Short notes on a few wines I tasted at the main forum of the the WeltWeinFestival Bad Ragaz, where I went with Tokaj vintner Márta Wille-Baumkauff on the 27th of April.
Velich Chardonnay Darscho 2003
Márta wanted me to taste this, or else I would have missed it. Oak-spicy but also nicely fruity and herbal. Rating: 86+/~87?
Feiler-Artinger Ruster Ausbruch Muskat Ottonel 2004
11.5% yet slightly alcoholic all the same. Floral, little acidity. Heavy-handed, somewhat disappointing wine from this top producer. Rating: 87?
Gesellmann Sämling Beerenauslese 2004
75-80 g/l residual sugar. 85% Sämling, rest Chardonnay and Sémillon. Botrytis, fat, bready, fairly nice fruit for the varieties. Rating: 88
Angerhof Tschida Sämling Beerenauslese 2005
A more liqueur-like BA, more emphasis on macerated tangerine. As Márta notes, a grape variety that tends to bring forth mostly boring wines. Rating: ~87
Kollwentz Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese 2004
Gluey botrytis, buttery, not too exotic, nor even especially expressive compared to top German Scheureben, and a bit light. Rating: ~85
Triebaumer Ruster Ausbruch 2004
200-250 g/l residual sugar. Viscous, an emphasis on firm banana fruit, good complexity, nice bitter note, sweet and long. An impressive effort for the vintage. And: simply the finest Triebaumer wine (not a favourite producer of mine so far) I have ever had. Rating: ~90
Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese Grande Cuvée #6 "Nouvelle Vague" 1999
A bit unclean, moldy botrytis, bready dried apricot, a bit short on the finish. Rating: 86+?
Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese Grande Cuvée #6 "Nouvelle Vague" 2000
Exotic and liqueur-like, qualities Márta did not particularly care for. The most full-bodied of the five. Lacks depth (let alone soil notes, of course). Longer than the 1999, but still quite short. My (relative!) favourite of these five along with the 2001. Rating: 88-?
Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese Grande Cuvée #6 "Nouvelle Vague" 2001
Fairly clean botrytis, fatter, more viscous, some banana plus vanilla oak, quite long. Shows the most aromatic and flavourful acidity of these five. Márta’s (relative!) favourite of the five Grande Cuvées on show today, mine too as far as vintage characteristics and possible upwards potential are concerned – qualitatively however, at this stage of their development, the 2000 and 2001 are roughly equal. Rating: 87+
Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese Grande Cuvée #7 "Nouvelle Vague" 2002
Clearly less concentrated, noticeably lower dry extract as well, we thought. Simple, not lively enough. Rating: 85+?
Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese Grande Cuvée #6 "Nouvelle Vague" 2004
Also lighter than the first three, but nicer bitter note, freshness and acidity, certainly a livelier wine than the 2002. Rating: ~87
Maria Heiss Rheinriesling Trockenbeerenauslese 2004
Medium weight, nice viscosity and acidity, simplistic wine especially for the grape variety, medium length at best. Rating: ~85
Maria Heiss Sauvignon Blanc Trockenbeerenauslese 2004
Aged in Acacia barrique, and indeed, this smells and tastes of acacia rather than wine, so much so Márta found this highly irritating until I told her the reason. Medium-plus weight, a bit short on the finish. Rating: 84
Nekowitsch Chardonnay Trockenbeerenauslese 2004
Hollow, boring, short. Márta only said it is cruel to show wine like this in the company of the top producers' (but then, it was their wines I was disappointed with in relation). Rating: 83
Knoll Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Ried Kreutles 2006
Alcoholic, spicy, little herbs, let alone fruit, short finish. Rating: 83
Knoll Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Ried Loibenberg 2005
Bigger GV bitter notes, longer, spicier, but the alcohol integration is only just acceptable. Try to get some of the GV Vinothekfüllung here in this vintage, it is truly worth every extra nickel and penny! Rating: 84+
Knoll Riesling Smaragd Ried Loibenberg 2005
Stone-dustier and with better alcohol integration than the GV from the same site, but the fruit could be more expressive. A little bottle age should help some. Rating: 85+/86(+?)
Knoll Riesling Smaragd Ried Schütt 2005
So much greater terroir, intensity of soil notes and depth, greater complexity, and yet, not a fruity wine in this vintage at all, mainly herbs. Márta loved it. But a far cry from the Riesling Vinothekfüllung in this vintage. Let us hope I am currently underestimating this. Rating: 88+/89(+?)
