Jean-Louis Tribouley stands amongst some of his ancient Grenache vines

Please join us on Saturday, March 12th, from 12pm until 4pm to sample a grab bag of staff picks. “Grab bag” could not give the wines selected any sort of justice. But no matter how we label the tasting the diverse selections are all unique and utterly delicious. We look forward to seeing you Saturday at Weygandt Wines. The Lineup:

Domaine Albert Mann Cremant d’Alsace Brut 2008, List Price $22.99, Sale $18.99 – Wettolsheim, Alsace, France – 60% Auxerrois, 40% Pinot Blanc – 12.5% abv – Biodynamic - Based on the same varietal blend as their Pinot Blanc, the Barthelme’s non-vintage Cremant d’Alsace (the lot under review is L34) offers citrus zest and floral aromas, delicate mousse, and a salty, chalky, wet stone-inflected and subtly bitter finish. Enjoy this admirably clear, pure traditional sparkling wine over the next 6-9 months. Compared with it, most Alsace Cremant is sadly lacking in concentration or personality. – The Wine Advocate

Heymann-Lowenstein Riesling Winningen Rottgen 2006, List Price $29.99, Sale $24.99 – Winnigen, Mosel, Germany – 100% Riesling – 13% abv – Organic - Dry and spicy, with more saline and savory flavor elements than fruit. There are hints of peach, grapefruit and yellow plum, but more smoke and a firm, chalklike sensation. Fine length. Drink now through 2016. 20 cases imported. - Rated 90 Points, Wine Spectator

Jobard-Chabloz Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2007, List Price $129.99, Sale $79.99 – Meursault, Burgundy, France – 13% abv – Sustainable – A relatively high-toned nose of green apple, rose petal and a hint of spice leads to very fresh, cool and reserved big-bodied flavors that brim with a fine minerality and excellent linearity and drive on the palate staining finish. This is not a massive example as it doesn’t have better than average concentration but the focus and energy are impressive. This should be quite good in time. – Rated 92 points, Burghound, 92 points, The Wine Advocate

Domaine Chevillon-Chezeaux Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Champs-Perdrix 2006, List Price $48.99, Sale $39.99 – Nuits-Saint-George, Burgundy, France – 13% abv – Sustainable - Philippe Chezeaux is related to Jérôme Chezeaux and his father-in-law is the cousin of Robert Chevillon. Philippe’s style is rather unique in that he is adamant about finding the balance between fruit, acidity, and terroir in his wines, especially in an appellation that is more commonly associated with wines that trade on power first. The 2006 Aux Champs-Perdrix, sourced from a tiny, highly perched, southeast facing vineyard on the Vosne-Romanee side of Nuits-Saint-George, displays very pronounced red Pinot Noir fruit – cherries, red currant, mineral. Fine-grained tannins and lively acidity, and a lingering spiciness in the finish. – Todd Ross, Weygandt Wines

Jean-Michel Gerin Saint-Joseph 2008, List Price $29.99, Sale $24.99 – Saint-Joseph, Rhone, France – 100% Syrah – 12.5% abv – Sustainable - A piercing iron note runs through the mix of red cherry, currant and pomegranate fruit flavors in this red, keeping it all lively and fresh. Drink now through 2011. 100 cases imported. – Wine Spectator

Jean-Louis Tribouley Orchis Vin de Pays de Cotes Catalanes 2008, List Price $29.99, Sale $24.99 – Roussillon, France – 80% Grenache, 10% Carignan, 5% Cinsault, 3% Grenache Gris, 2% Grenache Gris – 14.5% abv – Biodynamic - The following are the tasting notes for the 2007 Orchis by David Schildknecht in The Wine Advocate (there are no independent tasting notes as yet for the 2008). The main difference between the two vintages is that the 2008 shows an even more vibrant focus and perhaps “bluer” fruit. – Tasted assembled from tank Tribouley’s 2007 Orchis is the latest vintage of what was formerly called “Serrat den Franc.” Its explosive nose of black raspberry and blueberry confiture incorporates overtones of almond extract, prunelle eau de vie, wood smoke and cocoa powder. Liqueur-like and loaded with distilled berry inner-mouth esters, this nevertheless retains clarity and purity, avoiding even the slightest temptation toward superficial sweetness or confectionary stickiness. Deep roasted meat and wet stone flavors emerge in a long, smoke-tinged finish founded on a veritable ocean of concentrated blue and black fruit. Despite offering abundant immediate gratification, their well-covered tannins encourage the belief (absent any track record to which I can point) that the amazing Tribouley trio under present consideration possess enough structure and stamina for mid-term cellaring. Unfortunately, I have yet to track down a bottle of the 2006 Orchis; Tribouley indicated that he had sold them all.

