ON THE SCENT
MARY-THERESE BLAIR sniffs out some truly great gewürztraminer.
SEEING AS I’M SHARING trade secrets, I’ll let you in on another in-joke. When it comes to gewürztraminer, a well-known tasting phrase is ‘Grandma’s handbag’. The term encapsulates a cacophony of clashing smells, none of which go together yet as a collective they make up something distinctive. While it’s not necessarily unpleasant, it’s just a little too much. A heady combination of perfume, powder, must with just a hint of mint. Imagine if you will, a sweeter version of the smell that hits you when you walk into a particularly cluttered op shop. That’s the smell when gewürzt goes wrong.
Gewürztraminer is complex aromatically with distinctive characteristics, so it’s easy to see where overwhelm can occur. Truly great gewürzt, however, will have all elements working in balance without jarring against each other or without any aroma overwhelming the others. It’s not easy to do, but when it happens – as it has with our top wines – it’s magical.
Truly great gewürzt, however, will have all elements working in balance without jarring against each other or without any aroma overwhelming the others.