Knoll Riesling Beerenauslese 2004
Smooth, not too clean botrytis (smelling of penicillin fungus bitterness, Márta says – seems a rather widespread problem in this rainy vintage), not especially complex, fair length at best. Rating: 85+?
William Fèvre Chablis Beauroy 2005
Fair enough depth, not lively or racy enough, medium length. None of the oak here is new and yet, this is a bit oaky. A bit warming with alcohol, too. None of it inconsistent with the house style here, though, as I have known it over the years. Rating: 86+/87?
William Fèvre Chablis Les Lys 2004
Spicier, fresher, more stone dust, more precise, medium weight. Rating: 88+?
William Fèvre Chablis Valmur 2003
Most complex and attractive in terms of soil notes, longer, but alcoholic and “backed” by rather ripe acidity. Márta also liked this one best, caveat included. Rating: ~89
Wenzel Sauvignon Blanc 2006
Screw cap. Highly typical varietal nose, cat pee and herbs and white blossoms, the 13.6% alcohol is high, but this has acidity and tiny bitter note to set it off. Quite full-bodied, but not quite dense enough for me, the alcohol is always bound to stick out. Rating: ~87
Wenzel Chardonnay 2005
Screw cap. Very oaky despite only 30% new oak, and we were told they have been cutting back on the oak here in recent years! Too delicate a wine to cope with any oak, too thistle-like and warming with alcohol. A virtual plethora of such wines, red and white, is being offered in Austria nowadays, is this really what people like and have with their leisurely Sunday lunch out? Rating: 85+?
Wenzel Ruster Ausbruch Am Fusse des Berges 2004
Meaning “At the bottom of the mountain.” A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Welschriesling, Pinot Gris and Muskateller with 175 g/l residual sugar. Tangerine, butter, nice acidity, nicely refreshing and precise buttery flowers, quite long. Márta liked this wine’s purity and approachability. Very tasty indeed. Not necessarily one to cellar, though. I sometimes wonder if the complete absence of soil notes in Neusiedlersee stickies may not seem like an advantage to some people: nothing there to distract one’s attention from the fruit. Always been one of my favourite producers of Ausbruch-style wines, by the way, I still have fond memories of the 1995 Gelber Muskateller TBA. Rating: 91
Wenzel Ruster Ausbruch Saz 2004
A blend of 60% Furmint and 40% Muskateller with 280 g/l residual sugar. One could tell Márta paid close attention to this, a Tokaj-like blend with a residual sugar content of Aszú-Eszencia. Important bready, but not entirely clean botrytis (rainy vintage apparently). Viscous, heavier than the previous wine, sweeter of course, fuller body, longer, one to cellar, hard to tell how much the minor impurity of the botrytis is going to affect its evolution in bottle. Soil notes? None, of course, in neither Ausbruch. Rating: 90+
Fritz Haag Riesling Feinherb #1 2004
Had this before, my opinion has not improved. A bit rubbery and simple, medium length at best. Rating: 83
Fritz Haag Riesling Kabinett #03 Brauneberger Juffer 2006
So then, it was the man with the iron fist (this time I squeezed his hand with all my – not very considerable – might, placed a close second in this contest of course, but I swear, we both came close to having tears in our eyes!) who first poured me a sample from the vintage that the affable Max Gerstl prematurely praises as the “greatest ever”. It is sad but true that enthusiastic statements of this kind merely make me sceptical these days – having said that, I look forward to the arrivage tasting next Saturday (see you all there!). Basil (often a sign of superripeness, more so even than blackcurrant top notes), rich for a Kabinett, not especially fruity or precise, though. Good body, medium length. Rating: 85+
Fritz Haag Riesling Spätlese #05 Brauneberger Juffer 2005
Fresher, more crystalline and precise (more Fritz Haag of old, so to speak), stone-dusty minerality, slightly rubbery aftertaste. Rating: 86+?
Fritz Haag Riesling Auslese Fuder 12 Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 1995
AP-# is identical, of course, a different fuder from the one I know. Petrolly (shocking for such a young Haag, I mean, this is more advanced than any 1983, 1988 or 1990 here), impressively minerally if with heavy slate notes, not entirely clean, but quite long on the finish. Maybe more patience is going to bring out a little more fruit again? Rating: 87+?