Tribouley – an outsider who understudied with Gauby and then began his own estate in 2002 – farms roughly 30 acres (biodynamically) and sells no grapes. That statistic shocked me when I entered his cramped and tiny cellar. Where in the world does he find room there for wine from 30 acres? The solution to this seeming mystery is that he has all the room he requires given his pathetically low yields. In a quantitatively good vintage, he bottles 1,700 cases. But it is fruit from his 10 acres near Maury (variously on reddish Marne chalk, and quartzite-rich schist and sandstone) that are the focus for the two cuvees (both matured in older barrels, favoring demi-muids) that are sold in the U.S. Both his parcels in the Les Bacs just east of Maury and in the Coume du Roi (the basis for his Orchis) are around 75:25 Grenache-to-Carignan; northwestern in exposure; and, he says, almost perpetually windy. (I had to crouch down like a head-pruned vine just to walk against the gusts in Les Bacs on a December afternoon.) 2007 – Rated 93-94 points, The Wine Advocate

Sale pricing for selected wines lasts through the end of Saturday, March 12th, 2011. No other discounts may apply.

Many believe that Riesling is the greatest of all white wine grapes. This Saturday we’ll explore the contrasts between four excellent examples of Riesling from two of Germany’s finest wine-growing estates, Heymann-Lowenstein and Georg Mosbacher.

Reinhard Lowenstein, whose family had, for generations been winegrowers, has become one of the most famous and iconoclast winemakers in Germany. His wines are so sought after that he sells nearly 60% of his production to private customers in Germany, and the rest are highly allocated around the world.

Readers unfamiliar with the influential and inspiring – though not uncontroversial – work of Reinhard Lowenstein in the ultra-steep, terraced, geologically diverse slopes of the Mosel just above its confluence with the Rhine are urged to consult my accounts in issues 163 and 167. Among Lowenstein’s much-discussed ideas – not that I personally treat this as less than obvious – is that Mosel, Saar, and Ruwer Rieslings are more expressive, better-balanced, and have better aging potential – while potentially, for all practical purposes, still tasting essentially dry – when their residual sugar is allowed to rest above legal Trockenheit. Lowenstein’s nobly sweet Rieslings frequently tend toward a creaminess and sense of lees and stuffing consistent with his dry wines, yet they incorporate at their best a sense of delicacy, refinement, and transparency to mineral sensations that seldom apply to any other grape than Riesling or at any significant distance from the Mosel The 2007 vintage Auslesen tend in fact to be quite obvious in their acidity, and are designated “gold capsule” to reflect their high quality, not because there are any corresponding “regular” Auslese bottlings. – David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate

Weingut Georg Mosbacher is considered to be “one of the best estates of the Palatinate region; it has made its way to the top by virtue of the distinctive quality of its wines and without the help of PR campaigns.” – Marco Polo Guide, The Best Wines of Germany

Georg Mosbacher Riesling Kabinett Pfalz Forster 2007, $22.99/btl – Pfalz, Germany – 100% Riesling – 13% abv – Inviting, with spice-tinged peach, persimmon, orange and white pepper aromas and flavors. This comes together nicely and stays firm and focused from start to finish. Drink now through 2020. 100 cases imported. – WS 90 points

The scarcely-sweet Mosbacher 2007 Forster Riesling Kabinett offers a peachy, slightly musky nose; a sappy, slightly rustic palate; and excellent thirst-quenching length. As such it is typical of Riesling from lesser sites in this famous, tiny village, whose top sites give arguably the most complex and mysterious wines in the Pfalz. I would plan on enjoying over the next 2-3 years, although there is certainly no need to hold it. – WA 87 points

Georg Mosbacher Riesling Spätlese Trocken Pfalz Forster Musenhang 2007, $29.99/btl – Pfalz, Germany – 100 % Riesling – 10% abv – Ample in both flavor and texture. Rich and round, it’s permeated by nectarine, grapefruit and stone aromas and flavors that remain intense and long. Fine, dry, refreshing finish. Drink now through 2018. 10 cases imported. – WS 90 points

