Bbq, bacon, toasty, smoky oak, coffee, lovely pinot fruit, dark cherries, meat; true harmony on the palate, fresh, deep, fruity, so young but already with complexity and depth and excellent length. Just breathtaking. Will age for decades. 18.5+/20
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Holzbetont in der Nase, Kräuterpeck, dahinter rote Frucht, feine Würze, Sauerkirschen, Blutorangen. Der Gaumen ist zugänglich, lebendige Säure, feine Tannine, der Wein hat eine gute Struktur und eine knackige Frucht, das Holz wirkt im Gaumen weniger markant, als die Nase vermuten lässt. Langer, rotfruchtiger Abgang.
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The beautiful Café Belmont , St Moritz (Café Belmont , St Moritz): One knows when one strikes hold when given the task to a wine lover wine bar owner to pick a wine for blind for you this is selected. And this was our moment at the beautiful Café Belmont , St Moritz. Served blind and the nose and the colour pointed to Pinot Noir, definitely old world. We went with burgundy 10yrs old premier cru. We struggled to find the terroir though, not smoky dark enough for Gevrey and a bit richer tan would have expected for the others. We went with a modernist from Chambolle. The wine revealed was a great surprise and probably among the top 3 of 2023 ( apparently their Chardonnay is even better) . Lovely harmony, richer than a burgundy but just enough to add a different dimension. Exceptional find.94 easy.
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Very perfumed. Red fruit ( strawberry , but also red cherries , raspberry ) , damson , spices ( cinnamon , vanilla , kardamome, pepper). Noticeable oak.
On the palate the red fruit is more restrained and the oak becomes more prominent. Neverthelessit is balanced and silky, good complexity.
Long.
Overall a very good Pinot Noir, maybe a touch too much oak.
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Pretty nose with red fruit, red cherry, quite a bit of oak, spices, and vanilla notes. Nice acidity and generally a bit leaner on the palate, but more oak notes are quite evident. Good finish. The oak is just too much at this point and I'm not sure if that will ever fully integrate. It's not completely overwhelming, but feels out of balance. Besides that, this is a lovely wine and may merit a much higher score if the fruit doesn't fade away before the oak does...
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Gantenbein Pinot Noir vertical 2001-2016 (Restaurant Musigny Zurich): Not dissimilar to the 2013, felt very young with crunchy red fruit, raspberry, citrus, grapey notes. Oak is well measure here. Good mid mouth volume, the wonderful 2015 Pinot vintage shines also here and not just in Burgundy. Young, don't even think of opening this before 2025. 94-95
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Gantenbein Pinot Noir Vertical: All 16 vintages from 2001 to 2016. Four highlights and conclusions: 1) Consistency: the reputation as „best“ Swiss wine seems deserved. Quality across the years is on very good levels. 2) Style shift? It seems that the winery younger vintages tend to have more toast and roast aromas and are crafted in a more modern, denser and richer style. Older vintages seemed more classic and cool. To me this felt more like a slight shift in style than just youth vs mature wines. 3) The best vintages were 2010 (average score 5 tasters: 95.2), 2004 (94.8), 2013 & 2005 (94.0). Only 2002 was oxidized with the 2008 (89.3), 2003 (90.6) and 2011 (91.0) being at the lower end of the scale. 4) The 2013 lives up to its reputation as „vintage of the century“ with an off-the charts complexity level - but it needs time. Other vintages currently offer better drinking pleasure. Overall it was a great experience trying to capture the essence of this Swiss cult winery.
Short TN: Third encounter with this vintage and wine and compared to the other bottles this seemed rather slightly on the lighter side. The wine seems to be shutting down. But given the more enthusiastic reviews of the fellow tasters and my previous experiences I suppose my palate was just tired at that late point in the tasting.
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A hedonistic pleasure… Sweet deep dark red cherries, sous-bois, licorice, notes of graphite and sweet spices, as well as some mocca notes. It's medium-full bodied, dense and pretty powerful, but with excellent freshness of medium-high acidity and very good medium+ tannin. Very good length. A beautiful balance of freshness, richness and structure will make sure that this is gonna age beautifully for quite a while. The extra level of fruit does make if very accessible already though.
Best Gantenbein and perhaps best Swiss Pinot I have had so far. Pnp at restaurant. Color is already showing some evolution in the glass. Silky light and fragrant on the palate, with earthy notes and fine wood spices. This does not have the fruit forward richness I have seen in the 07 and 09, and hence comes across as more classic in style.
