Rudi Pichler Kollmutz Smaragd Gruner Veltliner is made from 100 percent Gruner Veltliner.
Rudi Pichler is among the elite growers of the Wachau producing wines of precision, power, and longevity. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling make up 95% of the production with the remaining 5% shared between Weißburgunder and Roter Veltliner. Rudi Pichler belongs to the prestigious Vinea Wachau and vinifies under the strict parameters of their codex.
Yields are kept low between 30 and 35 hectoliters per hectare with botrytis carefully removed by hand. Grapes are crushed by foot and receive between three and 36 hours of maceration on the skins. Vinification is entirely in stainless-steel tanks and malolactic fermentation is avoided.
Kollmütz is a terraced vineyard in Wösendorf sitting between 200 and 400 meters of elevation. The soils of Kollmütz developed from an ancient landslide resulting in chaotic layers of rock and boulders. The vineyard is particularly rich in magnesium and iron. Wines from Kollmütz are typically linear, dense, and intensely mineral in character.
Grüner Veltliner is the signature grape of Austria and produces a dry white wine with savory aromas, spicy flavors, and good acidity. Grüner Veltliner Smaragd from the Wachau is a full-bodied wine and is rich in style with notes of stone fruit, lemon, radish, and arugula.
Review:
I have heard gruner veltliner dismissed for supposedly not being elegant, but this is an extremely elegant example! Very complex nose of snow peas, green beans, wild herbs and green pepper. On the medium-bodied palate, this remarkable gruner veltliner has a discreet succulence, but what makes it amazing is the way it glides so gracefully over the palate, then splash lands in a deep pool of wet stone minerality. Underplayed power and concentration!
-James Suckling 97 Points
Ruttenstock Gruner Veltliner is made from 100 percent Gruner Veltliner.
Very fruity and light Gruner Veltliner with fresh aromas of citrus and green apples. Crisp on the palate with lively acidity structure.
Pair with cold appetizers, soup, fish, vegetables, salad.
Sake By Kysela has been a project in the making for three years now. In the end, we selected a Sake made from the famous Yamada Nishiki rice produced in the Southern Prefecture of Shimane. Flavorful, rich, and clean; this sake is best as an aperitif or with seafood like fluke, dover sole or halibut. Kanpai!!!
Sake Eikun Junmai Ginjo Water Lords 12/720ml is made with Iwai rice.
Eikun sake uses water from a source called "Fusui", rated as one of the top 100 sources of water in Japan. This water source is located just south of the ancient Japanese, and still cultural capital of Japan, Kyoto.
Aromas of macadamia oatmeal cookie, spicy zucchini bread, and vanilla cream with a satiny fruity-yet-dry medium-to-full body and a layered, banana custard, jicama, salted whole nut, apple, and radish nuanced finish. A Wonderfully vibrant and flavorful sake.-Beverage Tasting Institute 94 points (Exceptional)
RATING: 94 points (Exceptional)
CATEGORY: Junmai Ginjo Sake, Sake
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME: 15.3%
TASTING LOCATION: In Our Chicago Tasting Room
TASTING DATE: Dec-05-2012
WINE ID: 200768
Made with Iwai rice.
Eikun sake uses water from a source called "Fusui", rated as one of the top 100 sources of water in Japan. This water source is located just south of the ancient Japanese, and still cultural capital of Japan, Kyoto.
Rice milling: 60%
Sake Eikun Junmai Ginjo Water Lords is made with Iwai rice.
Eikun sake uses water from a source called "Fusui", rated as one of the top 100 sources of water in Japan. This water source is located just south of the ancient Japanese, and still cultural capital of Japan, Kyoto.
Aromas of macadamia oatmeal cookie, spicy zucchini bread, and vanilla cream with a satiny fruity-yet-dry medium-to-full body and a layered, banana custard, jicama, salted whole nut, apple, and radish nuanced finish. A Wonderfully vibrant and flavorful sake.-Beverage Tasting Institute 94 points (Exceptional)
RATING: 94 points (Exceptional)
CATEGORY: Junmai Ginjo Sake, Sake
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME: 15.3%
TASTING LOCATION: In Our Chicago Tasting Room
TASTING DATE: Dec-05-2012
WINE ID: 200768
Woodsy honeycomb, nutshell, and mushroom patch aromas with a satiny fruity-yet-dry medium-to-full body and a delicate savory mushroom stock, chestnut, and golden beet driven finish. A fine choice for tempura. 91 Points -Beverage Tasting Institute
RATING: 91 points (Exceptional)
CATEGORY: Junmai Ginjo Sake, Sake
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME: 15.4%
TASTING LOCATION: In Our Chicago Tasting Room
TASTING DATE: Dec-05-2012
WINE ID: 200767
Renato Ratti Rocche dell'Annunziata Barolo is made from 100 percent Nebbiolo. Grapes handpicked in the month of October, de-stemmed and pressed. The alcoholic fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel containers. Contact with the skins lasts approximately three to four weeks and includes fermentation and subsequent post-fermentation maceration with the traditional submerged cap system. The malolactic fermentation takes place in steel containers.
The Rocche dell'Annunziata vineyard is historically known as one of the most important in the Barolo zone. In his Barolo Chart, Renato Ratti had already underscored this by entering it in the 1st Category class. Situated at about 300 meters above sea level and with a south-east exposure, it extends over approximately 1 hectare. Rich with typical blue marl interspersed between veins of sand, the earth confers an extraordinary elegance and depth, combined with fine and persistent scents of roses and licorice. A prestigious subzone engenders a Barolo that holds within it suggestions of a radiant future. Warm, persistent, rich: in a word, sumptuous.
The label bears the coat of arms of the local noble family, with a black hawk against a gilt backdrop. The Latin inscription “Probasti me et cogniusti me” means “You tried me, you knew me.”
The Bottle: The Albeisa – named after the city of Alba – is the iconic bottle created by Renato Ratti in 1973, desired as a way of identifying the uniqueness of a territory and its wines.
A garnet red. Delicate and persistent fragrance with trace scents of licorice, rose and violet. Full-flavored, warm, with extremely elegant tannins offering long persistence. A great wine for important dishes, red meats roasted on a spit or grilled, game, dishes of gourmet white and red meats and ripe cheeses.
Review:
Lots of dried flowers here give a perfumed nature to it with berries and citrus. Hibiscus water, too. Full-bodied and chewy with lots of tannins and vivid acidity. Subtle plum and strawberry character. Muscular and formed..
-James Suckling 97 Points
Busi Chianti Rufina (Half Bottle) is made from 100% Sangiovese.
Fresh, fruity, with classic tart cherry.
Appearance: ruby-red in color.
Aroma: clean, floral notes.
Flavor: well structured and harmonic on the palate; easy drinking with a soft and lingering finish. Ageing potential: 10/15 years.
Production area: amidst the hills of Pelago in the Chianti Rufina D.O.C.G. area, with a soil composition of marly, calcareous clay as typically found in the Arno valley east of Florence.
Aspect: south-facing.
Altitude: 200/350 m above sea level.
Cultivation method: spurred cordon.
Harvest period: from the 20th of September until the middle of October.
Vinification: the grapes are fermented in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature (26/28°C) for 10 days before racking and malolactic fermentation in stainless steel. After fermentation the wine is put into wooden barrels.
Fermentation in stainless steel at controlled temperatures for 7 to 8 days, with an additional 3 to 4 days on the skins. The wine is then racked and goes through malolactic. It is then racked again and stays another 7 months in stainless steel.
Adapts well to both light and more substantial dishes.