From a relatively cool, breezy, and little-known site above Pechstein and just below the forests that cap the Mittelhaardt, the Mosbacher 2007 Forster Musenhang Riesling Spatlese trocken is predictably cool in its emphasis on mint, sassafras, and under-ripe honeydew melon, with a juicy but restrained palate presence; moderate body; and decided imitations (or intimations) of wet stone in its satisfyingly long finish. I would feel free to plan on holding this for as long as 8-10 years. – WA 89 points

Georg Mosbacher Riesling Qualitätswein Trocken Pfalz Freundstück Forst GG 2007, $34.99/btl – Pfalz, Germany – 100% Riesling – 13% abv – This dry white is rich and fruity, making it seem a touch softer than it actually is. The acidity is deftly woven into the texture, showing more on the finish, which has a nice chalky feel. Drink now through 2019. 15 cases imported. – WS 91 points

From the least-known of Forst sites classified for bottling as Grosses Gewachs (abutting Kirchenstuck), the Mosbacher 2007 Forster Freundstuck Riesling Grosses Gewachs displays Gewurztraminer-like litchi, brown spices, and black pepper as well as a glossy, glycerin-rich texture and opulent richness, albeit at the price of slight, prickly alcohol- and/or botrytis-induced heat. A sappy, spicy, pungently peppery cling here leads one to overlook any minor flaws, and I would simply plan to monitor this in case if proves best drunk within 5-7 years rather than a decade.

I had not visited the well-regarded estate now run by Sabine Mosbacher and Jurgen Duringer for close to a decade, and was quite impressed with the quality at this address. They spoke openly about concerns in 2007 that botrytis might compromise dryness not to mention quality, two reasons why they chose to utilize cultured yeasts for some cuvees rather than letting as many as usual of their fermentations take-off spontaneously. Had a low level of botrytis not been tolerated in the Grosse Gewachse here, those bottlings would probably have been closer to the understated but intriguing personalities of the rest of this year’s Mosbacher collection, but as it is they are certainly imposingly rich. – WA 90 points

Heymann-Lowenstein Riesling Qualitätswein Mosel Von Blauem Schiefer 2006, $24.99/btl – Mosel, Germany – 100% Riesling – 13% abv – Light yet intense, with peach, pear, butter and mineral salt notes wrapped around a core of acidity. This is vivid and stays etched on the palate through the lingering finish. Drink now through 2016. 50 cases imported. – WS 91 points

Lowenstein’s 2007 Riesling Vom Blauen Schiefer is – as its name suggests – sourced from among the ancient terraces of Winningen and neighboring Kobern that are planted on blue Devonian slate. As usual, this displays more brightness and citrus – here lime and grapefruit – than Riesling from some of the other soils characteristic for this stretch of the Mosel. Suggestions of malt and nut oils lend richness and a saline, crustacean savor mingles with wet stone on the mineral side of the ledger, informing a long, both refreshing and intriguing finish. Enjoy this over the coming 5-7 years. – WA 89 points

Heymann-Lowenstein Riesling Qualitätswein Mosel Uhlen L Laubach 2006, $34.99/btl – Mosel, Germany – 100% Riesling – 12.5% abv – Focused, with a firm core of acidity and richness seeping in around the edges. Mint, apricot, spice and mineral flavors hold sway, staying balanced and long as this pushes to its conclusion. Chameleonlike, this changes and surprises. Drink now through 2022. – WS 94 points

The 2007 Winninger Uhlen Riesling Laubach (a.k.a. “L”) – grown on the same sort of soil as the Stolzenberg – features pineapple and kiwi suffused with crushed stone, almond extract, and the bitterness of fruit pits. Like the Blaufusser Lay, this unites creaminess and relative substantiality of alcoholic weight and extract with a sense of refinement and no heat or heaviness, although it fails to quite display the uncanny lift of that wine. The mineral sense here is more overtly of crushed stone rather than savory and saline, while the length in both fruit and mineral registers is formidable. It may well be worth following for a decade, and certainly for close to that long. – WA 91 points

Reinhard Lowenstein, whose family had, for generations been winegrowers, has become one of the most famous and iconoclast winemakers in Germany.  His wines are so sought after that he sells nearly 60% of his production to private customers in Germany, and the rest are highly allocated around the world.

