2003 J.J. Prum Bernkasteler Badstube "Spatlese"
*Let me know ASAP if those dates don't work. We can post our notes on the 19th.
*Also, I am very glad to announce that the Houston Crew will be joining us on this tasting.
*We can start to post some thoughts on meals that will work well with the wine. My initial instruction from an expert is to go full flavor but not hot.
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17 comments:
Sounds good... but an awfully long way off.. do I have to wait that long to drink again?? :)
I had to make it so late due to my travel schedule. Should be nice wine for the middle of summer.
You guys are going to kick me off for sure. I clearly do not follow directions. Posted a comment, then read back through Jason's email to post on THURSDAY. Oops. Delete.
My notes on the 2003 J.J.Prum Bernkasteler Badstube Spatlese:
Upon opening, it possessed a lot of spritz. Very light color. Aromas of green apple, lime and a core of minerality. Stony, zesty yet light, paired very well with spicy chicken apple sausage and curried rice.
On Day 2 really lost the spritz and showed much better. Very balanced. Liked the combination of acidity while not too cloyingly sweet.
Very enjoyable, but after I opened a bottle of J.J. Christoffel Spatlese 2004 and it blew away the 2003 Prum.
Okay....here are my notes from last week. :) A friend and his daughter were in town from London mid-week and we picked up take out Thai food. (Tom & Cynthia - our friend is the former owner of Buck.) I think my husband Kevin must have picked the most spicy dishes they had ... which was fine with me but went against Jason's advice. Per my previous emails, we definitely noted the spritz in the wine. We did not decant or shake the bottle (or do a Harry Potter dance as I believe Tom was going to do). I thought the wine was a great pairing with the Thai, cutting right through the spices. Muted nose. A mixture of light (and sweet) citrus, honey and floral flavors on the palate. Unfortunately, we finished off this bottle quickly and I did not get a chance to try it without food or on day two. I very much enjoyed the wine and will seek this one out. Thanks for including us in this tasting. Next time, I will follow directions. :)
I did end up pairing this with 3 different Thai dishes. The match did work well but it wasn’t magical like the matches I have had with Chinese food. I did enjoy the wine but was not drawn into it. The nose was smokey and stony with a light touch of classic petrol. Very subtle. On the palate, I didn’t think the wine showed depth or harmony. Tasty but not totally coming together. Lots of fruit. Peaches and cherries jumped out at me. I would have liked more minerals and a bit more acidity to give the finish some lift. I was glad the sweetness was in check. Not cloying.
My assessment. This wine is probably way too young to show what it is meant to be. It is not in harmony right now but could come together with time. Tasty but does not separate itself from other wines. Currently I would give it 87 pts … but I wouldn’t blab about that because I am inexperienced with how these wines evolve. I will probably pick up another bottle so that I can try it again in 10 years.
J
Jason - did you decant or shake? If so, did it take care of the spritz?
Sandy, I poured off half the bottle (and gave it to Darren) and then gave it a shake around 4 PM. Then when I got home I left the bottle open for about 2 hours before we drank it. Giving it a quick taste early in the evening. It certainly improved with time.
William whipped up something really spicy & yummy last night: Grilled wild jumbo shrimp mixed in with a medley of black/white pepper, garlic & shallots; Pan seared filet of beef cubes in balsamic vinegar/soy/Worcester sauce reduction; fresh romaine hearts stir fried in XO chili sauce.
We didn’t decant, but audozed the wine for half an hour before consumption. The first thing we noticed when the wine was popped was the spritz. There was definitely spritz present, and lots of it. The nose was not giving much. William smelled petroleum right away. I thought the nose was strange, but agreed with William that it was petroleum. Then, very slight aromas of honey, peaches, baked dough, and floral came through underneath. On the palate, the wine was rather sweet with taste of honey & fruits. Rather one dimensional, lacks in complexity. Medium finish. This wine is made to pair with food IMHO. I find it more pleasurable to drink this wine with food than without because of the sweetness, and it especially pairs great with spicy dishes. The wine sang in harmony with all the dishes last night. It was perfect! But if I had to choose again, I would probably pair this with Sichuan cuisine, which is more spicy, with thicker and heavier sauces.
Woops... I didn't read Jason's original post in depth and ignored his instructions on staying away from spicy food. However, I still think that because the wine is rather sweet, it pairs great with what we had last night. IMHO, it can even stand up to dishes that are heavier and more spicy.
The "no spicy" thing was recommended by someone else. I went for spicy too! For me the these wines take a distant second to great red wines ... but great red wines don't work with spicy ... so I have ventured into this world. I think the work will with the spicy food. As long as there is not too much oak these work great!
