We visited Jean-Pierre in Pfaffenheim during a trip to Alsace in the summer of You may well know that the was a washout for most of the region, with yields decimated because of mildiou. The wines were singing but Jean-Pierre was not on his best form. We did, however, stock up on as many bottles as we could bring through Switzerland to take home with us and they have since been tucked away in the wine cellar, occasionally calling to me like mythical sirens luring in thirsty sailors.
I hankered for a Yann Durrmann riesling back in It is very slightly cloudy, but the nose is clean and inviting, slightly herbal and medicinal. At first it envelops your mouth with a burst of flavour β ripe grapes, juicy mirabelles, and just a touch of sage β then the salinity comes through causing the middle of my tongue to tingle. You normally see this type of bottle closure on lightly sparkling wines col fondo or pet nats, for example or on bottles of beer.
Between TCA cork taint and other sometimes barely perceptible alterations due to imperfections in the natural cork, that number feels about right. The wine is, effectively, in a perfectly pure condition. Just one week until Christmas! Whilst I fall pretty much equidistant on the scale between Santa and Scrooge, I do like enjoying good food and wine and the so-called Festive Season is a good excuse to push the boat out.
There are so many I could pick, but biodynamic producer Champagne Fleury and organic-certified Christophe Lefevre always deliver good value for money. Someone explain to me again why we go through the hassle of cooking turkey at Christmas? It demands far too much cooking time, takes up all the space in the oven, and does anyone actually like the taste very much? But, I like my turkey with a generous helping of stuffing β sage and onion ideally, or thyme and lemon β and in that case, a somewhat forceful skin contact wine is what I would suggest.
If you want to splurge, who does skin contact better than Josko Gravner? I recently drank his Ribolla which would work superbly well.