Fritz Haag Riesling Beerenauslese #16? Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 2006
Not entirely sure I noted the AP-# correctly here. Quite clean botrytis, sweet, fairly viscous and oily, basil and spring flowers, a bit heavy minerality (not the squeaky-clean crystalline-pure style of yesteryear), fairly long. Rating: ~90/90(+?)
Dönnhoff Riesling Kabinett trocken “Grauschiefer” 2006
On to everybody’s darling nowadays, the gracious, ever-modest man pouring samples himself. Grauschiefer means grey slate, by the way. Nicely mineral-dusty, some residual yeast here, fresh and firm, quite good body and length, a nice effort. Rating: 86!
Dönnhoff Riesling Kabinett #05 Oberhäuser Leistenberg 2006
Elegant, crisp fruit, round and very ripe acids, balanced and long, showing the early harmony a wine like this needs to give pleasure over this and the next summer. This is, apart from the VdP-Auction Gold Capsule Auslese and Eiswein the kind of wine Dönnhoff excells at in my opinion. But: little to nothing to gain from cellaring these wines beyond their fruit phase in my experience. Rating: 87+/~88
Dönnhoff Riesling Spätlese #8 Oberhäuser Brücke 2006
Minty, medium complex, a bit light this year, but still shows nicely firm structure. Rating: 87(+?)
Dönnhoff Riesling Spätlese #09 Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg 2004
Nicely round, medium fruit and minerals, a bit short but still tasty. Like all Dönnhoff bottlings at below dessert wine Prädikat level, like Rainer is wont to say, one needs to be a believer to assume they are ever going to taste better than in their fruit phase (the lesser Prädikate are no Prüm, Müller or Weil in this respect), in other words, they rarely improve, but keep they do. It depends on the purpose, but from my perspective, and everyone who knows me realises how much I love Dönnhoff’s top drawer stickies, it would be too late to buy a wine in this category. Nothing wrong with buying wines to drink immediately, then again others to lay away – they do not need to be the same. Rating 86(+?)
Dönnhoff Riesling Beerenauslese #20 Oberhäuser Brücke 2003
Rubbery botrytis, truly an exotic exponent of this sometimes freaky vintage, convincingly firm backbone and underlying freshness, not too sweet for a BA, quite long. Rating: 91+
Jorge Ordoñez & Co. Málaga Seleccion Especial #1 2005
Guess what, the “& Co.” is Alois Kracher from Illmitz, Neusiedlersee region, Austria! 100% Muscat Alexandria aged in stainless steel. 125 g/l residual sugar. Tobacco ash, green banana leaf and vanilla, sweet and smooth, but also lightly bitter. Medium length. There is indeed something Kracher-like about these wines. Rating: 86+?
Jorge Ordoñez & Co. Málaga Victoria #2 2005
Also 100% Muscat Alexandria aged in stainless steel. 225 g/l residual sugar. Sugary-sweet and a bit hollow, again a faint bitterness, but also fair enough freshness and length, almost lighter on its feet (none of these really is). Weird banana and herb fruit. Rating: 86+?
Jorge Ordoñez & Co. Málaga “old vines” #3 2005
100% Muscat Alexandria. 258 g/l residual sugar. Thick, viscous, very sweet, funny little tobacco note to citrusy balm mint. Lovely bitter note here, more aromatic acidity, longer. Pointless to assume the step up in quality has anything to do with this having been aged in new French oak (which shows a bit, adding vanilla and coconut top notes, but is not too obtrusive, not even Márta minded), rather, it must be the other way round. I would have enjoyed a sample this good yet aged in tank. Rating: 88+
Domaine Gauby Vin de Pays Fenouilledes Blanc Le Soula 2004
Márta pulled me over to this boot as their rarest white was being poured, this one. Interesting and attractive it is. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Chenelle. Quite complex straw and aged lime fruit. Spicy. Quite full-bodied and long. The “only” 30% new oak still sticks out a bit. Rating: 88+?
Domaine Gauby Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2005
From 60 to 100 years-old Muscat, Grenache Blanc, Macabeu and Viognier vines. More mainstream, lighter, tasty enough but simple. Rating: 84+/~85?
