| | - 1987 Georg Breuer Rüdesheimer Berg Schloßberg Riesling - Germany, Rheingau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Pale amber color. Unclean nose, some cellar mold, in the back some petrol and yellow fruit. On the palate much better. Nice, tart acidity, still well integrated. Good mineral core. But also some cellar mold. Unfortunately gone. NR
- 2017 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking.
Clear, pale, yellow-golden color. Clean, medium+ intense, youthful nose with lots of fine, candied fruit, some garden herbs, very dense and beautiful.
On the palate lots of pressure and tension! Aromas driven by clean botrytis, honey, acacia, some interesting bitter notes. Leaner than 2016. Good acidity. Unfortunately quite hot sometimes. Good potential for the next 20 years. 92-93+ (93 pts.)
- 2016 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking.
Clear, pale, yellow-golden color. Clean, medium+ intense nose. Very fine and airy notes of ripe yellow fruit, some blossoms and fine herbs. Beautiful.
On the palate the high alc is better integrated than in 2017 at the moment. Wonderful notes of orange peel, bitter orange. Great tension. Very defined. Beautiful texture and veery long. Great potential for the upcoming decades. 94++ (94 pts.)
- 2015 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking. Drunk multiple times over 4h.
Clear, pale, yellow-golden color. Clean, pronounced and airy nose. Clean botrytis, yellow fruit, ripe Amalfi citrus notes, dense and deep. For me the best nose of the evening.
Power without being broad, tension and density. Very complex with fine orange jam, ripe apricot, herbs, some extract sweetness, orange peel. Alcohol well integrated. The finish was really almost “never ending”. This wine makes so much fun now, that I cannot think how it could improve with some bottle age. Together with the 1998 my WOTN. 95-96 (95 pts.)
- 2013 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking.
Clear, pale-golden color. Clean, pronounced and airy nose. Nose with some medicinal notes (band aid), fine herbs.
Same band aid notes on the palate, but not very disturbing. Very dense wine, lots of tension, complex. Leaner than 2011. A bit hot. Good length. Potential? Hard to say. 92 (92 pts.)
- 2014 Joern Wein Schlossberg Riesling - Germany, Rheingau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Pirate. Served blind. Popped and poured. Pale, unfiltered golden amber. Lots of spices in the nose (anise, caraway). The incredible 15,5% abv way better integrated than in most of the Unendlich. The others estimated around 12%. Good, lively acidity. Creamy, quite complex, fresh and long. Good potential for the next 5+ years. 91-92+ (92 pts.)
- 2012 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking.
Clear, pale-golden color. Airy, herbaceous nose, lots of candied fruit. Maybe a hint of TCA?
Very deep and dense, lovely mineral core. High alcohol well integrated. Creamy texture, apricot and orange notes, very herbaceous and a tiny bit bitter notes and drying (TCA?). Very long and lingering. Even though it might not be top bottle, it was certainly around 93 pts. (93 pts.)
- 2011 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking.
Clear, pale-golden color. Clean nose with some candied fruit, clean botrytis, herbs. Very dense and surprisingly without the band aid notes that you can find in some of Pichler’s wines in 2011. On the palate quite spicy from botrytis. Deep and dense, some bitter notes, acacia, anise, and with some slight band aid notes. Fatter than 2013 and 2012. Long finish. 91-92+ (91 pts.)
- 2010 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking.
Clear, deep golden color. Clean, deep nose, with a surprising ripeness. On the palate the leanest wine of this decade. Good acidity, alcohol well integrated. Very deep, lots of pressure, very long. Good potential for at least 5+ years. 92-93 (92 pts.)
- 2009 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking.
Clear, medium golden-yellow color. Clean nose, a bit muted, but also dense and smoky. On the palate quite consistent to my previous bottle: Lots of extract and concentration. Lovely orange notes (peel, bitter orange), wonderful acidity, nice balance. Lots of pressure and tension and a really “never ending” finish. Good potential for another decade. 94-95+ (94 pts.)
- 2008 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking.
