I'm going to a Tete de Cuvee themed event next weekend with a major champagne collector. This sounds like a pretty interesting option -- wherein anything important I otherwise own this guy owns more of.
2017 Weingut Aldinger Brut Nature
Aldinger’s 98pt vintage Brut Nature is perhaps the most convincing argument we’ve seen so far that Germany can produce sparkling wine on par with the best of Champagne. Unfortunately, with fewer than 200 cases made in most years, it’s not often we get our hands on some stateside. Aldinger releases a wide range of wines from their 30ha of vines outside Stuttgart, from Riesling to Pinot Noir to Trollinger, but the small quantities of méthode traditionelle sparkling wine, or sekt, are the real prize. The Aldinger family has an extraordinary amount of history in the region, with earliest records of the family growing grapes since the late 1400s. Gerhard Aldinger founded the modern winery in the 1950s, and today brothers Matthias and Hansjörg Aldinger have turned this into the “leading producer in Württemberg” (Decanter).
The vintage Brut Nature is a standout in the Aldinger range, featuring a near even split of Chardonnay and Pinots Noir and Meunier, and it is a classic bottle of bubbly “that can match high-end prestige cuvee champagnes” (Suckling). The details aren’t too different from its peers in France either: 10 months in old oak, six years on the lees, hand riddled, and bottled with no dosage, this “stony, sublime and endless” (Jancis Robinson) Brut Nature is an absolute masterclass. Cheers!
98 points, James Suckling: “Here’s mind-blowing proof that Germany can produce sparkling wines that can match high-end prestige cuvee champagnes! Spectacular aromatic complexity with notes of fresh yellow apple, dried pear, brioche and grilled baguette, as well as delicate notes of red berries and candied citrus. And this is married to a spot-on interplay of mouthfilling creaminess, chalky freshness and tingling, very fine mousse. Fabulously elegant finish!”
97 points, Falstaff International: “Delicate oak and yeast tones as well as a complex autolysis note. There are also Pinot berry aromas in the background and slight citrus tones. The palate exposes a dynamic but also fine mousse, focused entirely on the minerality, the acidity rattles without hurting. Outstanding length.”
18/20 points, JancisRobinson.com: “Notes of brioche, preserved lemons, baking apples, hints of honey and white flowers. Delicate, persistent perlage and a mouth-watering citrus momentum. Slender and refined, with a delicate saltiness and meadow-like freshness. Stony, sublime and endless. (Drink between 2025-2038)”