On the same day as the “German Riesling 2006 release tasting “ (see other post), Saturday May 12th, 2006. First four wines at the tasting (separate booths), the remainder with dinner right afterwards.
There would have been several German Rieslings from “older” vintages to taste, missed all but one:
Fritz Haag Riesling Auslese #12 Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 1995
Nicely mature already, spring herbs, some flowers, almost chalky slate, lean apple, fair enough length. Rating: 87+?
Benjamin Wille-Baumkauff poured three of the family winery’s wines at their booth:
Tokaj Pendits Dialog 2005
A blend of Furmint and Muscat Lunel with 20 g/l residual sugar. Not too light nor sweet, some surface tannin. Enough alcohol that this should be enjoyed chilled or else it sticks out a bit. Not really light on its feet, even though the Muscat Lunel seems more communicative at this stage. Medium-short on the finish. Best with food. Fairly enough priced little wine, but in a highly competitive price category. Rating: 84+/85?
Tokaj Pendits Szellö 2005
Szellö means breeze. Blend of Hárslevelü and Muscat Lunel with 50 g/l residual sugar. More glyceric, thicker, longer, less floral, sweeter, of course, relatively firm. I may be underrating this. Fairly priced also. Rating: ~85
Tokaj Pendits Tokaj Aszú-Essencia 2003
A mere 460 liters of this wine were made. 330 g/l residual sugar. Smells much like a pure Eszencia, a sure sign of a super vintage and wine. Thick, viscous, sweet. A bit bready white glue botrytis, acacia honey and oil, high-toned quince, pear juice and green tea compote. It is not just the concentration and residual sweetness that makes this effort superior to earlier vintages, but the purity and florality. Great complexity and depth, and minerality underneath. Later, at the end of the tasting, from a second bottle clean and pure, viscous and sweet, with green tea and minty acidity with cut. With the exception of pure Eszencias, “wines” that demand no wine making in the usual sense of the term, this is the greatest wine from this source ever. It is not a secret Márta Wille-Baumkauff is a friend of ours, but let us not be cynical: I have been critical of several of her past efforts, this time nothing but a heartfelt congratulation is called for. Rating: 96+?
Dinner out that night with Rainer, vintners/winery representatives Hans Erich Dausch, Ernst Loosen (the funniest dinner companion one can imagine) and Benjamin Wille-Baumkauff, plus Gerstl staff members Bettina, Michelle, Sarah and Stefan, who ended up picking up the bill that night (happened so fast, we barely got to thank him - next time I hope).
Weingut Keller Riesling Erstes Gewächs Dalsheimer Hubacker 2006
Thanks to Hans Erich. The firmer and more minerally of the two Erste Gewächse, but really way too closed to judge fairly. May turn out to be the greater wine, judging from the structure along, but one needs to believe in aging any of these, and personally, I would put my money elsewhere if it comes to dry Riesling. After all, these wines are not inexpensive at all. Rating: 87+
Weingut Keller Riesling Erstes Gewächs Westhofen Kirchspiel 2006
Thanks to Hans Erich. Attractive tannic florality, the more elegant and approachable of the two. Rating: 87+/88?
Marchesi Antinori Solaia 1997
Rainer picked this from the wine list, as he had never tasted the 1997 before and it was most fairly priced. I had not had it since September 2001 and was curious to see how it is doing in bottle. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese, 5% Cabernet Franc. Opaque pruney ruby-black. Christmas spice box and coconut oak, chocolaty coffee, jammy-roasted blackcurrant, high alcohol, somewhat extreme ripeness level, a chocolaty-sweet modern concoction of a wine that even has acidity for balance, but that I found tastier at release than it is now (admittedly in a perhaps slightly closed, no doubt in-between phase – no longer primary, nor mature, devoid of any secondary characteristics whatsoever). As modern-styled as wine gets, one of those technically (tempting to say: theoretically) well-crafted wines that have their following, but, as Ernie Loosen put it quite rightly, simply lack soul. Rating: 92+?
Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac 1998
Rainer and I picked this from the wine list, as we found it great at release – let us hope this bottle was a freaky accident. As soon as this was poured, I noticed an unusually high level CO2 on both nose and palate, and when I mentioned it, Ernie Loosen did something I had not seen before, at least not in a restaurant: he put his hand over his glass and shook it so hard the wine started frothing. This must have undergone malo in bottle, and as a result tasted like an unusually ageworthy (as Ernie noted) Gamay. Rating: N/R
Château Cos d'Estournel St. Estèphe 1995
Stefan chose this one fro the wine list, I believe. Opaque ruby-black. Strong bell pepper, warmth of fruit and alcohol and tannin. Spicy, peppery, ripe, with a touch of ashtray as Rainer notes. Fairly good length. Youthful but mature enough to give pleasure. But best freshly uncorked, broader with airing, with the modern superficiality, especially the tannin’s lack of depth, increasingly more obvious. Do not like the internationalised style, but the quality per se is undeniable. Rating: 92
Greetings from Switzerland, David.