The Cellar: European Classics

Friday, March 18, 2016

Steffen Rasch, GoLocalWorceser Wine Writer

This week's wine travels takes us back to where it all began; France and features two wines, a red and a white from the classic wine region of Bordeaux and Alsace.

Let’s start in Alsace where vine growing and winemaking dates back more than 1100 years. In fact, records show that in the year 1000 more than 160 Alsatian villages were cultivating vines. Today, Alsace has a reputation for making some of the best (particularly white wines) wines in the world. In contrast to almost every other wine region in France, Alsatian winemakers write the varietal on the front label making purchasing wines from this region easy and straightforward. As mentioned, if you’re a white wine drinker Alsace is the place for you with 9 out of 10 bottles produced here being white. Most of the wines are made from well-known varietals including Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sylvaner and Gewurztraminer, usually made in a dry style.

This week's featured Alsatian wine is the 2013 'Classic' Riesling from Hugel, a wine family who can trace its Alsatian roots back to the 15th century. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Hugel family gained an enviable reputation for their winegrowing skills and for the meticulous way in which they cultivated their vineyards. The 2013 'Classic' is made from 100% hand harvested Riesling. If you think all Rieslings are sweet, I urge you to seek this one out as it is what a truly classic Alsatian Riesling should tastes like; dry crisp and delicious. The fruit profile makes me think of granny smith apples, white peach, hints of lemon. Alongside a streak of minerality, this $20ish white wine is truly something special.

This week's second featured wine is a red Bordeaux made by Chateau Robin; an estate that dates back to 1874. The 30 acre Estate, which is located in the Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux appellation beside St-Emilion, was purchased in 2003 by the parents of current owner Jérôme Caillé. Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux, formerly called Côtes de Castillon, is considered one of the better sub-regions of Bordeaux and was awarded its own appellation status in 1955. Its wines reflects those of neighboring St-Emilion, which means they are based on Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec and, to a lesser extent, Carmenere playing more supporting roles.

The composition of the 2009 Chateau Robin very much reflects the Estate's vineyards, which consists of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes were all hand-picked from 40+ year old vines, hand-sorted and destemmed. The juice went through a fairly complex aging process with a little over half of the juice aging in concrete tanks with the remaining spending a year in primarily new and one-year old French oak barrels. The wine I was able to get my hands on was the 2009 vintage, which means this is a well-made, well-aged wine from a stellar vintage. Dark ripe fruit dominates on the palate as well as subtle flavors of earthy herbs and sweet oak. There is a lot of texture in this gorgeous wine; ripe tannins with nice finishing acidity.

Cheers,

Steffen Rasch is a Certified Sommelier and Specialist of Wine. Feel free to email him at [email protected] with any wine-related questions or learn about wine in person by signing up for one of his tastings at the Providence Wine Academy.

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