Weingut Georg Mosbacher is considered to be “one of the best estates of the Palatinate region; it has made its way to the top by virtue of the distinctive quality of its wines and without the help of PR campaigns.” – Marco Polo Guide, The Best Wines of Germany

Heymann-Lowenstein Riesling Qualitätswein Mosel Uhlen L Laubach 2006, $34.99/btl – Mosel, Germany – 100% Riesling – 12.5% abv – Focused, with a firm core of acidity and richness seeping in around the edges. Mint, apricot, spice and mineral flavors hold sway, staying balanced and long as this pushes to its conclusion. Chameleonlike, this changes and surprises. Drink now through 2022. – WS 94 points

Heymann-Lowenstein Riesling Qualitätswein Mosel Von Blauem Schiefer 2006, $24.99/btl – Mosel, Germany – 100% Riesling – 13% abv – Light yet intense, with peach, pear, butter and mineral salt notes wrapped around a core of acidity. This is vivid and stays etched on the palate through the lingering finish. Drink now through 2016. 50 cases imported. – WS 91 points

Georg Mosbacher Riesling Kabinett Pfalz Forster 2007, $22.99/btl – Pfalz, Germany – 100% Riesling – 13% abv – Inviting, with spice-tinged peach, persimmon, orange and white pepper aromas and flavors. This comes together nicely and stays firm and focused from start to finish. Drink now through 2020. 100 cases imported. – WS 90 points

Georg Mosbacher Riesling Spätlese Trocken Pfalz Forster Musenhang 2007, $29.99/btl – Pfalz, Germany – 100 % Riesling – 10% abv – Ample in both flavor and texture. Rich and round, it’s permeated by nectarine, grapefruit and stone aromas and flavors that remain intense and long. Fine, dry, refreshing finish. Drink now through 2018. 10 cases imported. – WS 90 points

As for this week, we have another special event scheduled for Saturday (details to come), so this week’s lineup applies to Monday thru Friday, and as always, 4-7 pm:

Chateau Mourgues du Gres Costieres de Nimes Les Galtes Dores 2008, $14.99/btl – Rhone, France – 30% Grenache Blanc, 30% Roussanne, 30% Vermentino, 7% Marsanne,3% Clairette – 13% abv – The elegant white wine offering, the 2008 Les Galets Dores (nearly equal parts Grenache, Roussanne, Rolle, and tiny amounts of Marsanne and Clairette), offers notes of honeyed grapefruit and buttery citrus along with fresh acidity, medium body, plenty of flavor, and a dry, crisp finish. It should be drunk over the next year. – WA 88 points

Weingut Heymann-Lowenstein Riesling Schieferterrassen 2006, $19.99/btl – Mosel, Germany – 100% Riesling – There’s appealing flavors of peach, spice and slate, yet this seems a little slack, lacking the core of acidity to give all the components verve and snap. Drink now through 2012. 50 cases imported. – WS 88 points

Memo Sangiovese 2008, $10.99/btl – Tuscany, Italy – 100% Sangiovese – 13% abv – Strong ruby red color in the glass, with an intense and persistent nose. This fruity Tuscan wine has notes of cherries, prunes and vanilla. Medium bodied, slightly tannic, balanced and ready to drink. Cheap and cheerful!

Domaine La Bastide Syrah Les Genets Vieilles Vignes 2007, $12.99/btl – Languedoc, France – 100% Syrah – Medium-bodied, with dense red fruit flavors and tobacco leaf notes. There’s pepper and graphite on the finish. Drink now through 2012. 2,000 cases imported. – WS 86 points

Domaine de Ferrand Cotes du Rhone La Ferrande 2006, $21.99/btl – Rhone, France – 100% Syrah – 14% abv – As remarkable as 2007 is, there are 2006s that should not be forgotten. Domaine Ferrand (an excellent producer of Chateauneuf du Pape) has turned out a 100% Syrah cuvee, the 2006 Cotes du Rhone La Ferrand. Its opaque ruby/purple hue is followed by aromas of pepper, blackberries, licorice, incense, and earth. Dense and rich with surprising complexity and character for a southern Syrah, it should drink nicely for 2-3 years. – WA 90 points

Domaine la Berangeraie Les Caminoles Cahors Malbec 2007, $14.99/btl – Sudouest, France – 100% Malbec – 13% abv – In 1971 Andre Berenger came to Cahors from Provence with his wife Sylvie, who is originally from Champagne, and planted their vineyard near Grezels, on the red clay/iron stone soil known as Grezes. Their two children, Maurin and Juline not only joined them in the family business but so too have their respective spouses. Thus the three couples all work together and do everything in this twelve hectare domaine themselves – the pruning, the treatments of the all-organic vines and the harvesting all by hand (a disappearing practice in Cahors where harvesting is now done almost exclusively by machine). This is a lighter bodied Malbec from where the grape was originally grown. Malbec lovers should try this as a nice alternative to their standard powerhouses from Argentina.