Weingut Bercher, Burkheimer Feuerberg Weißburgunder Spätlese trocken, Großes Gewächs, 2004
No one in their right mind would open a 14.5 % wine on a hot summer evening, I know, but we had a chicken in a wonderful creamy tarragon sauce to take care of, we needed a heavy hitter, so I took a desperate gamble. It was a crazy plan, but it might just have worked...
In the nose, classic pinot blanc: honeydew melon, salted almonds, biscuit, a hint of dried herbs. In the mouth, think - and I've had time to think, tasting this on the second day - think melon again, artichokes, aloe skin cream. Now coat this mixture in white chocolate with salted pistachio pieces, and you have it - it's a meal, really.
And just when this powerful, focused wine seemed headed for greatest pinot blanc ever, as it got a little warmer in the glass, the malt and herbal liquor notes from the alcohol started coming in, pulling it out of balance. Shame, but while 14.5% are just unacceptable and no two ways about it, this is of course complaining on a very high level.
I got lucky on eBay with a couple of bottles of this. I'm uneasy about bargain hunting, because it has its dangers (a good many boring italian and spanish reds that were frankly a waste of time, for example), but I can't deny that paying much less than a wine is worth adds to the enjoyment.
Now Bercher needs to do something about alcohol levels, and they have a killer.