Clear, medium golden-yellow color. Nose with clean botrytis notes, herbs, maybe a tiny bit of TCA?
On the palate very herbaceous, lots of candied fruit. Deep and dense, very good length. No sign of TCA on the palate. 92-93 (93 pts.)
- 2007 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking.
Clear, medium golden color. Clean, medium+ intense, very deep and complex nose with lots of fine yellow fruit. Really beautiful.
Wonderful texture and structure, lots of extract. Deep and dense. Bitter orange jam, ripe apricots, mineral core. High alc noticeable, but not disturbing. Very long and lingering. 94-95 (94 pts.)
- 1993 Weingut Reinhold Haart Riesling Piesporter Eiswein - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Pirate. Served blind. Popped and poured. Deep amber color. We should have decanted the wine, nose was completely closed. On the palate killer acidity, perfectly integrated. Great balance of sweetness and acidity. Only 6% abv. Wonderful balance and very long. Almost immortal, but I doubt that it gets any better. 93 (93 pts.)
- 2006 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking.
Clear, deep golden color. Clean, medium+ intense nose with lots of anise, caraway seeds and herbs.
On the palate ripe, lots of botrytis notes, anise, caraway seeds, lots of extract, dense. Very good length. This bottle seemed to me at its full peak. 92-93 (93 pts.)
- 2005 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Opened about 1h before drinking, not decanted.
Clear, medium golden color. Clean, medium+ intense nose. Deep, dense and smoky. On the palate wonderful pressure and tension. Zesty notes, bitter orange, herbs, beautiful acidity, alcohol perfectly integrated, great length. Still very young and with upscale potential. 93-94+ (94 pts.)
- 2002 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Opened about 1h before drinking, not decanted.
Clear, deep golden color with an amber hue. Clean, muted nose. Quite similar to 2006 with the exception of no anise notes. At its full peak. Beautiful to drink now, very good length. 91-92 (92 pts.)
- 2000 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Opened about 1h before drinking, not decanted.
Clear, medium amber color. Clean, medium intense, smoky nose with some nice ripe citrus and apricot notes. Fragrant and beautiful.
On the palate really fresh and young, typical pressure and tension, clean botrytis, zesty orange notes. Very long. Has at least 5+ years. 93-94 (93 pts.)
- 1998 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Opened about 1h before drinking, not decanted. Perfect bottle!
Clear, deep golden color, still very young. Clean, medium+ intense and rather youthful nose. Deep, herbaceous, ripe Amalfi citrus, smoke. Great perfume!
Wow! Amazing wine! Still young. The complexity and flavors of 2015 and 2007, but with a perfectly integrated alcohol. Never hot, never broad or massive! Lots of ripe citrus, some clean botrytis. Great texture, wonderful acidity. Looong! So fresh and joyful! Wonderful experience. This bottle is certainly at its full peak, but will stay there for at least 5+ years. My WOTN! 96-97 (97 pts.)
- 1983 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Popped and poured. Clear, deep tawny color. Classic left bank BDX nose with some leather, tobacco, some green pepper and some brett. Fine, silky tannin, lots of ripe cherries, beautiful integrated acidity. Lacks a bit tension and complexity. Good length. Maybe a bit past peak. 92-93 (93 pts.)
First Grüner Veltliner Unendlich - 2003 F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Unendlich - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Glass: Gabriel Standard
Popped and poured. Clear, youthful pale golden-yellow color. Clean, medium+ intense nose. Smoky, black pepper, some vegetables.
On the palate very concentrated, deep, fine candied fruit, wonderful mineral core. Still youthful. Lacks a bit of acidity. Long and lingering finish. Not the monster that I had expected, but a really wonderful wine with potential for at least another decade. This night it polarized the other friends on the table. From amazing to undrinkable was the span of comments… 93+ (93 pts.)
This was a unique and wonderful experience. The leitmotiv of all wines is concentration, ripe, botrytised fruit and high alcohol level. If you can't stand this, these wines are certainly not for you!
But these wines are also very deep and dense, have great tension and are really often "never ending". |