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Blind Tasting & Dinner: PnP and right out of the gate the Ganti was singing. Full power but light-footed and elegant, fresh. Strawberry, sous bois, some bell peper and the signature toasted oak aromas. As good as young Swiss Pinot Noir gets. Not much exciting development over the few hours in the glass (complexity-, hence, -1 or -2 points). Nevertheless, lots of pleasure and hence, 95 points.
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Super typical earthy, intense fruit with well balanced acidity. Like freshly picked berries on the palate. So young but already ready to drink - didn’t even need to decant. Of course as a Swiss you have to like this. Unfortunately no noticable evolution in the glass.
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First encounter with the 2015 vintage and again a wonderful Pinot from this estate. Beautiful dark red fruits, some herbal hints and the signature smoke/toast aromas. Round tannins and good balance. Is drinking well today (3.5h decant). The balance and complexity at this young age is impressive.
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Dark berry fruit, flowers, minerality on the nose. On the palate again quite mineral again, a bit muted in terms of fruit. Powerful but ripe tannins. Fresh, lots of energy, very long. Needs time. 92-93+
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Received my first bottles two days ago and could not resist to open a bottle yesterday. So clearly not ideal for the wine. Used a Zalto Burgundy Glas. My observations: I have tasted 09/10/13/14/15 in the last 12 month or so. 15 is the one that I like least so far.
In terms of fruit my order would be 2013>2014>2015. Would use the same ranking in terms of darkness/ colour. In terms of acidity 2015>2014>2013.
While 2013 is so much fun still in terms of primary fruit, 2014 is the perfectly balanced wine for me. Will try another 2015 bottle in a few weeks time.
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3/8/2024 - ploher wrote:
Bbq, bacon, toasty, smoky oak, coffee, lovely pinot fruit, dark cherries, meat; true harmony on the palate, fresh, deep, fruity, so young but already with complexity and depth and excellent length. Just breathtaking. Will age for decades. 18.5+/20
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3/1/2024 - vvWine.ch wrote: 92 Points
Holzbetont in der Nase, Kräuterpeck, dahinter rote Frucht, feine Würze, Sauerkirschen, Blutorangen. Der Gaumen ist zugänglich, lebendige Säure, feine Tannine, der Wein hat eine gute Struktur und eine knackige Frucht, das Holz wirkt im Gaumen weniger markant, als die Nase vermuten lässt. Langer, rotfruchtiger Abgang.
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3/1/2024 - palfr2 wrote:
Same as 14 - slightly scaled down of 14
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12/30/2023 - Papies wrote: 94 Points
The beautiful Café Belmont , St Moritz (Café Belmont , St Moritz): One knows when one strikes hold when given the task to a wine lover wine bar owner to pick a wine for blind for you this is selected. And this was our moment at the beautiful Café Belmont , St Moritz.
Served blind and the nose and the colour pointed to Pinot Noir, definitely old world. We went with burgundy 10yrs old premier cru. We struggled to find the terroir though, not smoky dark enough for Gevrey and a bit richer tan would have expected for the others. We went with a modernist from Chambolle. The wine revealed was a great surprise and probably among the top 3 of 2023 ( apparently their Chardonnay is even better) . Lovely harmony, richer than a burgundy but just enough to add a different dimension. Exceptional find.94 easy.
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8/26/2023 - yeastyboy Likes this wine: 98 Points
Great, just great. The headiness of the Pinot and the strong oak base, it's perfect. What a great wine.
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2/11/2023 - BNWM Likes this wine: 93 Points
Bright translucent ruby
Very perfumed. Red fruit ( strawberry , but also red cherries , raspberry ) , damson , spices ( cinnamon , vanilla , kardamome, pepper). Noticeable oak.
On the palate the red fruit is more restrained and the oak becomes more prominent. Neverthelessit is balanced and silky, good complexity.
Long.
Overall a very good Pinot Noir, maybe a touch too much oak.
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12/21/2022 - glou.sf wrote: 92 Points
Pretty nose with red fruit, red cherry, quite a bit of oak, spices, and vanilla notes. Nice acidity and generally a bit leaner on the palate, but more oak notes are quite evident. Good finish. The oak is just too much at this point and I'm not sure if that will ever fully integrate. It's not completely overwhelming, but feels out of balance. Besides that, this is a lovely wine and may merit a much higher score if the fruit doesn't fade away before the oak does...