Domaine Gauby Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes Blanc Coume Gineste 2005
50% Grenache Blanc, 50% Grenache Gris, from 60 years-old vines in two different vineyards. Firmer acids, slightly tannic white, no oak here. Concentrated, with a firm core of fruit that needs time to open up and express itself. The chalky soil barely manifests itself in terms of minerality (but then, none of these whites taste very minerally, just unartificial and spicy for the most part). Rating: 85+
Domaine Gauby Vin de Pays Fenouilledes Le Soula 2004
Lovely dried herbs, very natural-tasting red, racy, old-viney, smoky and earthy minerality, iron, tannic with only the faintest leafy bitterness. Fairly full-bodied and quite long. Rating: 89+?
Domaine Gauby Côtes du Roussillon Vieilles Vignes 2004
15% new oak just to round off the tannin, barely showing otherwise. Port-like but also quite firm, with petrolly-rubbery minerality with an emphasis on iron, on the whole seemingly volcanic (which clearly, this soil is not, consisting of all “cailloux”, i.e. pebbles). Lovely soft pepper. Again, nicely natural-tasting juice. Rating: 90
Domaine Gauby Côtes du Roussillon Muntada 2003
30% Grenache Noir, 30% Carignan, 40% Syrah. From vines between 12 and 122 years old. “Millésime caniculaire” – a dog days year – is what the dynamic young winemaker calls 2003. Forest undergrowth and earth. Concentrated and old-viney. Tight, palate-staining tannin and fruit. Solid, firm, smoky, stony, long. And not too exotic despite the vintage. A strong showing. Rainer, who went to this expo a day later, also found this one of the best wines on show. Hard to explain our modest enthusiasm for the wines of this region – I sure wish similarly unartificial and natural-tasting wine were made everywhere. Rating: 92+/93
Clos des Fées Côtes de Roussillon Les Sorcières 2005
Poured by Hervé Bizeul himself. Cool fruit, some oak, bitter tannin, alarmingly typical of the vintage in many parts of France. Faint garrigue (roasted Provençal herbs and pepper), but rather more oak spice. Rating: 83+?
Clos des Fées Côtes de Roussillon Vieilles Vignes 2005
Exotic Port nose, includes all ripeness levels from fairly green and bitter to hugely overripe. No doubt concentrated, though. Difficult to judge, there may be more to it than I am currently able to discern, but I cannot say I have any sympathy for the increasingly over-the-top style here. And yet, this producer’s wines have their following. Rating: 85+?
Clos des Fées Côtes de Roussillon Clos des Fées 2005
Each new sample shows a darker and deeper colour than the last at his booth. As Port-like as the VV, but firmer, denser, not too green, more evenly ripe, tightly tannic, more persistent on the finish. Also shows some depth and pebbly minerality. In short, more upwards potential in evidence here. Rating: 88+
Clos des Fées Côtes de Roussillon Petite Sibérie 2005
Deepest colour, of course. Complex chocolate, sweet, plump fruit, but deeper and more complex than the previous offerings. Tannic with partial overripeness perhaps, partial bitterness for sure. Slightly green at the core, but should be all right with bottle age, unless my instinct deceives me. Impressive provided you like chocolatey, alcoholic monoliths, but borderline as far as I am concerned – I could hardly down a glassful if I tried. I may be underrating this, but Rainer agrees with me that this is, comparatively speaking, an atrocity to knock people off their socks at tastings, a far cry from the attractive, remarkably precise, fruit essence-like 2001 (have not had it again since release, though – Hervé Bizeul says it is drinking beautifully but needs decanting) – after all a wine of which a couple of my friends bought some despite the frightening asking price. Rating: 90+/-?
Tardieu-Laurent Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 2004
90% Grenache, 5% Mourvèdre, 5% Syrah, aged in new oak, and poured here by the man himself. No, I was in no mood to start a discussion on guess which subject... Quite bright and still not refreshing, tannic, firm, full body, medium length. A bit hot and spiky, and sure enough, the new oak fits the old-vine Grenache like a glove... ;^) Rating: 87+?
