WXTP Tasting

This was the inaugral WXTP tasting, with Lim Hwee Peng and Joel B Payne making up the other members of the panel. It was very fun tasting with the other two people, and challenging though it was to work our way through 30 wines in one evening, a great experience overall.

All flights were half-blind, with the region of origin, vintage and varietal revealed, but the producer name kept from us. On the night, I thought the Riesling flight stood head and shoulders above the other two, but that is comparing applse and oranges of course.

• 2008 Melville Pinot Noir Estate 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  Not undrinkable, but this was made in a style that I really cannot appreciate. It had a nice nose actually, with a very full, rich bouquet of black cherries patted down with earth and laden with lots of attractive wood spice aromas, cloves at the forefront I thought. There was quite a bit of oak, but this was nicely integrated in the nose. Very nice. Unfortunately, the palate was a bit of a shock to system after that. It was very extracted, almost a tad roughly I thought, with firm, slightly woody tannins overlaying rich flavours of black cherry and blackcurrant. There was a good bit of acidity, which was necessary given the rich fruit weight and alcohol on the midpalate, and the mouth-filling finish had good depth, with a nice touch of sweet cherries sprinkled with lots of spice again, pepper along with the cloves this time. However, all this was a touch disjointed with the alcohol, acid and tannins sticking out just a little at awkward angles. This may improve with time, but it was not really enjoyable on the day.

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• 2009 Wooing Tree Pinot Noir Beetlejuice 87 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  A strange little wine. There were some parts of it that were quite pleasing, but others that left a lot to be desired. It had a nice nose, with a touch of funk and damp earth, a bit of meat and a rich layer of black cherry and plum aromas dotted with hints of spice. Complex and attractive. The palate was very young, very primary, a bit simple, with sweet flavours of black cherries and black currants riding on a layer of juicy acidity and firm, slighly teeth-coating tannins. A bit rustic here, but not overbearingly so. Otherwise pretty decent all the way until the finish, where there was an unfortunate blush of heat along with a little bitter twist that really distracted from the more pleasant parts of the wine. I am not sure time will cure this unfortunately. Again, a drinkable wine, but not great.

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• 2006 Tohu Pinot Noir Rore 90 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  This was quite nice - one of the better Pinots that we tasted. It was a bit hot on the nose, with glycerol infused scents of ripe, sweet black cherries, along with some spice and toast inflections. There was a nice touch of earthiness and herb aromas in the background. This would have been quite nice, apart from the alcohol. The palate started off nicely, with a juicy mouthful of yummy cherry flavours wrapped in a plush, velvety feel. There was a nice bit of acidity streaming alongside as well. Pretty well-integrated, except for yet another suggestion of alcohol on the midpalate. Otherwise, this was a pretty pleasant drink, with a nice finish matching the rest of the wine, showing sweet black cherry notes touched with earthy spice and dried flowers, all playing on a background of firmish tannins. It still needs some time to shed a last little layer of baby fat and to put on a touch more complexity, but it is already quite drinkable as is. A rather nice wine.

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• 2009 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  Pretty decent, but one must like a more fruit-driven style to really enjoy this. It had a pretty nose, with sweet morello cherry aromas draped with lots of floral accents, a touch of earth and sweet spices, and an interesting twist of green herb and preserved plums - all very complex and interesting, if just a bit disturbed by a woosh of glycerol. The palate had a rich, thick mouthfeel that was as far as one could get from Burgundy as possible, with sweet, slightly candied cherry flowers seasoned with lots of sweet spice. It was a very big, fruit-laden and seemingly high-alcohol wine, but it was still balanced, with firm tannin support and juicy acidity leading into a long tail with plenty of lingering fruit. It was quite lush until the very end, where the finish was puckered with some slightly tannins. All in all, this is not a style I normally like, but it was a pretty-well constructed wine. It just needs some time to come together a bit more. Decent though.

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• 2007 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  This was probably my favourite Pinot Noir of the night. I really liked the nose here. It was very floral, with rose and violet inflections wed to sweet cherries and raspberry aromas, a touch candied at the edges maybe, but also held back by a nice hint of dried earth. Good stuff. The palate was probably the best of the lot as well, showing in a nicely integrated mouthfeel, with ripe tannins and soft acidity forming a nice backdrop for lush red-fruited notes, which were patted down on the midpalate with a touch of earth and some spicey nuances. A big wine, lots of depth and presence, maybe just a bit too much alcohol to enjoy as a drink on its own, but it was certainly not imbalanced. The finish had a touch of bitterswet roots and herbs nicely woven into the sweeter fruit flavours. All in all, a nice interesting wine. Young, but it has good potential. Again, not my preferred style, but this was rather nice in its own way.

