Author: Dirk Chan
It was late February in the year 2006, on the verge of our first anniversary that we had one of the store’s greatest tastings ever. The visitor was Catherine Faller, owner of Alsace’s Domaine Weinbach, one of the great estates in the world. She was here to do a free drop-in tasting (see attached original invite). It was suppose to be a one hour drop in afterwork event, but she stayed for two hours surprising us by opening some ultra-rare and expensive dessert wine, the Riesling Schlossberg SGN (Sélection de Grains Nobles), 3 splits if i recall correctly which was a significant percentage of the total production since only 40-50 bottles were made. And again in 2008 when Ed and Annabelle visited the winery, they were treated to a huge private tasting and a Michelin 3 Star restaurant for lunch – (read that blog)..
Fast track to the summer of 2023, when my retiring friend Bill Addison invited me over for an Al Fresco dinner. Out came a bottle of the 2003 Weinbach Pinot Gris Cuvee Ste. Catherine purchased at that very tasting. At 20 years of age, most of the guests were uncertain as to how good it would be as 2003 was a very hot year. Alas, it was brilliant – classic lanolin, melon and spice nose while the palate had Meyer lemon, marmalade and berry fruit and a good finish – we were amazed. I made a toast to Catherine and her late sister, winemaker Laurence Faller, who passed away in 2014 – she was one of the few and leading female winemakers of the age, and this was a master class performance.
To this date, we have a very soft spot for Catherine Faller and Domain Weinbach for their generous support shown to a start-up store at the time. Like many of her compatriots from Alsace, she represents class, generosity and kindness that leaves her mark whomever she meets.. Our thanks to Dream Wines who has been representing Weinbach for decades. A toast is in order!!
Captioned picture is of Bill Addison and Holly Bandi and the delicious bottle of 2003 Cuvee Ste. Catherine Pinot Gris
We have in stock the same wine we’re referring to that has been rebranded from Cuvee Ste. Catherine to Les Caracoles:
2021 Domaine Weinbach Pinot Gris Les Caracoles (Alsace, France) – $84.99