Wines I'm Drinking: 2005 Lucien Albrecht Alsace Grand Cru "Pfingstberg" Riesling

I'm always excited to find an Alsace Grand Cru at a reasonable price. I love these wines and they are usually expensive and hard to find. This one is not as good as some Grand Cru wines I've had from Alsace, but it's very good wine and a real bargain at only $7.99 a bottle at the Santa Rosa Grocery Outlet. This Riesling would normally sell in the $35-$40 range. I've delayed posting this a day because I wanted to go back for a case. If there's any left after you've read this, go snap it up. Recommended. Brief tasting notes follow.

A medium, slightly green-tinged straw color. Distinct Riesling "petroleum" scents. Hints of honey on the nose. Clean and attractive nose overall. A bit distant at first on the palate. Delicate, but with extraordinary length. Bright sappy flavors initially, then rather austere on the mid-palate (with the acidity momentarily taking over from the fruit flavors), but the very dry mid-palate is followed by a delicate, honeyed sweetness offset by a more subtle acidity that lingers and keeps things interesting on the finish. At the very end, the wine is then slightly richer again, although the overall impression is of a steely, restrained fruitiness that just suggests sweetness. With a little time, begins to suggest hazelnuts. Excellent value.

Wines I'm Drinking: Two Wines from BearBoat

Yesterday I tried two wines from BearBoat. I can't say I enjoyed either wine--a 2008 Alexander Valley Sauvignon Blanc and a 2007 Central Coast Riesling. The Sauvignon Blanc was thin and virtually tasteless. The Riesling was somewhat better, but not at all nuanced. Both wines were inexpensive at only $4.99 a bottle, and the BearBoat labels--or is that Bear Boat? (it's hard to tell)--are attractive and whimsical (on the Sauvignon Blanc label we see two bears in a boat musing on the meaning of life; one says he feels his life is adrift, the other, named Zeke, points out that they live on a rowboat...), but I don't think I'd buy either again; whimsy and packaging can't really make up for what's absent from the bottle. Brief tasting notes follow.

The 2008 Bear Boat Alexander Valley Sauvignon Blanc was a very pale gold. It had a slightly perfumed scent at first--offering something floral--with hints of vanilla, but little else. There was none of the gooseberry that usually identifies Sauvignon Blanc, although there was a vague suggestion of lime. On the palate, the wine was clean, light, and thin, but that's about all I can say for it.  It was virtually tasteless. There was no concentration at all. Not unpleasant, and there were even a few attractive hints of green melon, but, overall, I'd call this wine simply bland. Not recommended. (The 2007 label is shown here, but it's more or less identical to the 2008 label).

The 2007 Bear Boat Central Coast Riesling was a more interesting wine. If I had to choose between the two I'd take the Riesling simply because it had some flavor, but ultimately, this too, was rather dull. It was a medium gold color. It had the typical "petroleum" scent of Riesling with a hint of honey and later a suggestion of dried apricots, and on the palate it suggested candied grapefruit rind--which is a reasonably interesting to thing to suggest--, but the wine was one-dimensional and a little bit cloying. Not recommended (except perhaps well-chilled as a cheap summer barbecue aperitif for the undiscerning).

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