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• 2008 Wooing Tree Pinot Noir 89 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  A very decent little Pinot. Young, but it should improve with time. On the nose, it showed ever so clearly as a New Zealand Pinot, with sweet cherry scents dancing alongside floral, violet accents and a more savoury, slightly herby twist of vine stems and lower-toned earthy notes. There was just a bit of a candied tone on the fruit aromas, but this more or less disappeared on the palate, which though very primary in its cherry-fruit led attack, was nicely augmented by a nice juicy acidity and a little stream of earthier notes as the wine entered an interesting finish, where floral notes mingled with more earthy nuances and a bit of bittersweet herb and green vine stem. Overall, a nice, friendly wine, with particularly noticeable but fine tannins. Simple at the moment, but very drinkable. It should improve as it puts on some complexity with a couple more years of bottle-age though.

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• 2009 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Ampelos 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  A huge, monolithic wine. This pushes the limit of what can be done with a Pinot Noir grape I think, so that one gets a wine that is a bit of a Frankenstein's monster. Not undrinkable, just not very pleasaurable. There was quite a bit of glycerol swirling around a deep core of red cherry aromas touched with a bit of cinamon and earth on the nose. The more subtle notes where quite indistinct though, buried as they were under the alcohol and fruit. The palate was huge, with a tremendous depth of cherry and red berry fruit, along with more black fruited, plummy notes on the midpalate, where the wine was again kissed by a bit of wood spice and herb. It was almost tottering with its giant size, like a Pinot on steroids, just kept on its feet by the injection of some acidity. However, with all that depth, the finish was actually a bit short, rather curtailed, with a linger of dry tannins and grape skins and not much else. A bit empty there. I did not like this very much - it was just a bit overworked for me, and I am not sure that this is something t ime will cure.

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• 2007 Wooing Tree Pinot Noir Sandstorm Reserve 89 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  First of a trio of Sandstorm Reserves, this was quite pleasant without ever being really great. It had an earthy, funky nose, with some nice sous bois accents floating around a core of black cherries, plums, dark berries and spice. Nice stuff. The palate was big and rich, with mouth-staining black-fruited, very cassis-like flavours spread across the breadth of the mouth in a heavyweighted feel that was almost unrecognisable as a Pinot. Wow, this was huge. Thankfully, unlike some of the other big new world Pinots on show, it was actually pretty well balanced, with a nice bit of acidity and well-shaped tannins lifting the wine as it entered its fruit-driven finish. Still very primary, still an infant actually, somehow maybe even more so than the 2008 and 2009 that we had together, but there is a lot of solid raw material here. It would be interesting to try this in 5 years time.

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• 2008 Wooing Tree Pinot Noir Sandstorm Reserve 91 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  I thought this was pretty good. It had an interesting nose, with a touch of wood spice and vine stems, and some funky earthy playing alongside deep black cherry aromas. Rather complex and pretty compelling, just marred perhaps by a bit of glycerol that haunted the edges of the bouquet. Like the 2007 before it, the palate was again huge, with oodles of black cherries and blackcurrants, a bit of plum at the sides, all very fruit driven. However, very fresh, lively in spite of its size, and had a nice sense of juicy purity in spite of how primary the fruit seemed. There was also some added interest past the midpalate, with little spicy notes and an earthy nuance peeking out as the wine moved into a clean, fresh, if slight short finish where the wine was supported by some firm but fine tannins. Good, but this plenty of time in the bottle yet.

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• 2009 Wooing Tree Pinot Noir Sandstorm Reserve 90 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  Far too young to drink, but there is some potential with this wine. It was another one with a very monolithic nose, showing a primary blast of black fruit alognside a few motes of chalk and earth, some oak and a little touch of alcohol. Hard to get much out of this at the moment. The palate had huge depth of black fruit - it was rich, thick, with noticeable alcohol, but also lots of acidity so that it was decently balanced. The tannin structure, though firm, was quite nicely shaped as well - I actually think the wine needed that structure given all that fruit. It finished off with a very fresh, rather spicy end. Super young, perhaps not immediately recogniable as a Pinot Noir if one usually drinks Burgundies, but for all that, it managed to come across as a pretty nice wine that was not quite as spoofy or artifical as some of the other reds that we tasted on the night. It is certainly one to leave aside for at least four to five years though.

