Tomich Wines 'Duck and Weave' Pinot Noir 2015

After two months of living in an apartment without working AC and fighting with management to get it fixed, we finally moved out. I still can’t fathom why the apartment manager went so out of her way to screw us, other than perhaps some deranged desire on her part to be incompetent and malicious (though I’m not sure why anyone would strive for incompetence, but hey, to each their own). It was a very frustrating and depressing (and HOT) two months, but thanks to great advice from a friend knowledgeable in tenant rights, we (meaning mostly Kye) finally managed to get the issue resolved somewhat in our favor.

It was still a bit sad though, we’d had some good times and some very good wines in that apartment, but now we’re in a much better place and opening some damn decent wines here. One of which was Tomich Wines ‘Duck and Weave’ Pinot Noir from Adelaide in Australia.

Once upon a time Australian wine was all the rage in the US, thanks mainly to the wonderful wines from Shiraz (aka Syrah) they produced. Then, thanks mostly to sub-par exports and somewhat to the flightiness of consumers, they fell out of favor. There are some producers who survived and almost thrived on that, but it’s been a while since I really loved a wine from Australia.

Tomich’s Pinot Noir changed that. It's 100% Pinot Noir sourced from Adelaide Hills in South Australia, which is a great region for Burgundian style wines. It was light-bodied with blackberry and cherry on the nose. The palate has notes of cherry, rhubarb and hints of spice. There’s a bit of gaminess reminiscent of old world Pinot and ends with bright acidity and very soft tannins. For less than $15 it was most certainly a killer Pinot and led me to pick up a few of their other wines (shiraz, rosé, and sauvignon blanc), none of which disappointed. It’s a perfect summer red wine and great with or without food.

Jean-Lous Trocard Crémant de Bordeaux NV

Apparently talking about my best friend, Kye, never gets old for me (because, and I can’t stress this enough, he is awesome and has always been there for me when I needed him, even when we weren’t exactly on speaking terms). Thanks to him, when I was first really starting to get into wine, we were invited into a study group that really did me a lot of good. The first meeting had me a bit skeptical based on the number of people who showed up, but as time went on it dwindled down to just six or so of us who were really focused on furthering our knowledge rather than just showing up for the free-ish booze. I still miss it sometimes, mostly because it forced me to study (mainly so I didn’t come across as a complete idiot to these people who were way more knowledgeable than me) and with my Certified Specialist of Wine exam coming up on the 30^th of this month, I could use a little coercion as far as studying goes.

I hadn’t really thought about the group too much since we all got too busy to keep up with it over a year ago until I realized my store had a Crémant de Bordeaux randomly hidden among its selection of sparkling wine, Jean-Louis Trocard to be exact. I remembered, during an evening spent studying Bordeaux, Laura, the fantastic Advanced Sommelier of the group (and one of the people I credit the most with helping me pass my certified), telling us that Crémants are made in Bordeaux, but hard to find (at least in San Antonio). She told us if we ever found one to definitely pick it up for the group, and seeing this on the shelf made me nostalgic for nights spent blind tasting and studying. For those who don’t know the term Crémant is used to refer to French sparkling wine made using the méthode champenoise and not from the Champagne region.

Since I don’t drink bubbly super often it took me a little while to pick up a bottle for Kye and me to share, but we were both very glad when I finally did. The blend is mostly Semillon with some Sauvignon Blanc, pale gold in color with notes of green apple, lime zest and wet rocks on the nose. The palate is dry and crisp with flavors of golden pear, citrus and a hint of lemongrass. There’s a little bit of funk halfway through (which I personally enjoy), but the bright acidity at the end leaves a refreshing, lingering mouthfeel. It’s very affordable and incredibly enjoyable.

Weegmüller Von Gelben Fels Riesling Trocken 2012

So obviously some stuff happened recently that set me on a rather blah path. While it's never fun to feel terrible about things that are happening in your life, it also helps to know that you can get through them relatively unscathed, mostly thanks to the fact that you're fairly used to shit like that happening, but also because of awesome people in your life. My best friend/roommate was a rock during that time (because he is awesome and the best guy ever) and the night after things really went to hell he got me dinner from one of my favorite restaurants in town (Thai Dee) to try and cheer me up.

Since he was providing dinner that night, I figured the least I could do was treat us to a bottle of wine I’d been eyeing for a while: Weegmüller Von Gelben Fels Riesling Trocken 2012. I’d been off the day the distributor came by to taste us on it, but my coworker told me it was delicious and his favorite out of all the wines they'd brought. Since he’d taken my advice on several wine suggestions in the past I decided to trust his suggestion and was very glad I did. It was hands down one of the best Rieslings both Kye and I had drunk in a while (and it paired perfectly with our spicy Thai food).

This winery has been in family hands for 11 generations, producing wine since 1685. It is also one of the few German wineries owned and run exclusively by women. According to the blurb on the importer’s webtsite Stefanie Weegmüller was the first female winemaker in Germany and that’s pretty damn cool. It's from Pfalz in Germany and reminded me of why I usually love the wines that come from that region. Dry and light-bodied with crisp minerality and just a bit of petrol. The fruit notes of white peach, golden pear and red apple on the palate balanced beautifully with the acidity. I know my tasting notes don’t do this wine the justice that it deserves, but trust me when I say this was one of the best white wines I’ve had in quite some time.*

*https://traubenhaus.com/producers/weegmueller