Gerstl trade tasting in Zürich, which we attended on Friday, the 26th of October (we being Oliver and I, Albino and Andrea, and Rainer). Met enough people I had not seen in a while, I did not come close to sample all 83 wines poured here.
Phélan-Ségur St. Estèphe 2006
Less precise than the 2005, less fresh and racy. Rating: 83
Phélan-Ségur St. Estèphe 2005
The raciest and most complex of the four vintages of Phélan-Ségur on show. Fresh tobacco, a bit smoky fruit, firm and quite nice tannin, fair body and length. Oliver likes this rather well. Rating: 85+
Phélan-Ségur St. Estèphe 2004
Medium-firm, medium body, medium freshness, medium length. Rating: ~83?
Phélan-Ségur St. Estèphe 2003
More roastedness to the fruit, truffle, tobacco and Merlot-tinged fruit. No less fresh actually, tasty enough if heavy-handed. Rating: 84(+?)
Château La Conseillante Pomerol 2001
Less racy and lively than two years ago, since more closed at present. Nice density and glyceric, some truffley tobacco, bit heavy plum, no more than medium-complex, but still one of the better reds today. Rating: 89+
Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2003
A bit soapy, high alcohol and yet, a somewhat lighter 2003. Jammy strawberry and raspberry. Fruitier and more complex than the 2004, denser and sweeter. Rating: 84+
Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2004
A little more tobacco and minerals, not fresher, though. A bit livelier, leafy tobacco-flavoured tannin. Rating: 84+?
Mauro Veglio Langhe Nebbiolo 2004
Syrupy raspberry, a bit liqueur-like, simple but tasty. Medium-plus length. Rating: 84(+?)
Mauro Veglio Barolo Vigneto Arborina 2001
Good surface sweetness, some rose petal, tannin is a bit dry. Not bad of course, but as Piedmont lover Oliver says, unlikely to evolve too well with bottle age. Rating: ~87
Mauro Veglio Barolo Vigneto Castelletto 2001
I appear to have been the only one who thought this bottle cork-tainted and volatile. A bit meatier without being denser or sweeter than the 1999. Rating: N/R
Mauro Veglio Barolo Vigneto Arborina 1999
A bit blacker colour than the 2001, some dried rose and orange, a bit firmer, somewhat too oaky tannin, drier and more asphalt-flavoured on the finish. Qualitatively a toss-up, proving that more of everything does not automatically result in a better wine. Rating: 87
Mauro Veglio Barolo Vigneto Castelletto 1999
Of the Veglio samples being poured today (by the producer himself) his was the one Oliver liked best. Less tarry and dry than the Arborina from the same vintage, more subtlety but also more grip and oak than the (probably corked sample of the) 2001. Rating: 87(+?)
Damilano Barolo Liste 2001
A medium tarriness here, mouth-coating, a bit drying tannin. Good medium dried orange and plummy rose. Medium length. Just fresh enough, little depth. Strangely reminded me a bit, if anything, of an Albino Rocca Barbaresco. Rating: 86(+?)
Damilano Barolo Cannubi 2001
A fraction more truffley and complex, more intense, fuller-bodied and longer. Rating: 87+?
Case Basse di Gianfranco Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2000
This now comes with a back label indicating Soldera Brunello is all about the expression of Sangiovese and terroir, that fermentation is all-natural using indigenous yeasts, that the wine is aged in Slavonian oak vats for 60 months and bottled unfiltered. My guess is that neither those who cannot tell from sampling these bio-dynamic wines that they are some of the most naturally-made available today anywhere in the world has a problem, as well as those who cannot overcome “flaws” such as the volatile acidity (supposedly due to the absence of temperature control) that is considered normal here, will care. Ruby-red, faint black hue. Sweet cranberry and raisins, pretty fruit, not as complex or deep as in top vintages. Mild acids, sweetly blood-orangey acidity and barely dry tannin. Medium-plus length. Not a heavyweight, but a nicely pure and focused, cleanly syrupy (without being too sweet) wine that drinks easily and should keep for a few years. It seems debatable if this deserves to be labelled Riserva by Soldera’s standards, though. Rating: ~90/90(+?)