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• 2006 Viña Bisquertt Cabernet Sauvignon Casa La Joya Reserve 84 Points

  Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley

  I really did not like this. While nothing technically wrong with it, this represented a lot of what I do not like in modern, international wine. It had a really rich, sweet notes, with a huge waft of cassis and blueberries aromas spiked with some very Chilean notes of green vine stems and some acetone floating around. The bouquet was rather confected in its sweetness, and the same thing could be said of the palate as well, with its simple flavours of sweet, candied berries doused with some alcohol heat. It had a plodding finish too, with some earthy and more ripe vine stems inflections. The tannins were very soft and silky, but that did not aid the wine much - it came across as rather heavy and plodding, desperately needing a bit more acidity. Meh.

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• 2009 Luis Felipe Edwards Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Luz Gran Reserva 88 Points

  Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley

  This was pretty pleasant. It had an unusual nose, with a flowery, soap-sud perfume drifting around sweet scents of blueberries and black-currants. The palate was okay as well. Simple, fruit-driven, with blueberries and black-currants again, along with just a little toss of earth and a healthy dose of very Chilean vine stems and spice at the finish. It was perhaps just a little too sweet for my tastes given the way the fruit came out, but it did have a nice tannin structure and was very decently balance, making for quite a drinkable wine. I do not see this improving all that much with age - this is more of an easy, early drinking wine which is pretty decent value for its price, but it should hold in the bottle over the next few years.

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• 2007 Viña Bisquertt Cabernet Sauvignon Ecos de Rulo Q Clay 86 Points

  Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley

  Another wine that I did not appreciate all that much. It had a rather sickly sweet nose, with candied cherries and blueberries at the fore, all pretty confected scents. Not my sort of thing. The palate was slightly better, with touch of chewy tannins framing sweet flavours of cherries and blackberries, which were in turn touched with earth and spice on a short finish. Drinkable, but very simple and rather too candied in tone for me. I did not like this that much.

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• 2010 Lou Miranda Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Leone 75 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa

  Wow - this was bad. Super sweet, with tons of confected fruit on the nose - think sweet cherry candy and raspberry ripple - along with a whoosh of creamy oak scents. Just too spoofy for me. The palate was not much better, showing almost cherry syrup like, with low acidity accentuating the candied character of the wine. There was a bit of spice and herby bitterness at the finish, but that barely came out in the midst of the fruit and oak. Horrible. This was a cordial masquerading as a wine. I started rating far lower, but realised that I was being a bit polemic. This wine had no technical flaws per se, but it was mediocre to a fault.

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• 2009 First Drop Cabernet Sauvignon Mother's Ruin 88 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  A decent enough wine. The nose on this was quite sweet again, with sweet aromas of cherries and raspberries, spiked with a touch of green bell peppers and a bit of spice. Rather candied, but pleasant enough - in this case, the green tinge actually help to bring some relief in the midst of all those sweet, fruity scents. The palate was pleasantly marked by some chewy tannins and juicy acidity packed around some nice fleshy cassis flavours shading into black cherry notes on the midpalate. It was quite a bit dryer and rather more reserved here than the nose suggested. The finish as a bit short, but had a nice touch of savoury earth and meat and a twist of eucalyptus and menthol. Overall a bit simple, but certainly a decently drinkable wine. A relief after the sickly sweet mess of a Cabernet that preceded it.

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• 2009 Balgownie Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 88 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Bendigo

  Another pretty decent wine. Its nose showed sweet black cherries and blackberries, a nice waft of blackcurrants, all very fruit-driven, but this was also accompanied with a bit of earth and eucalyptus and some sweet vanillin notes giving a nod to genrous use of oak. A very modern, new world nose, a bit confected maybe, but far from unattractive. The palate showed lots of spice and herb notes on the attack, along with powdery tannins and decent drop of acidity swirling around a core of black cherry fruits. A bit rustic on the tannins, a bit short on the finish and perhaps rather simple in its youth, but it all somehow came together in a pretty decent way. An okay, especially for those who like the fruit-driven style. It should improve over the next few years as well, and hopefully lose some of its rougher edges.