Tardieu-Laurent Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Spéciale 2004
100% Grenache from La Gardiole aged in foudre, no new oak whatsoever, thanks goodness! Firm tannin, a touch green, spicy fruit. Impressive but a bit tough and green. Rating: 88+
The following were poured by Bertrand Nicolas and his wife themselves:
Château La Conseillante Pomerol 2004
Liked this better from barrel. Somewhat simplistic tobacco and fruit, tannin is slightly bitter, and yet, this is not bad. Possible that it is in a slightly awkward phase – I would not put my money on it, though. Rating: 86+
Château La Conseillante Pomerol 2002
A bit stale tree bark but nice undergrowth. The higher percentage of Cabernet does not so much give this more fruit, let alone opulence, than stature. More “classic” in balance with slightly tighter fruit and a tough, bitter and faintly metallic acid and tannic backbone. Rating: 86+?
Château La Conseillante Pomerol 2000
Direct comparison of vintages can be so cruel. Compared to this, the other three vintages poured this day seemed tired! While I may have overestimated the 1998 (and the 1989 and 1990) in its youth, this may indeed mark the beginning of a new era for Conseillante (certainly Max Gerstl thinks so). Nobler tobacco, more precise soil notes and fruit, altogether fresher and racier. Much more flavourful tannin, greater depth. A very well-balanced wine, quite full-bodied (not too much so at all), firm and solid. Very long and rather finesseful. Still not a particularly weighty wine, but more concentrated and altogether more trustworthy. It is, quite simply, the only modern Conseillante I would care to own (although not at the price this vintage fetches now). Rating: 93+/94
Château La Conseillante Pomerol 1998
Despite some experience with the wines from this Château, this showing was still a shock. This wine, pretty if forward in its youth appears to be maturing way too quickly, even for Conseillante, that is. At this rate, it might taste old before e.g. the fully mature, neither too weighty, pretty 1985 will. As Rainer remarked, when we quickly talked these through afterwards, this is simply not resistant enough to oxidation once the cork is pulled, plus this is really a bit light for a wine from a top Pomerol vintage. Of course the still more than acceptable concentration would per se not be a problem, but it may be, according to winemerchant Max Gerstl, a dedicated admirer of Conseillante, what has kept these wines from being truly serious and ageworthy until the 2000 vintage. Tree bark, mulled wine spice, blood orange to earthy plum, sweet with secondary, perhaps soon to be autumnal, top notes. The tannin is far less complex and finesseful than that of the 2000, and seemingly more oak-induced. Rating: 89-?
Château Rausan Ségla Margaux 2003
Toasty oak, scorched tree bark, roasted curranty plum, exotic and a touch warm. What wine there is in here even seems to hold minor potential, I cannot deny it, but have I mentioned how oaky this is? Rating: 84+/85-?
Château Grand Puy Lacoste 2004
From a yield of 51 hl/ha. Nicely structured, tasty, quite noble tobacco, medium body and length, but unfortunately slightly bitter and drying on the back end. Rating: 86+/87?
Château Grand Puy Lacoste 2003
A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc with 13.4% alcohol. More exotic mulled wine type this one. Solid for the vintage, though, with good terroir expression. Merely a bit hot for my taste. Some tree bark earthiness on the back end. Not the kind of vintage I favour, and a bit tricky to judge, I must admit. Rating: 87+?
Château Grand Puy Lacoste 2002
A well-concentrated, clean and balanced effort with good body and length that showed particularly well that day; classic Pauillac that may be a bit evolved and ultimately lacking a little in generosity (especially to non-European palates, I guess). Cork tree bark, lead pencil, quite flavourful tannin that is not too bitter. Rating: 87+/-?
Château Grand Puy Lacoste 2001
A bit more open than the 2002, with nobler tobacco and tree bark top notes and minerals, a bit juicier fruit, but lesser alcohol integration. The oak shows mainly on the finish, which turns a bit drier than ideal as a result. Could not help thinking I have had (much) better as well as more promising GPLs than these four today, and that they differed almost exclusively in terms of vintage characteristics, seemingly equalised in quality. Rating: 87+?
Château Dubreuil St. Emilion 2004
Warmly fruited, yummy Merlot opulence to claw one’s teeth into, quite dense and sweet and long. Lacking depth, but who cares? Best enjoyed young, I guess. Rating: 88-?
Château Dubreuil St. Emilion 2002
A bit worn out compared to the 2004, not bad though, showing rare mulled wine characteristics in this vintage. Rating: 85-?
Château Dubreuil St. Emilion 2001
Softer, but more minerally, showing more soil notes, but also some alcohol that again gives this a mulled wine/preserved fruit in spirit quality. May be a phase though, hard to tell. Rating: 86+/-?
Greetings from Switzerland, David.