Case Basse di Gianfranco Soldera Brunello di Montalcino 1999
Apparently the grapes for the “normale” now always come from the Case Basse vineyard, those for the Riserva from Intistieti. Ruby-red, faint black hue. More “red” fruit than the Riserva, perfumier if faintly soapy-volatile, but that may partly be due to the fact that it is lighter then the Riserva (not per se “light”!). Orangey strawberry jam, raspberry and plum compote, sweet pipe tobacco. A nice bottle of the “normale”, sweeter, longer, a bit greater density even than the 2000 Riserva, more finely-grained and flavourful tannin. Tempting to say this would be ideal to have while the Riserva is allowed to slumber in the cellar, but given a 10% price difference, there is little justification to buy anything but the Riserva. Rating: 91+?
Case Basse di Gianfranco Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 1999
Apparently the grapes for the “normale” now always come from the Case Basse vineyard, those for the Riserva from Intistieti. Darker ruby-red-black. Spicier and less oaky, more precise, complex and deep. Impressive tannin quality, mouth-coating, flavourful, black tea-like. Minerality, tobacco, soft smoke and pepper. Much longer on the finish than the other Solderas on show, subtly fruity and spicy on the finish. A concentrated, serious wine, albeit without the density of the legendary 1983 Riserva. From a second bottle, freshly uncorked by our friend Michelle, nice subtlety of fruit and tobacco, finesseful, firm and racy backbone, nicely fresh, if a fraction more volatile. Definitely darker fruit than the “normale”. Faint Balsamico, if less volatile than the other Solderas today. Evolved on the surface by the extended fuder aging, less so underneath. Seemingly firmed up with airing, but Oliver and I were so hungry, we decided we would call it a day and left. Already curious to taste the 2001, which should have been on show here but was not. Rating: ~95/95(+?)
Case Basse di Gianfranco Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 1996
As good a bottle of the 1996 Riserva as I have had, even if this is no longer improving in bottle, nor ever has been. A fraction less bright and glossy ruby-red, orange at the rim. Faintly but not offensively volatile. Truffley, a bit oaky, cedary perhaps, bread/cookie dough spice if not a little Christmas spice box. Some minerality. Not too long on the slightly fruit-deficient, if orangey finish. Blood orange rind dryness. Fully mature, and let me add a word of caution: I remember the 1994 (a better wine than the 1996) entered, just like this now, an autumnal stage that could make one believe it would just hang on to life for a very long time – what happened is that quality became increasingly variable from bottle to bottle. Rating: 90-
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Spätlese #11 Graacher Himmelreich 2006
Huge sulphur, floral apple, a whiff of botrytis, yeasty. A bit strange compared to last time. Should recover soon enough, though. Quite sweet for a Spätlese. Rating: 87+
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Spätlese #15 Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2006
More precise spring flowers and herbs, just as minerally and intense, less fat, sweet and botrytised, greater purity. Lots of sulphur as well. Rating: ~88
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese #14 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr 2006
Nice vanilla botrytis, a touch of blackcurrant, sweet apple juice, soft minerality, tasty, fairly long. Some CO2, a little sulphur. Rating: 88+
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese #12 Graacher Himmelreich 2006
Less sulphur or just better integrated, a little botrytised, a touch of creamy vanilla, medium length or shorter. But as convincing as last time. Rating: 89(+?)
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese #16 Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2006
As with the Spätlese, less botrytis, more precision, stone-dustier although no more minerally. Longer. More on the Grammy Smith side of the spectrum compared to the Graacher. Some sulphur here as well. Rating: 90+
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule #13 Graacher Himmelreich 2006
Lots of sulphur, but more complex and interesting. Bit more bready botrytis, a bit dried-fruitier this time. Nice minerality, not too deep perhaps. Rating: 91+
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule #17 Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2006
Nicely balanced, a fraction racier, though hardly fresher than the Graacher. Good depth here, I really like this – and better than last time. Rating: 92(+?)
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Beerenauslese #18 Bernkasteler Badstube 2006
Same as last time, if showing even more sulphur this time. White glue botrytis, rather thick and sweet, sticky-viscous like a TBA, quite clean, fairly but not too long for what it is. Rating: 91+?
