2018 Hofgut Falkenstein Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Spätlese AP 6

8.5% abv

Fuder Klaus Lang (old vines)

Paired with Chicken Lanzone... plenty left over for day 2 impressions.... while this cuvee is tasty, I actually prefer feinherb and trocken Riesling...

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Noticeable improvement on day two, especially on the finish which shows more acidity and a feinherb-like quality.  

Does not have the " lightness of being" qualities found in the Trocken cuvee's IMO...

This time paired with apple-glazed pork chops and mashed sweet potatoes 

Sunday Lagunitas with a BLT sandwich and collard greens 😊🍺

Lagunitas with a BLT sandwich 👍🍺

...Enjoyed in a chilled Riedel Bordeaux glass that accidentally got put in the freezer with the beer glasses 😊.... something I may make a habit of...

....Followed the Little Sumpin' Sumpin' with the Maximus.... wow, talk about a jolt to the palate with hoppy overdrive... this took a while to get used to.. bur found its complement nicely offsetting the vinegar and spice in the collard greens...

Maximus needs a lot of air to come around...

I am totally digging the brewski in the Riedel Bordeaux stemware 👍

Late Afternoon Meditation in July

We caught the edge of a thunderstorm cell that rolled across Lake Norman late this afternoon, bringing a welcome respite from the heat....

What better time to enjoy a Fuentes Gran Reserva and Makers Mark bourbon.... 👍🥃

Fuentes Gran Riserva is the elegant "Carema" to the more robust Fuente Don Carlos "La Morra"....

The sound of thunder in the distance with an occasional flash of lightning fireworks... the gentle sound of rain with waves lapping up onto our beach.... birds chirping in the trees.... a wonderful meditation on nature...complemented by aged Dominican tobacco and Kentucky's finest...

2018 Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Sonnenberg Riesling Spätlese trocken

AP 9 
11.5% abv
Fuder Munny (60 to 70 year old vines)
Unter den Röderchen and Beim Hasenbirnbaum vineyard parcels 

Elegantly piquant pineapple attack with bone dry crystallanity and savory cut of acidity on the mid-palate .... kiwi with a hint of quinine on a mouth-wateringly saline finish. Don't drink this too cold ... really enjoyed the nuanced complexity as it warmed in the glass....

Paired beautifully with spicy Korean-style pulled pork over chile-infused rice with edamame garnish...

2015 Cantina Terlano Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva (Alto Adige)

...entering an early stage of maturity, and rounding out some of its youthful edginess.

With air, a lemony attack where you might be fooled into thinking Chablis, except for a signature viscosity and minerality on the finish, with a kiss of chenin blanc-like spiciness.   (Which is why I absolutely love blanc de blanc Champagne made with Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc....)

Paired deliciously with grilled lobster tails and roasted corn on the cob...👍

These wines last for decades apparently,  gaining complexity with age.

Cantina Terlano releases older versions called Rarity,  I think, that could be very interesting.

Interesting comment from Werner Van Damme on older vintages from Cantina Terlano .....

"...I once was handed a glass of a really beautiful, complex strong, dry, mineral [white] wine with extremely long aftertaste, marvelous. When asked what we all thought it was, we thought of a Chardonnay, maybe Chablis but than definitely a Grand Cru with a bit of bottle age but not too much as it was so very intensely alive, so we put it between 10 to 15 years old. That was in 1999. The wine was this one [Cantina Terlano], a "Riserva" I think, the vintage was 1947..." (!)

Note: Cantina Terlano was established in 1893.

2018 Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese feinherb AP 3

10% abv
Fuder Palm, Meyer Sydney (both old vines)

As with most great Rieslings, it is almost impossible to not finish a bottle of Falkenstein once it has been opened.... Bravo Erich and Johannes Weber !

Tropical notes up front give way to a delicious umami-saline-feinherb mid-palate, exhibiting an irresistible piquancy that morphs to reveal such a pure expression of fruit and acidity from this legendary parcel. 

There's a zone of temperature for drinking this wine, somewhere between chilled and warm, where the umami thing coupled with a slight viscosity on the palate just lights up, providing Saar Riesling fireworks on the 4th of July ...

What more could you want from a truly great Spatlese. If it's this good now, where will it be in 5 years?

Producer notes:

https://www.larscarlberg.com/producer/hofgut-falkenstein/

https://www.larscarlberg.com/a-selection-of-2018-saar-rieslings-from-hofgut-falkenstein/

Excellent interactive vineyard map showing Mosel Gross Lage (Grand Cru) sites:
https://www.vdp.de/de/die-weine/weinbergonline/region/mosel-saar-ruwer

Paired nicely with a spicy Asian-influenced Sea Bass recipe with herbs and peanuts.

Barolo and Burgundy

                     Dinner at Villa Russo  
                            👍🍷😊🍕

1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Villero 
14% abv
Double decanted and then aerated in decanter for an hour. Lots of sediment. 
Nice florals upon uncorking the bottle. Palate was a very elegant and lithe expression of the famed Villero terroir. 
Medium bodied red cherry, with balsamic and earthy character. Tannins are completely resolved, leaving behind a lithe structure as a foundation for the tertiary nuances of aged Nebbiolo fruit, leather and spice. 
Poured into decanter again at dinner. Wine gained presence over the coarse of several hours with sweetness and structure coming more to to the forefront of the flavor profile, complemented by a savory dusty character on the finish. 
A very enjoyable example of this wine. No reason to hold onto it much longer. It is good to go now. It doesn't need a lot of air to show its stuff. 
Paired nicely with homemade pizza...

2002 Joseph Faiveley Volnay Santenots 
13% abv
Beautifully mature red cherry fruit, exhibiting savory tartness and pleasing acidity that makes pinot noir from Burgundy one of the most food friendly wines in the world. The tertiary stage interplay of sweet tannins, sour cherry and sous bois provides such a satisfyingly elegant experience. 
This wine showed wonderfully with the pizza. 

Pizza 1 was a red sauce pizza with Mozzarella, marinated baby portobello mushrooms, sweet and hot Italian sausage and black olives. 

 Pizza 2 (pictured) was a white pizza with olive oil, parmigiano reggiano, Prosciutto, swiss chard, carmelized onions, Gorgonzola and farm fresh egg.