Betsy visited a friend's new home on the way home from matinee, by
time she arrived at our house I had the appetizer ready, some shrimp
cocktail. With was the 2002 Carl Loewen "Leiwener Klostergarten"
Riesling Kabinett I had opened previous night. Light and ready Mosel,
flavors of lime and quince jam, with a little gingery edge. On the
sweeter side of Kabinett, but not at all heavy. Not a producer who
seems to get much buzz, but I've been pleased with the ones I've
tried. B+

I then grilled some thick porterhouses (one would have been plenty,
but I like my meat "bleu" while Bets is medium-rare, and as she said
"there's nothing wrong with steak sandwiches for lunch"), with baked
potatoes, asparagus, and green salad. Served a 375 of the 2003 Ch.
Gruaud-Larose (St. Julien). Started off a bit dumb, opened up, but
never excited me. More tannins than fruit, fairly big dose of vanillin
oak. Sweet cassis fruit eventually emerges, but this strikes me as
rather one-dimensional. Nothing flawed, though finish seems a tad
short for a 2nd from a big vintage. Maybe this is just closed, but I'm
not sensing a lot underneath, and will pass on buying more. B-

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

On Mar 17, 9:07 pm, DaleW > wrote:
> Betsy visited a friend's new home on the way home from matinee, by
> time she arrived at our house I had the appetizer ready, some shrimp
> cocktail. With was the 2002 Carl Loewen "Leiwener Klostergarten"
> Riesling Kabinett I had opened previous night. Light and ready Mosel,
> flavors of lime and quince jam, with a little gingery edge. On the
> sweeter side of Kabinett, but not at all heavy. Not a producer who
> seems to get much buzz, but I've been pleased with the ones I've
> tried. B+

Can't comment on the St. Julien, as I have minimal experience with
wines from there. But I've had some of Loewen's stuff before, and love
the value for money you get with him. Slightly sweet (as I've found to
be the case with a few of the more unknown producers on Terry Theise's
lineup), but really fun wines to have with food.
Check out his 05 Klostegarten Kabinett if you see it around btw - had
it for $12 recently and loved it.

Cheers,

Salil

On Mar 17, 9:52�am, Salil > wrote:
> On Mar 17, 9:07 pm, DaleW > wrote:
>
> > Betsy visited a friend's new home on the way home from matinee, by
> > time she arrived at our house I had the appetizer ready, some shrimp
> > cocktail. With was the �2002 Carl Loewen "Leiwener Klostergarten"
> > Riesling Kabinett I had opened previous night. Light and ready Mosel,
> > flavors of lime and quince jam, with a little gingery edge. On the
> > sweeter side of Kabinett, but not at all heavy. Not a producer who
> > seems to get much buzz, but I've been pleased with the ones I've
> > tried. B+
>
> Can't comment on the St. Julien, as I have minimal experience with
> wines from there. But I've had some of Loewen's stuff before, and love
> the value for money you get with him. Slightly sweet (as I've found to
> be the case with a few of the more unknown producers on Terry Theise's
> lineup), but really fun wines to have with food.
> Check out his 05 Klostegarten Kabinett if you see it around btw - had
> it for $12 recently and loved it.
>
> Cheers,
>
> �Salil

Actually I just picked up the '05 (Grapes in Rye NY is having a moving
sale) -glad to know it's good! Thanks

On Mar 17, 9:07�am, DaleW > wrote:
> Betsy visited a friend's new home on the way home from matinee, by
> time she arrived at our house I had the appetizer ready, some shrimp
> cocktail. With was the �2002 Carl Loewen "Leiwener Klostergarten"
> Riesling Kabinett I had opened previous night. Light and ready Mosel,
> flavors of lime and quince jam, with a little gingery edge. On the
> sweeter side of Kabinett, but not at all heavy. Not a producer who
> seems to get much buzz, but I've been pleased with the ones I've
> tried. B+
>
> I then grilled some thick porterhouses (one would have been plenty,
> but I like my meat "bleu" while Bets is medium-rare, and as she said
> "there's nothing wrong with steak sandwiches for lunch"), with baked
> potatoes, asparagus, and green salad. Served a 375 of the 2003 Ch.
> Gruaud-Larose (St. Julien). Started off a bit dumb, opened up, but
> never excited me. More tannins than fruit, fairly big dose of vanillin
> oak. Sweet cassis fruit eventually emerges, but this strikes me as
> rather one-dimensional. Nothing flawed, though finish seems a tad
> short for a 2nd from a big vintage. Maybe this is just closed, but I'm
> not sensing a lot underneath, and will pass on buying more. B-
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Yikes! I bought a case of the 2003 Gruaud Larose on release. I guess
I should buy a bottle and taste it and try to sell the whole case if I
don't see any future. Thanks for the notes!

Bill
Visit Billburg-http://billburg.myminicity.com

On Mar 17, 1:54Â*pm, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> On Mar 17, 9:07�am, DaleW > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Betsy visited a friend's new home on the way home from matinee, by
> > time she arrived at our house I had the appetizer ready, some shrimp
> > cocktail. With was the �2002 Carl Loewen "Leiwener Klostergarten"
> > Riesling Kabinett I had opened previous night. Light and ready Mosel,
> > flavors of lime and quince jam, with a little gingery edge. On the
> > sweeter side of Kabinett, but not at all heavy. Not a producer who
> > seems to get much buzz, but I've been pleased with the ones I've
> > tried. B+
>
> > I then grilled some thick porterhouses (one would have been plenty,
> > but I like my meat "bleu" while Bets is medium-rare, and as she said
> > "there's nothing wrong with steak sandwiches for lunch"), with baked
> > potatoes, asparagus, and green salad. Served a 375 of the 2003 Ch.
> > Gruaud-Larose (St. Julien). Started off a bit dumb, opened up, but
> > never excited me. More tannins than fruit, fairly big dose of vanillin
> > oak. Sweet cassis fruit eventually emerges, but this strikes me as
> > rather one-dimensional. Nothing flawed, though finish seems a tad
> > short for a 2nd from a big vintage. Maybe this is just closed, but I'm
> > not sensing a lot underneath, and will pass on buying more. B-
>
> > Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> > wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> > drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> > promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
>
> Yikes! Â*I bought a case of the 2003 Gruaud Larose on release. Â*I guess
> I should buy a bottle and taste it and try to sell the whole case if I
> don't see any future. Â*Thanks for the notes!
>
> Bill
> Visit Billburg-http://billburg.myminicity.com- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I posted my notes on CT, almost all the notes are more positive than
mine. So possibilities include I had an off bottle, a closed bottle, I
couldn't taste my way out of a barn, the barometer was low or high, or
myriad other possibilities.

Some friends and I got our accumulated wine from winter at Premier Cru
via refrigerated pallet delivery (they were the ones with 20+ cases
each, I only had a couple). I actually got shorted my other 375 of the
Gruaud, even though I got a very good deal ($18ish for the halves) I
think I'd as soon get a credit if they don't find it.