Casillero del Diablo Gewurtztraminer 2008

I love Gewurz – along with Riesling, it turned me on to white wine.  A decent Gewurz for $14 sounds like a good find.

— Iron Chef’s Review —

Nose - wet Stones, Tropical Fruit- lychees, Passion Fruit and Mango. Lime Leaves.
Taste- Mango+ Passion Fruit gelato. Minerally acidy. But some soapy mouth feel that disappeared with Stacy's Jerk Chicken.
Overall- Better than the rest of the New World Gewurtz that are in ANBL, but falls short of the more expensive ones from Alsace like the Pierre Sparr or Ribeauville, but I haven't tried the Sumac Ridge yet.

Chile- Maule Valley, 13.5%
95% Gewurtztraminer, 5% Riesling
Value: 4/5
Score: 87
Price: $13.79
UPC: 7804320127217

Sumac Ridge Private Reserve Gewürztraminer 2006

A friend brought this over recently for Norman's 48 3/4 birthday. It's a great find. The nose is particularly lovely and full, with citrus - particularly grapefruit - as well as apricot, spices,

and minerals. The wine is viscous on the palate, and very slightly sweet, and crisp and very long. The only negative is that there's a noticeable bitterness throughout. The blurb on the label advertises "full grapefruit flavours," and in fact it does taste quite a lot like grapefruit, right down to that characteristic bitter edge.

Decent Gewürztraminer isn't so easy to find at any price, and this one is great value at $16.99. Also, I patriotically like its Canadian origin; it's from the Okanagan.

Price: $16.99
Value: 4/5
Score: 89
Alcohol: 13%
Region: Canada
UPC: 778876128936

Pierre Sparr Reserve Gewurztraminer 2008

We seems to be having a mini-Pierre Sparr tasting, with our review of the Schoenenbourg a couple of weeks ago. Nothing wrong with that - Alsatian whites are some of my favourites.

— Iron Chef’s Review —

Paired this with some Asian Noodles and Scallops with cilantro sauce.
Sight- Golden Yellow.
Nose- Mango and pineapple bomb. Great fruit forward nose. Some honey and flowers also.
Taste- Mango gelato. An interesting cooling sensation on the palate. Lots of mouth watering acidity. Apple pie spices. Good minerals too. Kind of Boozy.
Overall a really great wine. Where did all this acidity come from, wasn't expecting that. Perfect with Asian spicy food.

Price: $26.99
Value: 3.5/5
Score: 92
Region: France, Alsace
Alcohol: 13.5%
UPC: 3263530020819

Pelee Island Winery Gewürztraminer 2008

I’d promised a review of the Bandi Cum Laude for today, but we had a summer white last night and since we’re finally getting some summer, I thought it made more sense to post about that.

I love an off-dry or sweet Gewürz in the Alsatian or German style, with that distinctive lychee nose. I was hoping for a cheaper home-grown version, but this Pelee Island Wine didn’t quite deliver. The bottle claims an aroma of mangoes and peaches, but I didn’t get htat, and I certainly didn’t get the lychee I was hoping for. A bit of petrol - reminded me of a Riesling rather than Gewürz - and a slightly sour finish. About what you’d expect for the price. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced Gewürz, I’d say the Ribeauville Andante is easily worth the extra $5.

Price: $13.49
Value: 3/5
Score: 83
Alcohol: 12.5%
Region: Canada, Ontario
UPC: 777081714842

Pierre Sparr Gewürztraminer Vendanges Tardives 2002

I had dinner alone tonight (Kelly is out of town) so thank God this bottle is only 500ml. It’s so delicious I counld’t possibly have stopped before it was gone. WS talks about “litchi, rose, spice and grapefruit,” and also says it has “bright structure.” I only partially agree - maybe its because they tasted it almost four years ago. Maybe there is some lychee left - I think I would have guessed it as Gewurtz if I were tasting blind - but the lychee doesn’t jump out the way it often does in a younger Gewutz. But what does jump out is the structure. I wouldn’t call it bright - unctuous is better. Almost fatty - decadent even, but perfectly balanced. I agree with the rose and the finish of grapefruit. I suspect the differences between WS and what I taste arise because because they tasted it almost four years ago. Time has toned down the lychee and softened the brightness, but given it a mature body that is immensely appealing. WS gave it a score of 92, and I’ll agree with that. I’m tempted to go higher, but I was hungry when I opened the bottle and I know that always inflates the score. (Now I just have to hope that Kelly doesn’t check the blog when she gets home, or she’ll kill me for not having saved her some.)

Price: Approx $34 (500ml)
Score: 92
Value: 4/5
Region: Alsace, France
UPC: No longer available

Aresti Late Harvest Gewurztraminer Reserva 2007

Iron Chef asked last week for some more reviews of value priced wines - and now he has answered his own plea. (Well, value priced for a desert wine, anway). Too bad it wasn't a winner - but for the rest of us, a tip on wines to avoid is as important as a tip on ones to buy.

--- Iron Chef's Review ---

An odd wine. Thick and sticky without the alcohol.
Nose of Spicy fruit- very Gewurzty and honey honey honey.
The palate was sugary with Pineapple and Citrusy notes and heavily textured. But most of all it felt clumsy and over ripe. There must have been a ton of residual sugar. It represents a lot of what I don't like in wines- bombastic and sweet without the structure or refinement. Not enjoyable.

Price: $11.49 / 375 ml
Score: 78
Value: 2/5
Region: Chile, Curico Valley
Grape: Gewurztraminer
Alcohol: 13%
Tasted: March 2009
UPC: 7809579800379

Ribeauville Andante 2007

Cave de Ribeauville was one of the big 'finds' of the Wine Expo. Their Pinot Gris and Gewurz are both delicious and great value (we've tried a second bottle of the Pinot Gris and liked it as well as or better that when we initially reviewed it). The Andante is an off-dry Gewürz / Muscat blend (I think 80/20) and the powerful nose of both those grapes jumps out of the glass, followed by a round smooth mouthfeel. Maybe I wouldn't call it complex or elegant, but I would call it delicious. If you can beat this wine in a white for less than $20, let me know.

Here are Kelly's notes:

Fresh, spicy citrus on the nose, and maybe a faint undertone of grape jelly and maybe turpentine, and also minerals. Crisp and light on the palate, with good acidity, body, and length. Beautifully balanced. Delicious. Not 'over the top' with sweet fruitiness like some wines of this style.

Price: $18.79
Score: 89
Value: 5 /5
Region: France, Alsace
Grape: Gewürztraminer, Muscat
Tasted: Jan 2009
UPC: 3156099224630

Ribeauville Gewurztraminer Prestige 2006

I liked all the Ribeauville wines when I tried them at the Wine Expo. This is my first chance since then to try the Prestige series Gewurz, and it didn't disappoint. It has a powerful characteristic Gewurz nose on a full bodied moderately sweet frame. Perhaps not quite as much acidity as I would have liked to balance the sweetness - but that's a quibble. Delicious - but not much left.

Price: $23.99
Value: 4/5
Score: 89
Region: France, Alsace
Tasted: Dec 2008
UPC: 3156090316150