Monday, February 2, 2009

"SELECTION ALEXANDER VON ESSEN" WINES

Today, I am not going to talk about food, but about wine. Often referred to as the "Juice of the Gods" (for obvious reasons), it is the perfect accompaniment to any delicous dish and the icing on the cake when having a wonderful meal...

Some time ago we have discovered "Selection Alexander Von Essen" (see link in German/contains more info) wines and have not been disappointed by any of the bottles we have bought and which were tagged with that "brand" as they are all phenomenal vintages!

The German-based importer Baron Alexander Von Essen has transformed his passion into a rewarding career as a wine dealer. In the 80´s, he had the great idea to to offer wine lovers a special selection of excellent wines fom Europe (Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Spain) and the New World (South America & South Africa). So, he decided to incite the greatest winemakers to vinify the grapes from the best plots of land separately and to create top-grade cuvees for him.

Baron Alexander Von Essen
likes to discover new regional wines and believes that the most expensive wines aren't always the best and that more affordable ones can also be as interesting. For him the culture of wine shows a fascination for nature and he shows as much interest for traditional winemakers as for newcomers...

The design of his bottles is also very important, because, on the outside, the packaging is the only thing that sets a bottle apart from the others. In his opinion, the bottle, the label and the appearance should correspond to the quality of the wine. That is why the packaging of all "Selection Alexander Von Essen" wines has been designed by himself.

Tasted and highly recommended wines:
  • Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon Mariposa / Los Vascos, Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Chili)
  • Chardonnay Cuvée Orchidée / Château L’ Hospitalet, Gérard Bertand (France)
  • Sauvignon Blanc Cuvée Orchidée / Château L’ Hospitalet , Gérard Bertand (France)
  • Barbera d’Asti Superiore DOC "Vigneto Caplot" / Azienda Canova (Italy)
  • Ripasso Rivolo / Masi (Italy)
  • Südtiroler Lagrein 'Abtei' DOC / Muri-Gries (Italy)
  • Pinotage / Bouwland (South Africa)
  • Eternity Chardonnay / Buitenverwachting (South Africa)
  • Sauvignon Blanc Coastal / Buitenverwachting (South Africa)

36 comments:

  1. une trés bonne journée Rosa, ici la neige et trés froid.
    Un buon bicchiere di vino ci sta benissimo!!!!

    baci

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  2. Un petit verre par ce froid, on ne refuse pas... mais un seul seulement!

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  3. Wow - there's nothing like a good wine, right?

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  4. Wines, wines we can say also Gold of the Gods too! Nice collection and varietals! I enjoy a lot the Sauvignon Blanc with fish, soft cheeses. You should taste our Tannat red wine in Uruguay strong, good body and ideal for meats.

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  5. DARIUS T. WILLIAMS: Right ;-P!

    GERA: I've already tasted wine from Uruguay (as well as from Brazil) and it is true that their full-bodied and deep taste is ideal for meats...

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  6. un bon verre de vin au coin de la cheminée et avec quelques bougies..le reve

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  7. Good to know about! I love discovering new wines and I definitely agree that there are some very interesting ones that aren't always the most expensive. Twice a year in Paris there is the Salon des vignerons indépendants and I love to go because you get to taste all sorts of wines from small producteurs.

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  8. I live in a wine growing region where most of the owners and producers come from Europe, as well as some of the vines. We have a winery called St. Hubertus where they say they make the wine in the "Swiss way" because they are
    4th generation winemakers whose children started a winery here.

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  9. Thanks for the great wine tips. Always looking for new ones to try. By the way, if you love Sauvignon Blanc, do try the Villa Maria ones. They have racing acidity and tropical fruit notes. Sipping this makes it feel like summer year-round.

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  10. I'll have t check and see if any of these wines are carried in our own stores!

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  11. Wow, Rosa
    Thanks for the recommendation, sounds like great lists.
    Cheers,
    Elra

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  12. merci pour ces avis...

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  13. Great post Rosa and information here. Raise a glass of wine to you - cheers!

    Rosie x

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  14. J'aime le bon vin !
    Bisous, Doria

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  15. What a nice surprise to see some wine recommendation. Las Vacos is one of my favorites! Thanks for the list and especially the New World wine.

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  16. merci pour le conseil, moi qui habite en Allemagne, ca m'interesse... Le vin ca fait partie des choses que je peux encore acheter.

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  17. I am not much of a drinker but occasionally I love a glass of wine. Lovely photos.

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  18. Oh thank you for the recomendations!

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  19. I was most privileged to visit the vineyard in Bordeaux and truly amazing by the process of wine making.

    I do like white better though and thanks for sharing Rosa.

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  20. Thanks for this. You can never know too much about wine.

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  21. this concept of wine-selection has also succeeded in switzerland (selection schwander)

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  22. Sounds like a beautiful wine. I always love a good wine post and the art that went behind the bottle.

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  23. il va falloir que nous, français, nous réalisions qu'il y a de plus en plus de très bons vins hors de chez nous!

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  24. ahh! étant une amoureuse de bons vins, je te dis merci pour ce partage! bisous

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  25. C'est le seul alcool que je bois avec une goutte de whisky lors de grandes occasions. C'est vrai que les vins les plus chers ne sont pas forcément les meilleurs. De petites cuvées réservent parfois de belles surprises.

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  26. et voilà que notre chère Rosa devient sommelière et ma foi , tu ne t'en sort pas trop mal !
    bises

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  27. Rien de tel qu'un bon verre, avec un bon repas...c'est un délice

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  28. I also believe price doesn't equal quality. There have been so many blind tastings where less expensive quality wines win over pricey established brands. And really, with wine it all comes down to your tastes.

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  29. Que l'on aime le vin, surtout après une grosse journée. Bonne fin de journée.

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  30. Great post, I'd love to learn more about wine.

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  31. what an informative post! I certainly will follow your commendation!

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  32. i imagine this to be perfect with my filet mignon dish tonight! cheers :-)

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  33. Honey married with soft, creamy mild cheese is one of the greatest combos in life. I love Greek yogurt with honey. I can just imagine this cheesecake tops even that.

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