Leo's Blind Tasting Group - June '14 edition

Riverpark, NYC
Tasted Monday, June 16, 2014 by salil with 563 views

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

Flight 2 (2 Notes)

Flight 3 (3 Notes)

  • 2009 Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs 91 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    Came across rather understated in contrast to the other Dönnhoff GGs; it's a bit quiet aromatically at first but air brings out some smoky and spicy notes to frame the rich fruit here. There's a gentle stony undercurrent beneath and a bright acid spine, and it's lovely though not as compelling as the Dellchen or the Felsenberg.

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  • 2009 Dönnhoff Dellchen Riesling Großes Gewächs 95 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    A powerhouse on the palate, there's palate staining intensity here but also tremendous acidity that makes it feel very racy and precise. Really vivid mineral characteristics here, the fruit seems to be carved out of stone. Thrilling wine, my favourite of the GGs.

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  • 2009 Dönnhoff Felsenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs 93 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    The most delicate and understated of the Dönnhoffs; but also the most complex aromatically. A really beautiful fragrance here with flowers, hay, earth and fresh apple and citrus fruits coming together, and a very polished, graceful palate presence with bright acids. Really elegant, seamless, and long.

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Flight 4 (2 Notes)

  • 2012 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett 93 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Much better than the last bottle I had. The cut on here is remarkable. Fresh herb and mint tinged citrus, pear and gooseberry fruit with a base of slate and stone, on an incredibly light and precise frame with powerful acidity and just a faint sense of sweetness, finishing very long. Fantastic.

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  • 2012 Alfred Merkelbach Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese Urglück 91 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Beautiful aromatics, full of fresh lime, red apple and strawberry fruit tinged with higher toned floral and spicy notes. It's a very light, understated wine that keeps opening up with air, showing a bit of sweetness over the bright acid spine, and it's all too easy to drink.

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Flight 5 (2 Notes)

  • 2001 Eric Texier Côte-Rôtie Vieilles Vignes 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Not quite the knockout that my last bottle was, but very good. Bright red fruits and olives tinged with some high toned funky stemmy notes and developed earthy and leathery characteristics, very graceful on the palate with most of the structure here coming from the acidity rather than tannin, and drinking very nicely now.

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  • 1990 Edmunds St. John Syrah Durell Vineyard 96 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County

    From magnum, decanted a couple of hours before serving. This is just mindblowingly great syrah, so complex, graceful, and polished with layers of red fruits, olives, earth, spice, and more savoury meaty and leathery notes coming together into a seamless whole. It's at a stage where the fruit's still quite fresh and intense, but there's also a lot of flavour and textural development apparent, and it's an absolutely thrilling wine to sit down with and drink. Stunning.

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Flight 6 (2 Notes)

Flight 7 (2 Notes)

  • 2005 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese 95 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Double decanted three hours before serving. Yeah, it's incredibly young, but it's absolutely amazing to drink now as a dessert wine with cheese. A classic Prüm fragrance; sweet orchard fruits and flowers combining with more savoury and funky mineral and sulfury notes, and remarkably complex and elegant on the palate. The mouthfeel is remarkable, very glossy and polished with bright acids beneath, finishing incredibly long. Brilliant. Can't wait to see what this turns into when it's mature.

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  • 2012 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese 93 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Double decanted three hours before serving. It's made of the same material as the '05, also showing that classic Prüm fragrance with great complexity, but it doesn't have quite the same sense of seamlessness and polish on the palate. There's great depth here and perhaps even more cut and focus, and I love the sense of purity to the flavours. This (like the '05 that it was poured alongside) is going to be amazing with time.

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