Dirk and Ellen Scherschlich operate the Bacharacher Hof Hotel and Restaurant. Dirk elevates traditional German fare to high art, and Ellen runs a tight ship on the floor of the restaurant. We raided the wine list on our two visits to the restaurant (both were great meals), and were looking for the best way to “re-create” the experience at home after a tough week.

Slowly-cooked, tender veal in a cream sauce with chanterelles, bracketed by red bliss potatoes, and spargel (asparagus) was as close as I could get, and I took the occasion to pamper ourselves with one of the most extraordinary wines I’ve had from Jochen Ratzenberger – his 2002 Wolfshöhle Großes Gewächs, a selected, late harvested Riesling (auslese) fermented dry. An incredible pairing!

A little of this wine is still available in all three of our stores ($60 per bottle), and it’s a bargain. Perfectly mature, and complex, and a perfect example of terroir. This brilliant wine could not have been produced anywhere else on Earth. Bravo, Jochen! Here’s our “official” tasting note:

The Ratzenberger family moved to the Mittelrhein from East Germany in the 1950s, and young Jochen Ratzenberger first began to make wine in 1994. The 8-hectare estate, west and north of the town of Bacharach, includes holdings in the three steep vineyards of blue-black Devon slate: Steeger St. Jost, Posten, and Wolfshöhle.

In 2002, the membership of the VDP (Verbund Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter) issued regulations governing the production of Großes Gewächs (Grand Cru) wines; only approved varieties of grapes, from approved parts of classified vineyards are allowed. The grapes must qualify as Spätlese in ripeness, and the wines must be either dry, or lusciously sweet. The rules permit chaptalization, so Großes Gewächs wines may not be labeled as QmP (Qualitätswein mit Prädikat).

The Wolfshöhle Großes Gewächs was harvested at auslese (selected late harvest) ripeness and fermented dry, producing a wine of amazing aromatic and textural complexity rivaled only by the Premier, and Grand Cru of Burgundy.

Wow. Susan and I had the most outrageous raw fish ever at Matt Ito’s (photo above) Fuji in Haddonfield.

I know it’s not nice to “rub it in,” but unbelievable as it may seem to our New York clientele, the Philadelphia suburbs of South Jersey have the best freakin’ sushi on the East Coast.

We took the perfectly preserved remnants of a bottle of Sergio’s Langhe Bianco Riesling Hérzu and it was absolutely stunning!

Next time you’re “out for sushi,” either at Fuji or Sagami, pick a bottle of Hérzu – it’s bangin’ with raw fish.

Posted by David Moore

Coste della Sesia Rosso Uvaggio Proprietà Sperino
I’ll never forget Paolo De Marchi’s gracious reply to an obnoxious guest at a winemaker’s dinner in Philadelphia, who asked why the centerpiece wine at such an important event was the 2002 vintage of Cepparello.

“Wine Spectator  rated Chianti only 79 points in 2002!” the aggrieved attendee whined.

“But every vintage is a gift, and I love this wine,” Paolo said.

For more than thirty years at  Isole e Olena  in Chianti Classico, Paolo De Marchi has produced some of the greatest wines ever to come out of Italy, including the  Cabernet Sauvignon Collezione De Marchi 2001  and the  Cepparello 1997. 

But he always nurtured another dream: to bring back the wine of  Proprietà Sperino,  the original De Marchi family estate in Lessona, in the Alpine foothills of northern Piemonte, where the last vintage had been harvested in1952.

This classic wine is the realization of Paolo’s dream:  Nebbiolo,  the noble grape of Barolo and Barbaresco, co-fermented with about 15% each of  Vespolina  and  Croatina;  a classic Lessona marriage of aromatic finesse and deep complexity, with a fine Pinot Noir-like structure that reminds me of Burgundy more than Barolo.

Proprietà Sperino:
If you scoop up the soil in Lessona only a half-hour after a heavy rain, it runs through your fingers like sand in an hourglass. The climate is dry, and a cool breeze blows down from the Alps to the north. A hundred years ago, the wines grown here by Felice Sperino, Paolo De Marchi’s great, great uncle, were the most expensive wines in Italy. Today, after ten years of arduous work replanting the vineyards and renovating the winery, Paolo and his son Lucca have given new life to Proprietà Sperino, and are now the vanguard of the renaissance of this historic wine growing area.

This wine:
In the glass, this wine has a brilliant, saturated deep ruby color. On the nose, red currants, pine needles and dried flowers are seasoned with discrete baking spices and vanilla that comes from the mix of old and new large barrels. On the palate, the wine is graceful, like  Vosne-Romanée  more than Barbaresco, with a lingering bright finish.

As always at Moore Brothers, this wine was shipped and delivered to us in refrigerated containers, so it tastes exactly the same as it tastes at the renovated winery in Lessona, and was perfect when I brought it to Modomio  and drank it with braised short ribs, porcini, and roasted  barbabietole. 

I thank you again for your continued support of family farms, and for your participation in the stewardship of this special heritage that belongs to all of us.

Greg Moore

It was late, and Susan and I had just opened a bottle of Clos Baudoin 1989…and we were hungry.

There aren’t a lot of restaurants I’d trust with this wine, but Alex Capasso’s Blackbird in Collingswood seemed like a good bet.

Susan started with Thai Chicken Spring Rolls, and I had Scallop seared with a light Lobster Sauce to start. For the main course, Susan had a Scallop dish, and I had a smokin’ filet of Halibut with Chinese Eggplant and Ginger Sauce.

The wine was perfect with just about everything – particularly the Scallops and Halibut dishes, proving (once again) that “sweet” wines can often be very versatile.

Posted by David Moore

To celebrate my wife’s birthday, we took a bottle of Paolo DeMarchi’s beautiful Proprieta Sperino Uvaggio to La Viola on 16th Street in Philly. Susan had suggested this as a “nice, romantic” setting for a birthday celebration. Hmmm…I liked the food, but apparently a Saturday evening is anything but romantic at this very busy, wonderful, little restaurant.

The Uvaggio (DOC Coste della Sesia is one of those wines that hadn’t made it home just yet, even though I love the wine – Susan and I try to “cook light” at home. So, Susan hadn’t had the wine yet, and La Viola is the perfect BYO for this wine. It was particularly good with the roasted pepper appetizer, and the Vitello Alla Viola.

Posted by David Moore