Simply Dee Vine

Shane’s Notes
May 19, 2007 tasting

This tasting featured wines from the 2006 vintage by Schmitges and Grans Fassian. The winemakers were there which always turns out to be a distraction. There are just too many people who want to show off their knowledge to the winemakers and they slow down the tasting. One threesome must have stood in front of the Schmitges table for a half an hour before moving on. Anyway, the wines were very good, but we wish we had started with Grans Fassian instead of Schmitges. There is a definte stylistic difference between the two. Grans Fassian’s 2006’s are more citrussy while the Schmitges are much more opulent. Here are a few of our notes.

2006 Schmitges Kabinett “vom roten Schiefer”, $14

This was sweeter than we were expecting. It showed peaches, tropical fruits and tart lemon. A very interesting wine.

2006 Schmitges Erdener Treppchen Spatlese, $21.00

A very nice Spatlese. It was honeyed, had some candied orange peal and maybe some pear. The finish was very long.

2006 Schmitges Erdener Treppchen Auslese (Auction)

This was a beauty – definitely the best of the Schmitges. It smells like golden raisins which is mirrored on the palate along with spices. It is honeyed, unctious and rich.

2006 Grans Fassian Piesporter Kabinett.

This one showed lime and metal. It was very crisp and refreshing.

2004 Grans-Fassian Leiwaner Eiswein Goldkapsel

This was our first Eiswein and it won’t be our last. Jen tasted it and her eyes rolled back in her head. This one showed baked apple and candied orange peel with a touch of lime underneath. It was rich with a very long finish. It is amazing that a wine this rich can be so vibrant and complex. Magnificent.

After each Divine tasting, Jen and I have a tradition of picking up at least a half a case. I go into withdrawals if I run out of Rieslings. We grabbed a few of the usual suspects, some Knebels and Loosens, and then we came upon something we had never seen before: a Riesling made in the Champenoise style. The gentleman who helped us told us that most of these are kept in Germany and they are usually sweet. He mentioned that this one was drier and quite excellent. The price tag was missing so I put in the basket and hoped it wasn’t too expensive. Fortunately, it turned out to be only $18. We can’t wait to try it.