Weekend wine: Lafken Gewürztraminer 2015
August 31, 2017
“If you want your wine all polite and well-mannered, you shouldn’t really be drinking Gewürztraminer at all. The magic of Gewürztraminer only really shines out when its sumptuous, exotic perfumes make your head spin and your thoughts go giddy with desire.”
I couldn’t agree more with this quote from Oz Clarke*. These days if a white wine isn’t bone dry, mouth-puckeringly acidic and stick-insect thin, a lot of people just don’t want to know. Well Lafken Gewürztraminer is a wine bucking that trend and I heartily recommend you figuratively kick your shoes off, let your hair down and allow yourself enjoy this opulent delight.
Tasting notes: Lafken Gewürztraminer 2015, Casablanca Valley, 13% ABV
This pale golden-coloured wine is worth trying for its aroma alone. Just close your eyes and breath in this pot pourri of delicious smells: Turkish delight, rose petals, grapes, ginger and ripe peaches, to name just a few – this is about as heady as a wine can get.
This medium-bodied wine is off-dry (a bit sweet), but it has enough acidity to stop it from being cloying. The mouth delivers on the promise on the nose, with a delightful fruitiness and a hint of spice. Medium (+) finish.
This is really a very good example of Gewürztraminer, which is a challenging wine to get right, and I really recommend you give it a try.
Food pairing
Some types of Oriental food work well with slightly sweet wines and this was no exception – my friend Smilja and I enjoyed Lafken Gewürztraminer with a mixed Chinese buffet.
Winemaking
Lafken wines seeks to make European-style wines that are as natural as possible. They allow the grapes to ripen to their optimum level, picking them when they are ready, rather than all at once and micro-vinifying small batches in stainless steel.
Where you can buy Lafken Wines
In Chile from specialist stores like La Cava del Pescador (Concepción and Viña del Mar stores), BBVinos, Santiago Wine Club and Mundo del Vino.
Lafken’s website contains a list of distributors in different parts of the world.
*Clarke, O. and Rand, R. Grapes and Wines, 2015, Pavilion Books.
Other posts
Tasting French wine: Fruity white Alsace wines
Weekend wine: Wildmakers Sabatico 2014
Weekend wine: Pandolfi Price Chardonnay
Weekend wine: Huaso de Sauzal Garnacha 2013