Savoury earthy and herbal aromatics leading into a palate that's sour and thin with barely ripe strawberry and cherry fruit over really high acidity. Tart, shrill and sour, getting even more unpleasant with time - I certainly like acid in my wines, but this is a wine for masochists. Absolutely zero pleasure to be found here.
2008 Marcarini Langhe Nebbiolo Lasarin (Piedmont)
A little greener than the last bottle I had with tart minty and herbal scents around the fresh cherry fruit and the tarry/rose petal elements more restrained. Very refreshing, elegant and polished with bright acids, grainy tannins on the back end and really nice value.
2006 Château Sociando-Mallet (Bordeaux)
Fresh cassis and black cherry fruit over savoury earth, gravel and green herbal notes in a medium weight package with all the elegance and restraint I'd want from a traditional claret. Even after a couple of hours in a decanter, there's plenty of tannic grip at the back end but enough fruit and richness to keep it from feeling overly structured or austere. Very nice right now, and I look forward to seeing what this turns into with some time.
2009 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Riesling Kabinett (Nahe)
This is bargain Spätlese and a real bargain at that. Fresh apple and white fruited flavours tinged with floral and minerally notes, beautifully balanced with a sense of lightness and precision to the flavours, lovely Riesling.
2001 C.H. Berres Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese (Mosel)
In a lovely place right now with developing smoky and hay elements on top of bright green apple and lemony fruit. While it's not the most complex or layered Riesling, there's a sense of real clarity and focus here that I really like with the '01 acidity keeping it really vibrant, refreshing and beautifully balanced.
1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Auslese (Pfalz)
I don't believe wine gets much more enjoyable than this. There may be more complex, nuanced or better structured wines out there, but I haven't come across many that are more fun to drink than Schwarz-era Catoir Scheurebes. Packed with the usual cocktail of mango, grapefruit and other tropical fruits accented with honey, florality and spice; rich, sweet and beautifully balanced, flat out delicious. Best of all, I've got a few more halves of this.