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2/14/2019 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
Gantenbein Pinot Noir vertical 2001-2016 (Restaurant Musigny Zurich): Not dissimilar to the 2013, felt very young with crunchy red fruit, raspberry, citrus, grapey notes. Oak is well measure here. Good mid mouth volume, the wonderful 2015 Pinot vintage shines also here and not just in Burgundy. Young, don't even think of opening this before 2025. 94-95
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2/8/2019 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
Gantenbein Pinot Noir Vertical: All 16 vintages from 2001 to 2016. Four highlights and conclusions: 1) Consistency: the reputation as „best“ Swiss wine seems deserved. Quality across the years is on very good levels. 2) Style shift? It seems that the winery younger vintages tend to have more toast and roast aromas and are crafted in a more modern, denser and richer style. Older vintages seemed more classic and cool. To me this felt more like a slight shift in style than just youth vs mature wines. 3) The best vintages were 2010 (average score 5 tasters: 95.2), 2004 (94.8), 2013 & 2005 (94.0). Only 2002 was oxidized with the 2008 (89.3), 2003 (90.6) and 2011 (91.0) being at the lower end of the scale. 4) The 2013 lives up to its reputation as „vintage of the century“ with an off-the charts complexity level - but it needs time. Other vintages currently offer better drinking pleasure. Overall it was a great experience trying to capture the essence of this Swiss cult winery.
Short TN: Third encounter with this vintage and wine and compared to the other bottles this seemed rather slightly on the lighter side. The wine seems to be shutting down. But given the more enthusiastic reviews of the fellow tasters and my previous experiences I suppose my palate was just tired at that late point in the tasting.
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2/8/2019 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Gantenbein vertical 2001-16 (Restaurant Musigny, Zurich): Great signature earthiness with a remarkable follow-through on the palate where you'll also find invigorating freshness. No imbalance what so ever.
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2/8/2019 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 95 Points
Vertical of 16 vintages of Gantenbein Pinot Noir.
A hedonistic pleasure… Sweet deep dark red cherries, sous-bois, licorice, notes of graphite and sweet spices, as well as some mocca notes. It's medium-full bodied, dense and pretty powerful, but with excellent freshness of medium-high acidity and very good medium+ tannin. Very good length. A beautiful balance of freshness, richness and structure will make sure that this is gonna age beautifully for quite a while. The extra level of fruit does make if very accessible already though.
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10/1/2018 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 94 Points
Best Gantenbein and perhaps best Swiss Pinot I have had so far. Pnp at restaurant. Color is already showing some evolution in the glass. Silky light and fragrant on the palate, with earthy notes and fine wood spices. This does not have the fruit forward richness I have seen in the 07 and 09, and hence comes across as more classic in style.
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3/25/2018 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
Blind Tasting & Dinner: PnP and right out of the gate the Ganti was singing. Full power but light-footed and elegant, fresh. Strawberry, sous bois, some bell peper and the signature toasted oak aromas. As good as young Swiss Pinot Noir gets. Not much exciting development over the few hours in the glass (complexity-, hence, -1 or -2 points). Nevertheless, lots of pleasure and hence, 95 points.
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3/24/2018 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Super typical earthy, intense fruit with well balanced acidity. Like freshly picked berries on the palate. So young but already ready to drink - didn’t even need to decant. Of course as a Swiss you have to like this. Unfortunately no noticable evolution in the glass.
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12/26/2017 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
First encounter with the 2015 vintage and again a wonderful Pinot from this estate. Beautiful dark red fruits, some herbal hints and the signature smoke/toast aromas. Round tannins and good balance. Is drinking well today (3.5h decant). The balance and complexity at this young age is impressive.
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9/2/2017 - rossi.wine wrote: 93 Points
Dark berry fruit, flowers, minerality on the nose. On the palate again quite mineral again, a bit muted in terms of fruit. Powerful but ripe tannins. Fresh, lots of energy, very long. Needs time. 92-93+
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4/23/2017 - Kellch Likes this wine: 92 Points
Received my first bottles two days ago and could not resist to open a bottle yesterday. So clearly not ideal for the wine. Used a Zalto Burgundy Glas. My observations: I have tasted 09/10/13/14/15 in the last 12 month or so. 15 is the one that I like least so far.
In terms of fruit my order would be 2013>2014>2015. Would use the same ranking in terms of darkness/ colour. In terms of acidity 2015>2014>2013.
While 2013 is so much fun still in terms of primary fruit, 2014 is the perfectly balanced wine for me. Will try another 2015 bottle in a few weeks time.
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4/6/2017 - Waedi Likes this wine: 95 Points
Outstanding!
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