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• 2009 Windows Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 87 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Decent enough, but not quite my thing. There was plenty of Margaret river greenness on this, almost a bit too much for me, with drafts of green bell peppers, tobacco leaf and eucalyptus surrounding a core of sweet cassis fruit on the nose. The palate was a bit less green, but there was still clearly a stemmy, tobacco hint running alongside its ripe cassis flavours. There was a good bit of depth to this wine, along with an easy balanced feel to it, but I found it just a bit too sweet and primary on the attack, and a touch rustic in the way the tannins dried up the midpalate towards a shortish finish that showed a final linger of spice and eucalyptus. Drinkable enough, but I did not qutie appreciate the style. Should certainly improve with time though.

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• 2009 Rymill Cabernet Sauvignon 89 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  This was quite nice, showing a lot more breadth and complexity than the Margaret River Cab of the same vintage that preceded it. The nose was pure terra rossa, with earthy tones wed to a stream of cassis aromas, some menthol and eucalyptus hints, a bit of milk chocolate and then a little moden twist of oak and glycerol notes. Not perfect, but quite attractive on the bouquet. The savoury earth notes picked up there carried on into the palate as well, along with hints of meat and spice accompanying fleshy cassis fruit flavours. The tannins were perhaps a bit too obvious on the midpalate, coating the mouth quite noticeably, but this should sort itself out with a bit of time. Otherwise, it was nicely structured and balanced, with a nice touch of juicy acidity. The finish was just a bit on the hollow side, but there was a decent linger of earth and mint again nodding towards Coonawarra, as the wine drifted away. All in all, very decent.

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• 2009 Layer Cake Cabernet Sauvignon California 88 Points

  USA, California

  I thought this was very decent value for a Napa Cab. Like the two Australians that came before it, this showed its origins quite clearly - from a slightly woody nose, full of rich cassis scents seasoned with some flowers, spice, earth and oak, to its rich palate marked by plsuhly fruited flavours of sweet dark cherries and berries. It was rather simple, a bit woody on the tannins as it went past the midpalate, but this too was pretty well-balanced by a drop of juicy acidity as it moved into a clean, arther fresh finish where the fruit was kissed by some wood spice and oak notes. This is one for the sweet fruit lovers. Nothing too complicated, and a bit too manufactured, but certainly decent enough at its price.

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• 2008 Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon 90 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

  By some distance the best Cabernet Sauvignon of the night. From experience, these Kanonkop Cabs really do need quite a bit of age to show properly, so this was way too young. Even then, it was far more interesting in its infancy then 90% of the other wines in the same flight. It had an intriguing nose, with sweet ripe scents of black berries and cassis, a touch of herb and spice, and then some funky earth notes and that ever so tiny hint of burnt rubber - something that I thought had been more of less eradicated from Kanonkop's wines. No real issue though, at the level it was at, this was an added nuance rather than an irritation. The palate had a nice juiciness to it, with nice blackberry and cassis flavours sprinkled with some tea leaves and herbs, and nicely balanced and structured with good acidity and some firm but fine tannins. The finish had a nice length to it as well, with a juicy bite of sweet cassis wed to a bit of green vine stems, a hint of licorice root and just another tiny linger of rubber, all coming together rather nicely. I just felt that there was some extraneous puppy fat on this, and that the wine was not altogether integrated. Nothing surprising given its youth of course. Of the Cabs, this was the one bottle that I would not mind having a few of in my cellar. One to try again in 5 years' time. It will probably go on aging for a long, long time after that too. Pretty good.

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• 2001 Freiherr Heyl zu Herrnsheim Niersteiner Pettenthal Riesling Auslese 88 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  An okay wine, but I found this rather disappointing given both the strength of the vintage and the maker. It had nice nose, with a touch of kerosene and tiny hint of savoury earth drifting amidst still rather youthful scents of ripe peach and nectarines. The palate was a bit sweet for a 2001 at this stage of its evolution, rather fleshy too, with more ripe, rich peach and nectarine flavours wed to a touch of honeyed maturity. Past that, some stony mineral flavours emerged to mingle with the fruit. Nice enough, but my issue with this is that it lacked a bit of cut and focus and actually needed some more acidity - something that I found rather unusual for a 2001 Auslese. This probably contirbuted to a sense of slightly disjointed hollowness on the midpalate, where the wine seemed a bit thinned out and waxy, just before a more decently balanced finish set in with a persistent minerally linger. A strange wine. Pleasant in some ways, but quite incomplete in others. Overall, a decent drink, but not one I would go out of my way to repeat again. If this bottle is representative of the whole batch, then it is quite time to start drinking it.

