Check out what the Terroirists drank this week, including three interesting, wallet-friendly reislings!

David White
This week, the only wines worth noting were consumed on Friday night at Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington DC, where I dined with fellow Terroirist Robby Schrum and a good friend of ours.

Matt Latuchie
This week I wanted to try out some 2010 German rieslings so I opened up a couple from Selbach Oster. They are, in my opinion, the best QPR producer in the world. Their wines are simply world class with price points starting around $15. They’re one producer I don’t debate buying every year. I opened their Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett and their Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese the other night. For me, the Kabinett was just spectacular with expressive white floral notes, tropical fruit tones and fresh mineral undertones. For $22, it’s one of the best rieslings I’ve had. The Spatlese seemed overly dense for me, and while the fruit was vivid and cool, the acidity was a hair too meek. Those of you that drink a lot of German riesling may have noticed how some of today’s Kabinett taste like the Spatlese of years before and today’s Spatlese taste like Auslese of before – this is what was happening here.

My other head-to-head matchup of the weekend pitted the Les Grezeaux designation from Bernard Baudry against his Le Clos Guillot designate wine. I had had the Les Grezeaux three times before and have thought it’s been brilliant Chinon. This time, both wines took significant time to express themselves – we’re talking 5-6 hours. Both had beautiful red fruit, both had subtle tobacco notes that built over time, but the Grezeaux seemed more polished…which may or may not be a good thing depending on your tastes. For me, I enjoyed the rawness of the Le Clos Guillot and thought the polish of the Les Grezeaux stole a bit of its identity. At the end of the day, both were great wines and I’m excited to have more of each to drink.

Steven Washuta
This weekend I tasted a 2008 Scheider Spatburgunder Zweitausendacht. It had a nice nose of cherry and plum; was very aromatic and obviously Pinot noir. Palate shows a lot of alcohol, surprisingly ripe and new world style for Germany.

Greg Golec
I kicked off my week with a 2007 Von Hovel Scharzhofberger Riesling Spatlese that was rocking. The nose was melon and apples which followed through in the mouth. Lots of tart green apples, some lime, a bit of minerality and some sweet honeydew. The acidity made the wine and kept the long finish fresh. Should improve for several years.

Next up was a real surprise — a 1994 Joseph Phelps Merlot. I picked this up from Benchmark for a song and it was a real treat. I popped and poured with no real expectations. The wine was dark red bordering on brown and the nose was leather and cedar. Surprisingly, there was plenty of fruit left. Some grilled meat, clove, and baking spice added complexity. The tannins were fully resolved but this bad boy was alive and well. I’d even dare to say it has a few years before it’s in danger of decline.