Two domestic Gewurztraminer wines

[wondersofwine]

1998 Lawrence J. Bargetto Gewurztraminer, Monterey County (winery at Soquel, CA)
12% alcohol
I liked this at a tasting (probably at Taste of Monterey) and ordered three bottles to be shipped. The first one I opened a couple years ago tasted bland and flat. I thought it might have been cooked in shipment since it took a really long time to arrive. However, it may have been an off bottle or in a closed phase. This second of the three was much improved.
Dark straw color with clarity. Fragrant and fruity with a faint touch of spice. Medium-long finish. Pleasant aftertaste. Nice accompaniment to pork chops or fried jumbo shrimp with lemon juice. I saved a little from the third evening to compare with a Washington State Gewurz.
2001 Columbia Crest Gewurztraminer
11.5% alcohol
Younger vintage than the Bargetto but a deeper gold color. Less acid. More than a suggestion of sweetness. The Bargetto seems to be truer to my idea of what Gewurz should be.

[Bucko]

I've yet to taste a New World Gewurzt that had me want to purchase it -- too little acidity and character compared to Alsace versions.

[VouvrayHead]

I was looking to see if I had posted about Lazy Creek Vineyards Gewurz (I just posted about their Pinot in that thread), which I had last thanksgiving, and came across this post.
I had it at a tasting and thought it was the best reasonably priced ($14ish?) New World Gewurz I'd tried (i don't care for C.C. or Bargetto) so I bought it and took it home and found it quite enjoyable...
Only problem was that night I went to my Uncle's house and my cousin had brought an Alsacian Gewurz back from his last trip to France at around $20 and it was night and day better than the Lazy Creek [img]http://wines.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]