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• 2007 Dr. F. Weins-Prüm Erdener Prälat Riesling Auslese Auction 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  I enjoyed this rather more then the other tasters on the panel. I thought that it had a nice nose, with a bit of sherberty spritz dancing around fuzzy peach and fuji apple aromas, and then some white flowers and a bit of mineral. Nice. The palate was actually pretty fresh and lively for a 2007, especially when compared to the rather limp wine that preceded it, with a supple balance to its otherwise typically rich 2007 flavours of ripe apples and nectarines drizzled with a bit of honey. It ended with a nice, gentle finish, very fleshy, almost creamily textured, yet well balanced with a touch of citrus lime at the very end. Young, primary, but quite yummy.

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• 2007 Reichsrat Von Buhl Forster Ungeheuer Riesling Auslese 92 Points

  Germany, Pfalz

  Second time out with this nice little wine, and I am glad to see that it seems to have improved a bit over the past one and a half years. There was a very fruity Pfalz nose on this, with lots of pretty stone fruited notes in shades of peach and apricot, along with some a nice waft of sweet chamomile aromas and a little earthiness at the fringes. It seems to have put on some complexity from the last time round. The palate was still very youthful though. Lots power here, showing in a rich, layered mouthful of stone fruit packed together with some fresher orange sherbert notes, and underlined by a nice stream of stony minerality moving into its long finish. There was lots of honey dripped all over the backpalate with this wine. It was clearly very young, still plump with baby fat, but there was clearly lots going on. There was plenty of freshness, though this is certainly not an Auslese for those who like theirs with super-precision and racy, nervous energy. Mosel and non-2007 would probably be a better choice. But in the context of its terroir and vintage, this was really nice, with a balance that promises a lovely future ahead for this wine. This should be delicious in 5-10 years.

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• 2010 Dr. F. Weins-Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 93 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  I liked this very much indeed. In contrast to the big, powerful 2007 Pfalz that came before it, this was classic middle-Mosel, with lots of citrussy scents on the nose, along with with touches of pink guava, grapefruit and gentle floral notes spread out in a nice little bouquet. Insistent, but gentle. Much the same could be said about the palate which had a lovely character to it, fanning out on the attack in dance of citrussy fruit flavours, think grapefruit again with its little bittersweet twist, some tangerines, and then a touch sweeter stone fruited notes of peach and nectarine. There was a lovely counterpoint of zippy acidity that gave the wine a sense of balance and focus that I really liked. Nice finish too - with a wonderful freshness and energy to it as in lingered away with a little floral accent. Still painfully young of course, so that every aspect of the wine - the fruit, the acidity, the floral notes - stands out in rather stark relief. However, this was already delicious and has a sense of structure and balance that speaks of great aging potential. No harm drinking this young, it is yummy, but it really is one for the future.

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• 2001 Freiherr Heyl zu Herrnsheim Niersteiner Brudersberg Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 91 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  This was just slightly less impressive than the last time I had it. It had a sweetly honeyed nose, with notes of nectar, ripe red apples and apricots -a nice fruit basket of aromas. The palate, on the other hand, was more marked by a distinct tangerine note on the attack, marmalade almost, only followed on the midpalate with a touch of mineral and earth, some bittersweet orange zest, and then a richer finish, with fruiter notes of peach and nectarines along with a touch of caramel that showed the wine's age came into the fore. This was quite yummy. It had lots of depth, but just perhaps lacked some cut and precision, so that it finished a bit on the soft side. A lot less fresh and youthful, even less expressive, than the last bottle I had actually. On this showing, a very nice wine for drinking, but nothing so special that I would rush out to buy it. At a pretty good place now.

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• 2003 Künstler Hochheimer Hölle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 93 Points

  Germany, Rheingau

  Excellent as always. I was quite sure I recognised this when first poured. The nose was a little tighter than I remembered from the previous bottles, with clearly rich, but somehow rather reticent scents of honey and toast dripped over some ripe stone fruit scents and a little touch of earth. The palate was lovely though. It was beautifully balanced, with orangey acidity streaming through perfectly integrated flavours of peach and nectarines, melon and pear, and just a hint of sweet cherry flesh, all this drizzled with a nice bit of manuka honey. It was weighty, as one would expect from a Rheingau GKA, but beautifully poised and integrated, with not a hair out place all the way from its yummy attack into a long finish that showed a nice lift of citrus fruit. A lovely sweet wine. Not quite as showy and immediately impressive as the last few bottles I have had, but this was still really nice nonetheless.

