Pierre Sparr Alsace One 2007

Ho hum.  This wine looked so good.  Three of my favourite white grapes - riesling, muscat and gewurtz.  I like Muscat and Gewurz for the fun nose, and

riesling for the lucious oily texture.  But if I’d had this blind, I would never have guessed any of those grapes.  Mostly just neutral with pronounced acidity.  OK, maybe a bit of riesling character on the nose, and if I really try I could say that I got some lychee or something from the gewurz.  Nothing wrong with it, but nothing particularly right with it either.

Price $17.99
Score 85
Value 3/5
Grapes: riesling, pinot blanc, muscat, pinot gris, gewürztraminer
UPC 3263530020017

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

Pierre Sparr Schoenenbourg Grand Cru Riesling 2001 Redux

Posting another review of a wine we’re already reviewed is cheating a bit - but that’s what we were drinking, and Kelly didn’t know what it was or that we’d already reviewed it.

Here are her notes:

Wet wool, citrus, and something spicy on the nose - white pepper and cloves, maybe? Very smooth and viscous on the palate. Nicely balanced and crisply acidic. Finishes on a slightly sharp note, but it's not an unpleasant sharpness. Initially I didn't detect the petrol note common in Riesling, but I think a subtle one developed over the evening.

Kelly gave it a score of 92 (without any prompting by me), which is the same as WS gave it. Interesting, since I was underwhelmed the first time and gave it an 88. I liked it well enough, but I still didn’t love it. Very well made and some good flavours, but just not the ‘wow’ factor that I want for a 92. Maybe it was just a bit too subtle for me. I let Kelly finish my glass.

Pierre Sparr Schoenenbourg Grand Cru Riesling 2001

A well-made, balanced Riesling with good typicity, but nothing particularly striking or special about it. Maybe the problem is that I’ve developed my palate for Riesling mostly with fuller bodied German Auslese or Spatlese, and this is just a bit lighter in style than I am used to. I’d like a bit more at the price. Wine Spectator rated this 92, but I just don't see it. The WS review was from 2005, and even though they said drink until 2012, perhaps it is fading already. But looking back over my notes, I see that I had this a couple of years ago and rated it 89 back then. I'd be curious to find out what anyone else thinks - is it me or WS that is off? Or is it just a matter of preferences?

Price: $34.10
Score: 88
Value: 2/5
Region: Alsace
UPC: 3263530024442

Ribeauville Prestige Pinot Gris 2005

When Iron Chef sent me this review something looked familiar. I did search of the blog (upper left hand corner) for "Ribeauville" and sure enough, Kelly and I had reviewed this wine a few months ago, right after the Wine Expo. I'm posting this as a separate post anyway. The consistency between our review and Iron Chef's is quite astonishing - the same score, the same value rating, and much the same description, down to petrol / turpentine and mineral notes. Maybe we're not just making it all up.

--- Iron Chef's Review ---

Had this with some Curry dishes last weekend. Really liked the Mango and tropical fruit that was balanced by flint-y minerals and petrol notes. The finish was long with fun fruit flavours of pineapple with good mineral acidity. A balanced wines that shows a bunch of class.

Price: $22.99
Value: 3.9/5
Score: 89
Region: France, Alsace
Tasted: March 2009
Alcohol 13.5%
UPC: 3156090316143

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

Ribeauville Pinot Gris 2005

I think of Pinot Gris / Grigio as light and innocuous. A safe bet off the by-the-glass wine list - unlikely to be terrible, but unlikely to be inspiring either. And maybe an overcropped Pinot Gris is like that - but this Ribeauville is not. It is full bodied and full of character. Here's was Kelly says:

"Orange rind, cloves, petrol. Viscous on palate. Full bodied with good acidity. I find this wine a bit musky and manly, in the style of the Chateau de Nages or perhaps Pouilly-Fuissé. Now I think I know what the Aykroyd is trying to do. Ends on a bit of a sour note."

Kelly scored it a 90. I'm not sure I'd go quite that high. But pretty close. Very good value. Act soon - there is not much left.

Price: $22.99
Value: 4/5
Score: 89(N)/90(K)
Region: France, Alsace
Tasted: Oct 2008
UPC: 3156090316143