with a deep understanding of how one can put his/her personality into the wine. I got a better vision of indigenous varieties too which made me very greedy for Austrian varieties like Grüner Veltliner and Blaufränkisch. For sure I knew that Austria has big, crispy, delicious whites with high levels of acidity and minerality but I did not know that they had developed a very high level of quality for red wines, especially Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is such a variety that you might hate it if you taste a lil bit lower quality one and the PNs in Finland which are under 15€ are usually such examples of PN that can make one hate it. So, look for some Austrian one if you want to have an elegant Pinot Noir, if you do not have enough budget for a Gevrey-Chambertin. After all, I will spend more time in front of the Austrian stand in the monopoly stores. I suggest you the same! Thanks the AWMB again!

May your glass be filled with Austrian wine. Greetings.

Tasting Event: Domaine Fernand Engel of Alsace 27.03.13

Last Wednesday, in Helsinki, I have been in the tasting of Domaine Fernand Engel of Alsace. The tasting was in Winecellars in Kalevankatu organized by the importers, Red Bev Oy. The winery´s winemaker Xavier Baril was there to present the winery and their wines. The Red Bev Team, my dear friend Hadrien and his colleague Marina, were of course there ready to provide any help and info too.

The event has started about 6pm and took about 2 hours. During the event, 6 outstanding wines of that winery, which 2 in total were Grand Cru, were tasted. The wines were 2 Sparklings, 2 wines of the noble variety Riesling and 2 wines of other great varieties of Alsace Region. In the beginning, Mr. Baril, who is really a very kind and tender gentleman, presented the winery, winemaking process, methods and grapes. This presentation was quite interesting and a lot of interesting info were given about their methods and organic production. This producer is right now producing some organic wines and trying to convert all its production into organic. Soon they will have all their vineyards certificated as organic and they also practice the biodynamic methods.

We started with the sparklings, then the Rieslings took place and the last two wines followed. The sparklings gave an energetic start and Rieslings presented their different terroirs with a great feeling of minerality and acidity, then two different wines came which left a sweeter feeling and became the desserts of the night. The wines tasted during the event are:

1- Cremant d`Alsace Chardonnay 2010 : A very surprising Sparko which has the buttery characteristics and acidity together. This wine is available in Finland. A detailed tasting note is here.

2-  Cremant d`Alsace Trilogie 2007 : The name Trilogie comes from the triple fermentation of the wine, once in the tank and twice in the bottle. Hard to understand maybe but it is possible and has a very detailed process. The nose has honey, almond and a bit raisin with caramel notes. The mouth has a strong minerality and despite the nose, the mouth is not so sweet and the warm final is long.

3- Riesling Grand Cru Praelatenberg 2010 : The nose has citrus fruits and tropical notes like pineapple. The minerality is very satisfying and acidity is very high. Slightly felt cloves are followed by salinity. The final is moderate but very delightful. It also has a little bit of Botrytized grapes.

4- Riesling Cuvee St Michel Silberberg de Rorschwihr 2010 : The nose has nutty smells at first and then citrus fruits dominate. In the mouth complex, fruity but minerality is dominant, the acidity is very satisfying, the final is warm and long.

5- Pinot Gris Grand Cru Gloeckelberg 2010 : Nose has slightly fruity notes and honey. Quite sweet in the mouth. The final is moderate. Delicious and fun to drink.

6- Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim 2010 : This wine was my favorite during the tasting. The only thing I did not fall in love would be just that maybe it is a bit too sweet. Otherwise, it could be poetry. But still, this wine would be an addiction for me just as it is too if it was available in Finland, this wine is close to be more than wine to be an elixir for your soul. The dominant passion fruit aroma is followed by mulberry and mineral notes. The sweety hints continue in the mouth too. A very different Gewurz than its German fellows. The perfect final choice for that tasting.

Thanks The Red Bev Team and Mr Xavier Baril and also others who had part in the organization.

Engel Crémant d'Alsace Chardonnay Brut 2011, France (Alcl 12,5%) An Outstanding Sparkling

Before telling more, to say, an outstanding, surprising sparkling.

Light golden coloured, first nose has fresh cut grass and spring flowers, second nose gives out stone fruit notes like peach for example. Overall the nose is very rich of fruits, I had not so much time to think about the aromas one by one, but I can say, the nose is very complex. As it is a Cremant style of sparkling, it is very "big" in the mouth, filling, well structured and has it´s own character. As a sparkling, the acidity you look for is right there and satisfying but what surprised me about this wine is, even though it is a sparko, the buttery characteristics of Chardonnay is right there too. The buttery feeling and acidity together, both combining well and not disturbing, not shading each other. The final is long, warm and delightful with very soft notes of minerality giving itself like the wet pebble stones. This wine is also an Organic Product to keep an eye on.

Do not buy this wine for getting drunk with friends during a party, that means spoiling a bottle of good-quality. This is a serious wine which should be drunk at home or a nice picnic meeting of good friends or family. If you want to buy something precious for your friend´s birthday but do not have enough money for a well-known Champagne wine, do not go for cheap Champagnes and just grab this bottle of Cremant, especially if your friend has a knowledge of wine, this will be a surprising, nice gift. 92/100 Price: 16,99€/75cl/March 2013

PS: I will be writing on this blog about a tasting event of this producer organized by the importers, on the next days.