Field (Mouse) Report #3

payway2001.jpg[ed. The King is back. Inspired by the recent Riesling tasting at Casa tBoW Mr. Mouse has a renewed commitment as per reporting duties on this blog with the usual wisecracks and Rodent Rating System. Since he only tastes regal wines – of minor and major regencies – this is to our benefit. This field report describes a Mosel Riesling, two Burgs and another off-the-map sweetie.
Last night I let my brother-in-law snatch three bottles from my cellah, and he didn’t pull any punches. Good for him. Good for us. What, with the elegant feast in the background and a surprise dessert wine, made for a memorable evening.
merkelbach.jpg1998 Merkelbach Urzig Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese $18 (on release): Wow, 11 years on, this has the potential to outlast Joan Rivers. The famous “spicegarten” slope produces, along with Wehlen’s Sonnenuhr, Mosel’s most coveted offerings. Purchased on release in New Jersey for about $18, this was racier than Vanessa Williams before her pageant days. It zinged the roof of the mouth with cinnamon and fresh applie pie. Not as sweet as one expected, almost Kabinettish. Vibrant. Brash. Ready for the Dance wine. 9%. I just wish it had a tad more Walter Payton. 1.5 mice.

lamarche_vr_suchots#2.jpgLamarche 1999 Vosne-Romanne Les Suchots $40 then: Steve Goldun and I concur that 1993 and 1999 were the best years of a decade that reaffirmed Burgundy’s status as The Region of Regions. While the ’93s are more complex, they are also more elusive. The ’99s are more consistent. This classic is peaking. Plums and grape leaf. And, yes, oriental spice. The nose was surprisingly weak considering the yum factor. Paid $40 on release from The Burgundy Wine Company in NYC. Two Happy Mice.

de-la-tourCV.jpgCh. de la Tour 1999 Clos de Vougeot VV $50: Purchased this year via store reduction sale. This is the wine that makes us metaphorical crack heads. A rich earthy bouquet, quite structured, black cherries, a deep colored pinot – I swear I got Morrocan eggplant somewhere in that first glass. But it was the last glass, 2 hours after the bottle was uncorked, that showed the slope’s magic. Should I have waited five more years? Perhaps. The bottle will be tasting great when Sasha and Melia are in college. But no regrets. A superb bottle. 2.5 ecstatic mice.

1999 Ch. Des Eyssards Cuv√©e Flavie Elev√© en f√ªt de ch√™ne 2005 Saussignac $15?: The Southwest of France produces a bajillion dessert wines that never make the transatlantic crossing. We picked this up in Dordogne in 2003. Saussignac is part of the Bergerac AC that produces plonky Bordeaux blends and marvelous sweet stuff. I’ll let the Blogmeister research the cepage, but methinks we had muscadelle, semllion and/or sauvignon blanc. [ed. I apologize my liege but finding a road map to a Romanian CIA prison would be easier]. A burnt orange sensation sang beautifully with sheep cheese from Maine. I think we paid $15 for the 500 ml bottle. The color was a sublime orange copper. Lovely. 1.5 mice.

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