Tokaj Classic Tokaji Furmint 1999
Here is a producer who continues to produce wine in a tamed Socialist style, à la Royal Tokaji Wine Company, fairly oxidized, but what is more important, they exhibit a severe lack of personality, in particular vintage characteristics, so much so, I would love to ask winemaker Imre Galambosi (incidentally the mayor of Mád) if the dry base wines used here stem from the same vintage as the Aszú berries, as legally speaking they must – but since practices from the Socialist era are being glorified here as “traditional” (it is a moot point whether “traditional” winemaking started or ended with the decline of the Austrian-Hungarian Imperial-Royal Empire), this apparently impudent question may be permitted. It is details that have made me listen more attentively: the use of base must is abhorred here as a modernistic practice – historically debatable, perhaps not. Vintage characteristics are largely equalized – not so good. According to András Bruhács all their Aszús have around 11 g/l acidity regardless of vintage – how do they do that? It would also be interesting to hear how they got their 2000 Eszencia to reach 5% alcohol (but then, it does not contain much residual sugar for the vintage). Now, although the wines seem, that is, smell and taste overly manipulated, they are far from bad (although avid Tokaj lovers like Albino, Andrea and Rainer find them not only stylistically questionable). They certainly appear to be winning awards and gathering high ratings all over the globe.
Tokaj Classic Tokaji Furmint 1999
A dry Auslese-styled, barrique-aged Furmint. Lightly orange yellow. Hugely smoky nose weirdly reminiscent of a TCA taint, but we all agreed there was none (this should really come with a screw cap, to appease customers, so to speak. Intensely and darkly minerally (volcanic soil!), a bit alcoholic (even though the 13.5% alcohol are considered low here, András Bruhács informed me), interesting rather than attractive, even if Albino claims it should appeal to Swiss Fendant drinkers. Medium-short on the finish. Rating: 83+/84?
Tokaj Classic Late Harvest 2004
A bright yellow coloured blend of 60% Furmint, 35% Hárslevelü and 5% Muskotály with 107 g/l residual sugar. Aged one year in oak, a maximum of 20% of which is new – and yet, it shows, perhaps a partial reason that this is the most Ruster Ausbruch-like late harvest style bottling I have encountered from Tokaj (wish I could say that gives it more personality than Tokaj Classic’s Aszús, but the contrary is true). Superficial quince jam with a whiff of new oak, but so inexpensive, it is hard to complain. Rating: 84+/-?
Tokaj Classic Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2001
12% alcohol. Medium amber-orange colour. Tobacco, dried quince, a little “rancio” oxidation, a slight hole in the middle, medium body at best. A bit short on the finish, but still leaves behind some sort of an aftertaste. Rating: 84+
Tokaj Classic Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2000
11% alcohol. Albino’s favourite of the Tokaj Classic samples poured here, and it is easy to see why: the most intense, the most grip. Just as amber-orange-coloured. Rubbery nose (botrytis medicinality, sulphur, or a combination of both?), good density of candied orange rind and pulp on entry, more “unflagging” intensity and grip in the middle. Some dried peach, attractive smoky minerality. Good body, sadly short on the finish. Rating: 87+
Tokaj Classic Tokaji Aszú Essencia 2000
250-260 g/l residual sugar at 10% alcohol. A bit less darkly coloured. Sweeter, very honeyed, showing greater overall integration of its structural elements, but seemed at least youthfully diffuse (if not too unfocused for its own good in the long run, too). This seemed to me to have the best long-term potential, if mainly because it seems in an awkward phase, has got stuffing to live off, and, most of all, because it is longer on the finish. Rating: 88+?
Tokaj Classic Tokaji Natúressencia 2000
480 g/l residual sugar at 5% alcohol. I was so perplexed to read this I asked András Bruhács for a confirmation. There are ways to make an Eszencia reach 5% alcohol, none of which will particularly appeal to hard-core Eszencia lovers. I will spare everyone the obvious route chosen during the Socialist era. As István Szepsy once told Albino and me, one begins by choosing relatively light lots (which means that the most concentrated – usually the best – are used to adjust the sweetness level of the Aszú production), so there is a chance it will ferment and the result be fit to be pressed through a filter (which, I have pointed this out before, strips Eszencia of its identity). Szepsy also told us of his “experiment” fermenting his 1996 “in a warm place”, that is, in his living room at home (and yes, there it was, right under the stairs leading up to the second floor). It sounds counter-intuitive, but if nothing else helps, it is perfectly legal to dilute Eszencia. In a worst-case scenario, by the way, Eszencia may re-ferment after filtration (which, sadly, happened to Disznókö’s 2000, from barrel one of the greatest we had ever tasted). But I have already outed myself and my fellow Tokaj lovers as highly adverse to filtration, so back to the TN: What we have here then is not a particularly sweet 2000 (a vintage known for record-setting sugar levels), and one that was filtered. Hugely thick on entry and oily-viscous on the mid-palate all the same. Candied citrus fruits, primary, pear and quince jam. Hints at nice minerality, but barely offers medium depth. Short on the finish for Eszencia. Seems in a state of youthful muddle right now, some bottle age should improve this. Even so, what is most off the charts here is the price one has to pay for the quality in the glass (ironically, this sells for less in Switzerland than what is indicated on Tokaj Classic’s web page). Rating: 87+/88(+?)