J
Split the bottle with Jason and much of its "spritz" was gone by the time I started. Paired it with a pork tenderloin with a light, spicy bbq sauce.
The nose was pleasant with subtle aromas of tropical fruits with a hint of musty character (could have been my breath, but I had two others with me confirm though they didn't confirm the source...again, could have been my breath).
I tasted pineapple, melon, maybe a hint of apple (sour green). Overall, pretty smooth and sweet, not too complex. Not my style normally but I liked it with the pork -- the "other white meat".
My guests' comments:
Dad (non-drinker) -- "Tastes like wine, son. Okay, maybe kiwi?"
Mom -- "Oooooooooohhhh. I love it! Do you have anything red?"
Laurelin (wife) -- "It's the kind of white I don't like. Too sweet for me - reminds me of white grape juice. Let's break out some red!"
Jude (2-year-old son) -- "Jude smell it? Ohhh. Smells like wine! Daddy, For 'growm-ups'..."
Paired this with a light crab salad the first night, and it was great with it. Just finished up the last couple glasses on the third night. Sally Anne's note: "Yeah, it's sweet." Not her style. My notes:
Day one: Opened one hour before serving. No decant. As soon as the cork came out, there was a fizzy pop from the gas — almost like opening a soda. Gave it a good shake for ten seconds, and the wine bubbled over like Champagne. This is quite the precocious youngster! The nose was reticent at first, but over an additional hour in the glass, it really started to come around. Distinct note of petrol, as you would expect, and a touch of sulphur in the background. As it opened, however, you got more depth: the classic notes of apricot, citrus, minerals, a touch of peach. Solid stuff, if you don’t mind the petrol note lingering (and I don’t; it’s a young German, what do you expect?). In the mouth, really smooth and quite generous. Layers of apricot and peach fruit come across as quite rich and sweet. The petrol kicks in again much more faintly than on the nose and is drowned out by mineral notes. Just enough acidity creeps up at the back of the palate to keep you interested; this is definitely a product of the hot vintage. The finish is outstanding, long and smooth with a total emphasis on fruit. A baby and perhaps not up there with the total big boys, but this provides great pleasure indeed.
Day two: I’m surprised how well this held up. Less petrol on the nose, but the same richness in the mouth. There is more focus on fruit throughout on day two. The apricot is more defined. The peach notes are sharper, with a distinct green apple note coming out now that adds tartness. The finish really kicked into high gear after a day, too, long and refined. The acidity didn’t stick out at all still, so this just got better the second day. Heck of a wine, particularly for the price, but I’m not sure how long it will age given the moderate level of acidity. In any case, another five years at least would do this good, and it’s outstanding for sure.
By mistake(another story having to do with a corked wine), we had this with not spicy Mexican food at Lorena's mom's restaurant.
For starters, after a corked bottle of another wine, the cork on this crumbled... so I had to push it in.. and yeah, there was spritz.. cuz we all got a bit of a bath as the wine sprayed out.. kinda fun, actually.
Lorena's mom liked it.. but she loved the Dr. Loosen we had at the last tasting too... for me and for Lorena, not enough acidity or complexity to carry the sweetness. Almost flat tasting of peaches and honeysuckle (hey, if Jason can taste cherries in a white wine, I'm tasting honeysuckle!).
All in all, just ok.. not somethign I would look for again. And it just reinforces my preference for Alsace over Germany when it comes to Reisling.
Jim - honeysuckle is a great description. I got honey and floral ... so honeysuckle would be a more apt description of that combo.
Jason - thanks again for organizing. This has been a lot of fun!
Greetings,
I apologize for coming late to the table. I had work/home conflicts that prevented me from tasting this until last night. So anyway…
Whites are harder for me to extract subtlety from, and in this case, there didn’t seem to be much to report anyway. I found this wine to be quite pleasing but also quite simple. The nose didn’t offer me much although it seemed to evolve some as the wine warmed up. In fact the nose was the most subtle part about the wine to me.
I would describe it as a spritzy fruit salad in a glass. I’m not great yet at figuring out the difference between acid and bubbles, however, either way, the front palate was a spritz bomb despite the splash decanting. There was melon (honeydew), pear, and possibly peach on the mid palate. Finally, the taste finished with a nearly splenda type lingering flavor (I believe this is RS?).
As most of you know (well not the Houston crew) I cannot eat and drink at the same time so I have no food paring info to offer.
All and all I think this would be a great party wine as I think few people would find it displeasing. It was nice to drink but also somewhat unremarkable.
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