essex wine report

It was so nice today, so nice that I needed to grill some salmon. I love salmon and don’t know if it was the salmon that got me into Riesling or the other way around. Somehow I think the Riesling came first.

As I am rather happy, I had to put on a cool album. Ella Fitzgerald, Live at Montreaux 1977. She was still in her prime and was accompanied by Tommy Flannagan. As I usually talk of local stuff, Tommy is a gem. He’s from Detroit and was part of that golden age of jazz musicians. This area once produced some of the greatest music (even Miles Davis lived here for a while) and today we have eminem and Kid Rock. How bad have things gotten.

Dinner was grilled salmon served over a salad of bitter greens with a lemon vinaigrette. I really don’t know why I am eating healthy this week as I have poisoned myself of late.

Now to the wine…It isn’t local it’s from a place called Hunawir. No it isn’t the “new region” outside Kabul, its from Alsace and the name is “Grand Cru Schoenbourg”. Specifically a Riesling from the 2001 vintage. To all non-Riesling fanatics, Riesling ages well and take on a whole new personality as they age. These are not standard white wines. This is a BIG white and I love it. It took the salmon and shook it around. The fish went with the wine not the other way around. The wine didn’t overpower, oh no, it just let its presence be known. Kinda like if you went into a tough country bar with Chuck Norris. He would get the respect, but doesn’t have to overdo it.

The color is golden. Nor dark but rich. It looks like a good wine. I get hints of petrol, but very slight. Initially I got apricots and all kinds of lush fruit. This wine smells luscious.

And now the taste. It isn’t dry at all, but I hazard to guess that a lot of this is perceived sweetness where the fruit is there and the maturity allows that taste to come out. It is thick and luscious. I can’t stop using that word but it sums it up. The taste just envelopes the tongue and after you swallow there is a lovely aftertaste. It is just sooooooo classy. This wine is a work of art and head and shoulders above anything I’ve had from North America. But hey these guys have been doing this for about 600 years so they have a little head start. Oh yes and it isn’t cheap or widely available. This was a present to myself and I just felt like having it tonight.