Tokaj Pendits Tokaji Furmint Botrytis Evolution 1998
formerly labelled:
M.W.-B. Pince Kft. Tokaji Furmint Botrytis Evolution 1998
Always good to remember that Tokaj vintner Márta Wille-Baumkauff is a friend of ours, although I do not believe that has ever made me more generous in my praise, in fact, the contrary may be true.
Márta again insisted I re-taste this (women have such great memory for negative comments – is that genetic?). The 1998 was the first of its kind, aged in steel tank, an “experiment” as Márta likes to call it. Some freshness and cut left, but hardly any primariness (this was quite minty-citrusy a couple of years ago – its evolution in bottle seemingly a never-ending up and down). Breadier while still gluey with botrytis now, seemingly more liquid mouthfeel. Aged bee’s wax and honey. Medium-short on the finish. Rating: 86+?
Tokaj Pendits Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 1997
formerly labelled:
M.W.-B. Pince Kft. Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 1997
190 g/l residual sugar. Another wine on which I have posted a number of TNs. Golden colour. The smoky Hungarian oak still bothers me (no wonder Márta gave up on it). Nice medium(-plus?) body. Acacia-like tiny Cognac note. Mixed green (where there is potential for subtlety and finesse, there is hope) and black tea top notes to citrusy quince candy and aged apple. Attractive minerality. Not heavy-handed for the sweetness (not sure I am as yet ready to adopt Márta’s use of the term “elegant” for this, though). Liked this a bit better last time (two years ago). Márta’s early efforts may go through more ups and downs than most, but always taste distinctly unmanipulated. Rating: 89+
Tokaj Pendits Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2001
202 g/l residual sugar, 8 g/l acidity, 10.54% alcohol. Slightly medicinal botrytis. Greater density than the 1997, noticeably longer on the finish. Smooth mid-palate sunflower oiliness, integrated tea and mineral notes. Already approaching an in-between stage, though, where this should perhaps be left alone for a few years. One cannot deny the improvement here in recent vintages. Rating: 91+
Tokaj Pendits Tokaji Essencia 2000
759 g/l residual sugar, 15.6% g/l acidity, 0.12% alc. Bottled unfiltered. Same as always, be that from demijohn or bottle. Complex and deep quince jelly, apricot, liquid honey and minerals, highly aromatic albeit not particularly high acidity (even if one forgets to smell this before taking a sip, it will rise straight up one’s frontal sinus). Same as Márta, I have always had a slight preference for the higher-acid, minerally 1999 from demijohn, but then, bottled lots of the 1999 were filtered, and I have never had an opportunity to retaste it in that condition. The 2000, albeit costly, is the real thing. Rating: 96+/97?
Afterwards, with dinner (venison again, absolutely delicious!):
Gaja Langhe Sorì San Lorenzo 1997
Another pristine bottle from a restaurant list. Reportedly contains about 5% Barbera. Deep garnet-ruby-black, virtually opaque at the center, tiny pink-verging-on-orange rim. Almost ridiculously youthful (will the 2004 taste any younger?). Bit less open on the nose than the Sorì Tildìn we had here last time, but hinting at greater complexity. Incredibly fresh and racy, potentially truffley, very little tar, lively rose-hip and black cherry. Finesse notes of blonde and blood orange. A whiff of noble tobacco. Beautiful oak, which again, as with the ST, is more integrated and interfering less with the grape’s own tannin quality than in the respective 1990 (said this before, after a first step up in “oak management” here with the 1982 vintage, there appears to have been a second up in the mid- to late nineties – try find a new age barrique Nebbiolo with better oak integration). Wonderful intensity and rather full body, but not at all overbearing. Real depth. Mouthwatering and mouth-coating tannin that tastes of Orange Pecoe black tea. Salty soy sauce minerality. Wines of such freshness, precision and cut are rare anyhow, but in the context of the vintage, Gaja’s 1997s are a miracle. Oliver said it would be “wise to have some of the ST while waiting for the SSL to mature in bottle”, but then, he was strictly referring to remaining bottles in restaurant cellars where one has to make sure to order some before our friend Rainer has drained them all (and I mean from here to Mars!). Touching one’s own cannot be recommended at this early stage. Rating: 98(+?)
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti