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Larry Meehan'Tis the season for "best of" lists, and I hate to miss out on all the fun. My list is very brief -- in fact it contains only two wines. I have been lucky enough to sample and enjoy dozens of truly wonderful wines in 2006, but the two that I have selected for recognition are ones that I have had the pleasure to sip ten or more times in the last calendar year, so they are quite familiar. They offer interest for the mind, and joy for the palate, so it is no wonder that I keep coming back to them. Perhaps best of all, both of these wines remain available even in remote wine outposts like the State of Ohio for less than $15 each. Unique expressions available just down the road for relatively few dollars? No doubt, these are the best I've had this year...
 
2002 Salomon Riesling Pfaffenberg2002 Salomon Riesling Pfaffenberg (12.5% abv/$9.99) --  It is cool, crisp, and dry. The wine has expressed a range of fragrances over the year, but most typically green apples, lemons and limes, sea spray, wet slate, and icy cliffs... a bit of petrol, too. The flavors mostly contain themselves to the citrus family, but never without a good splash of delicate salt or crunchy mineral in support.
This Riesling practically shimmers with life, charged with acids that lend tremendous lift and focus. Until my last few bottles I had warned the acid adverse to avoid this, but lately the bottles seem just a bit more generous. Recent generosity aside, this wine has years ahead of it, and plenty of positive development for those with the patience to hold a few. It is fabulous with shell fish, shrimp, and the like.  Find this wine

I know that Austrian Riesling is far off the beaten trail for many, but here is a fine opportunity to explore. Strange as it sounds, Ohio almost certainly has the best price in the US on this particular item... mind you it has been discounted by more than half to move it along, but it still remains available in significant quantities.

 
2004 Domaine du Vissoux (Chermette) Cuvee Traditionnelle2004 Domaine du Vissoux (Chermette) Cuvee Traditionnelle Beaujolais Vieilles Vignes (12% abv/14.99 or less) -- I have enjoyed this fresh, crisp, tantalizing wine enormously over the past year, but it is safe to say that it is drinking at its best in the past few months. Red fruit and white flower fragrances mingle with just a little black dirt. The pure strawberry fruit dances gracefully across the tongue -- ripe and round, but delicate in its touch. If you are disposed to deep analysis, you might discern the occasional crunch of leaves, or snap of twigs, but mostly you'll just wonder where the wine went -- it tends to vanish quickly. It is immensely fun to sip on its own, but its lightness of being and friendly demeanor make it a fine match for any number of food scenarios. Find this wine
 
The recently released 2005 version (more on that later) will be longer lived, and even more interesting with time, but while you wait this one is hard to beat.
 
Happy New Year!
 
LM

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