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• 2010 A.J. Adam Hofberg Riesling Auslese Flawed

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  This was sadly afflicated by TCA. A real pity, because it still gave the sense that it would have otherwise offered a lot. Even with the telltale wet cardboardy smells on the nose, there was a ton of stony minerality underlying that, almost masknig the TCA, along with some rather more subtle white fruit and citrus notes. The palate was full of beautifully bright, zippy acidity streaming through of pink guava flavours, lemons and limes, shading into sweet apples and peach notes into a long, with citrussy notes peeking out amongst fleshy white fruit nuances. Very young, very vibrant, but seemingly well put together. The only problem was that someone seemed to have pressed the mute button, so that each of the flavours were just a bit truncated, a bit subdued at the edges. This was very difficult to stop drinking, but I cannot rate it because of the flaw. Would love to try a proper bottle.

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• 2010 Meulenhof Erdener Treppchen Riesling Beerenauslese 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  We were clearly into sweeter territory with this wine, which showed far more botrytis than any of the Auslesen that preceded it. A good wine, but rather too monolithic now. It had a lot of rich honeyed notes on the nose, which were pitted with stone fruit, earth and mineral aromas. Tons of honey on the palate too, with was rich, sweet, almost unctuous, with sweet nectarines and lemon candy flavours layered over a midpalate with tons of depth. There was certainly good acidity in there, but it was rather buried under the tremendous weight and overt sweetness of the wine all the way until the very end, where some floral musk drifted out from amidst the honeyed tones. Rather hard to rate at the moment given how primary this is, it needs decades more, but if pressed, I would say very good rather than great. Time will tell though.

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• 2010 Weingut Johann Haart Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Beerenauslese 96 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  This was a truly remarkable wine. Together with the TBA that followed, these last two wines were head and shoulders above anything else we tasted on the day. This had an amazing nose - super honeyed, with notes of golden syrup and barley sugars, along with dancing stone fruit aromas and a little touch of caramel and almonds at the sides. Beautiful, but the palate was even better. Rich, intense, melting, unctuous - everything you would expect from a BA from a strong vinatge - with a creamily textured river of peach and nectarines, pear and apple, sweet lemons and grapefruit, all flowing through the mouth, pushed inexorably forward by a wonderful stream of acidity. The balance was incredible - vibrant, dancing, full of nervous energy, yet ever so graceful. This was a quintessential Mosel noble wine. It was a wine that had profound depth, with a beautiful round honeyed goodness and lusciously delicious fruit, yet there were such beautiful lines to it so that it was always precise, focused and complete - impeccably balanced all the way into an amazingly long finish. Still so young, yet already with so much going on. This is one of those wines that can boggle the mind and bring tears to the eye. If you should be so lucky to own a case, it would be great to crack one bottle open very 2 to 3 years and follow is evolution over the next couple of decades - I think this will drink beautifully at every stage of its life.

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• 2010 Meulenhof Erdener Treppchen Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese 95 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  This was another amazng bottle. A fitting way to end the evening - this was a high-point, a different league of Riesling altogether from the rather good, but still very sweet and monolithic 2010 Meulenhof Treppchen BA on the same flight. While the former wine was all brute power, this was stunning in its purity. The nose was a bit tight, still showing a lot of primary grape sugar scents along with subtler notes of honey, nectar and flowers, and maybe a little hint of green tea in there somewhere. Reserved at the moment, but interesting nonetheless. The palate was absolutely super though. More green tea accents floated around the attack here, chased by chamomile, white flowers, and a very Mosel citrussy lemon and lime note. These were followed by a dusting of grapefruit and lemon zest notes on the midpalate, which gave the wine an interesting bittersweet twist, just before it glided into honeyed finish laced with a lovely minerality and rounded off with the nicest ring of green tea. Yummy. The flavour profile was really appealing even in its youth, but what made the wine turly remarkable for me was its delightful balance - it was sweet yet restrained, rich yet pure, with a wonderful clarity and an almost effortless lightness to it. This was one the few young TBAs that I have had in recent times that actually is very enjoyable even in its infancy. I have no doubt it will have a long and illustrious life spanning decades of growth and development though. Amazing stuff.

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