A bottle of Stone Cottage Cellars Gewurztraminer 2005 West Elks is open and lengthening in tooth. Now, there is nothing fair about asking a Colorado (yes, I said Colorado) Gewurztraminer to age more than a year or two. This bottle is a 2005 and I promise you that it was as fresh as a daisy a little more than a year ago.
I’ve saved it a bit too long; it’s no one’s fault but mine. I have a lot of wine that is yelling at me, “Hurry up and drink me!” I’m trying to get to those wines, but like I say, I’ve got a lot of them. Tonight, I just wanted to delve into some Colorado wine since it will be another three or four months before I am able to visit Stone Cottage again and reload on their pretty wines. This one is just a little past its best and that’s not the wine’s fault.
Gewurztraminer is usually light in acidity and acidity is the structural element that steadies most white wines as they mature. The nose is sweet and floral honey; peaches and apricots, there is a dusty mineral note that might well be the West Elks soil and site speaking through the wine. The finish is showing some oxidation: bruised apple, cooked apple, a touch of nut, but I’m really enjoying it nonetheless. Maybe fresh isn’t always that important.