Sausages, Thai Food and Good Wines

Steffi & Volker are off to the Steiermark in Austria...Kitty(photo) is over from the U.S.A. and Robert...well...he brought some wine. We decided it was time to meet up and enjoy good wines. I was asked to bring a white and a red...and along with my wife...we set of to find Volker grilling various sausages.
Now...you may think otherwise...but as far as I know know...neither America, Britain or any other country...do great sausages like the Germans. And if to prove a point...the three variations we were offered were very good indeed.




All the wines were covered up...and Robert's first offering I had to guess at. I got the first part right...Weissburgunder...thought maybe 2008...but was in Baden. It turned out to be from the Nahe and from the very top property in that area..

Dönnhoff Significa Weissburgunger
Stückfass 2009
Nane, Germany
With every new experience I can see that German growers are getting to grips with the grape. The 'fatness' of old seems to be disappearing presenting a more balanced style.
The bouquet shows a cocktail of yellow fruit. Developed well in the mouth...lots of finesse...a great example of the grape.
Points 16.5


The second wine was from my cellar...and I checked and saw I had last tasted it in June 2008..three years ago!. Not that the wine was going downhill...what hit me more was the time that had flown by!
The estate is located in the town of Bacharach in the Mittelrhein wine-growing region in Germany. It was founded in 1982 by Dr. Randolf Kauer and Martina Kauer. The vineyard area totals slightly more than three hectares, mostly on steep slopes, spread over the communes Bacharach (Kloster Fürstental, Wolfshöhle), Oberdiebach (Fürstenberg), Oberwesel (Oelsberg) and Urbar (Beulsberg).

Kauer Oberweseler Oelsberg
Riesling Spätlese trocken 2007
Mittelrhein, Germany
Aromas of apricots and juicy apples...lazy, hazy citrus fruits...minerals and some intensity...smells like a winner. More apricots on the palate, some peach. Herbs and a gentle sweetness tie this one up..and the 13% alcohol you just never notice. I wrote back then 'A teenager without spots that will develope into a tasty young lady!'...I was right!
Points 17.5




On to three reds...the first up was not easy...the colour was dark...but seemed to be Pinot Noir. As Robert said...always trust your first guess...and I was thinking U.S.A. but was off down other roads before it was revealed.
A bottle from the States...brought over by Kitty.
Domaine Serene
Pinot Noir
Evenstade Reserve 2005
Oregon, U.S.A.
As I mentioned...the colour was dark...black cherry aroma and toasty oak..quite full on the palate...with blackcurrant and raspberry to the fore...very good.
Points 17.25





My red wine was not happy to follow the Serene.....
Meyer-Näkel 'S' 2004
Ahr, Germany
Completely different to the above..and having drank it a few times...I know it shows better but seemed light compared to the Serene. Still...it was delightfully well-balanced with soft sweet fruit...and a slight trace of age.
Points 16.75....









Herman Story
On The Road Grenache 2008
California, U.S.A.
Robert had brought this...and Volker & I had no idea.....
Dark colour...bacon and smoke...velvety...ripe berries...good acidity...which was needed...it has 16% Alcohol as we found out when the covers came off...liquorice and cocoa...we really should have guessed Grenache...but we didn't.
Points 17






The Kauer white leads me into the next report very well.
Bacharach is in the Mittelrhein area...and as you leave the Autobahn between Bingen and Koblenz and drive downhill through the woods...then you reach this picturesque town.
Take the ferry across the Rhine on a sunny day...something I never tire of....then you on the Rheingau side...and will reach Rüdesheim...where you can take photos of Japanese tourists taking photos of this much visited town. Carry on for a few miles or kilometers and you reach Wiesbaden. The city was not touched with destruction in the war...so the beautiful old buildings still stand...and even though they say there is a financial crisis...drive along the Wilhelmstrasse of an evening and the parked vehicles will be full of Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Audi and other elite cars. Our reason for a visit was to get the family together...and my wife & I love GOOD Asian food. All too often though...the oil is overdone...and there are 'added' ingredients....but a year ago our daughter (who lives there) recommended a Thai Restaurant...Erawan. Every visit has been a pleasure...but I usually end up driving so can't drink too much. This time I was being driven...so took 2 bottles of red along. My daughter says that the owner hardly ever visits tables...but whenever I had been there...I had always asked for a good white...and it seems to have got his interest.
The wine list is a 'catastrophe'...it hasn't changed for years...the vintages are 2001, 2002, 2003...none of which they still have...and on our first visit when I inquired about a Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2001...I was told they had one but from a younger vintage. Needless to say I ended up behind the bar checking the bottles of white they had in the fridge or the reds which the owner brought up from the cellar. This visit I asked for a Rully 2007...which was adequate...but not worth taking notes. The food was excellent again...although a long break between starters and main course meant that by the time we had finished...the restaurant was empty. The owner had asked what reds we were drinking...and I sent a glass for him to try...which brought him happily to our table to join in the banter (there is always laughter when our family are out together).
The two reds were last bottles from the cellar...the Michel had cost € 11,-- and the Johner € 17,-- and with a Thai curry these wines make great marriages

Michel Spätburgurgunder
Alte Reben 2007
Baden, Germany
An aroma of strawberry and sour cherries...a really attractive palate...with a soft...slightly sweet fruit without being overdone...the tannins just hovering...and a trace of acidity means this is delicious now...but could hold for 5 years.
Points 16.5







Weingut Karl Johner
Spätburgunder trocken 2007
Baden, Germany
Screw cap...instant opening...instant pleasure...just a delicious aromatic smell of sweet cherry fruit...a touch of 'aged' smokiness...and some extra herbaceous aromas...along with the well-used oak. There is a lively acidity that drags the fruit around the palate.
Points 17