Netherlands
Tasted Sunday, June 20, 2010 by jkoenen with 728 views
The main idea behind this line-up was to experience the supposed differences between the styles of Iconic producers within the same varietal.
All 27 wines served single blind. First we tried to determine the varietal, then the producer.
A very informative and entertaining tasting, with some world class wines.
Light and clear yellow colour with a faint green hue. Nose is a little bit heavy on oak, but this complemented by notes which are both ripe/sweet and very mineral (flint); also some resin/pineforest in the background. On the palate this has a lovely mild and soft mouthfeel, due to its relatively low-key acidframe. Very typical fruitprofile for a middle-aged Sauvignon (baked apples, lemonzest, gooseberry). Great stuff, drink now. 18/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Right out of the gate there were questions whether this bottle was correct. Not obviously corked for me, but there was "something rotten in the state of Denmark". On one hand I picked up interesting notes of seaweed, flintstone, citrus and spice. But on the other hand these aromas were contaminated by echoes of a rain barrel, cardboard and sweaty socks. Not rated.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Nice and pure on the nose, showing bright notes of gooseberry, cotton candy, lemon-peel-preserve. In the mouth this is still very young and nervous. Mineral-driven, creamy and mouth-watering. Pure like glacier water. Lovely now, but needs a few more years to become really impressive by gaining depth and complexity. 17.5/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
The bouquet is not very expressive, rather modest and subtle. There is some oak wafting out of the glass, not much more. On the palate this is also very understated which is quite remarkable for a viognier. Picked up some impressions of Poire Williams, chamomile tea and apricot. In fact, I really liked this serene take on the variety. It's very soft and mild, and has quite a good acid backbone (!). Well balanced, aristocratic and pure, not too heavily perfumed or sweet. Considering the fairly negative press this has had over the years, I was surprised and impressed. But the price remains a problem... 17/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Fresh fruit, wild flowers, candyshop, mango, lychees. Extremely showy, dense and expressive, like viogniers often are. Exotic floral notes, warm, nutty scents and spicy echoes like in a Turkish bazar. Very interesting, complex and tasty but, to me, just a tad tiresome. 17.5/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Pale yellow revealing grey and green reflexes. Light as a feather, extremely bright and pure. Acidity is well hidden and hardly perceptible. Impeccable balance of sweetness, which feels very natural and fresh (like taking a bite out of a fresh pear or a bunch of grapes). Never dull nor heavy, which is a blessing in this vintage. Especially liked its saline minerality and complexity. And this is 'just' a Kabinett? Pfew... My first Egon and what an eye-opener. 18/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Wow, was this wine performing this afternoon... Bright, clean, fresh and pure like rainwater. Soft candied citrusfruit, stony minerality and tangy, Asian spices like cinnamon, ginger and lemongrass. Perfect harmony between bouquet and palate, lovely sweet and sour interplay. This wine has unbelievable synergy between all components and feels almost physiologic, endogenous. So charming, elegant and filigreed, it's impossible to spit. 18.5/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Fantastic nose and palate of juicy tropical fruit, with the freshness of morning dew. In the enduring aftertaste lovely clean bittes of orangepeel dominate. Distinguished, graceful and opulent at the same time. It seemed to be the sweetest of the 4 Rieslings in this flight, but no worries: everything is in the right place. Wonderful balance. Great to drink now or in three years. 18-18.5/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Flavors of banana and mango, nutty tobacco, whiff of petrol. Herbs, spices and beautiful vegetal notes add an intriguing twist to this very rich but absolutely dry take on this variety. Very concentrated, impressive and special. Loved it! 18.5/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
This is a regal wine showing beautiful notes of warm blonde tobacco, tomatoleaf, peaches, banana, apricot, citrus oil, honey and marshmellows. All this, elegantly framed by judiciously titrated oak. Very powerful and off-the-charts complexity and minerality. Topped off by vivid, playful acidity. Fantastic wine. 18.5/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Wonderful showing of this wine. Lots of austere, sauvage, out-doorsy, animal-like impressions. Hay, wet wool, barnyard, some seaweed, lots of toast (unless the fact that this wine didn't see any oak, so I was told). But also underripe bananas, wet pebbles. Not as fine-tuned and deep as the other wines in this flight. Slightly boastful but has good identity, fascinating and tasty. 17.5/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Allthough I encounter more than average off-bottles with this producer, this one was glorious. Perfectly mature, ripe and unctuous, almost oily in the mouth. Very individual and headstrong (like its vintner, I guess). Due to its otherworldly complexity, power and concentration, the entree seems a tad sweet and sultry. But this gathers into a wonderful clean and dry mid-palate and a tight and focussed, well-defined finish. A wine to experience and to be astonished by. 18.5-19/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
No formal note. Served as an in-betweener while making preparations for the second part of the tasting. What a pleasant surprise this Dutch white. Fresh, open and clean. Soft and gentle fruit like peach, pears and a twist of lime. Good focus and delineation. Good stuffing on the midpalate and fairly lenghty too. Best Dutch white I ever had. Chapeau!
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Big and dense, sultry and concentrated style and nearly dry. Sexy, outspoken and lascivious. Tropical fruit punch, earl grey tea, lemon cheesecake, orange peel. The finish is long and mouthy, but marked by a hint of alcoholic heat and could use a tad more acidity to give more lift and freshness. Very good wine, though. 17.5/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Immediately recognised this wine because of its typical notes of green peas. Green-tinged yellow in the glass. It certainly has an off-dry mouthfeel, but that doesn't bother me at all. In fact this wine has good freshness and lift, especially considering the vintage. Very lenghty, too. 17/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Boy, was I impressed by this wine! Especially by the fact that it stayed in barrel for 15 years. Nonetheless, this made a very fresh, energetic and youthful appearance. Lots of yellow fruit, apricot, peach, guave, pine apple. Perfectly integrated and supportive oak. Stunning wine. (But, like most GruVe's, the acid deficit makes that I find it hard to score these wines higher than 18.5/20). 18/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
This wine oozes with minerality... flintstone, wet pebbles, salty seashells, chalk and clay. It is dominating and very impressive with its masculinity and classical countryside notes like barnyard, springmeadows, some hay, white stonefruit, licorice and certainly has some animality in it. Old-school-Chablis as good as it gets... 18/20.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
I really like those mineral, restrained takes on Chardonnay! This one was very transparant, though dense and complex. Chalky minerality, lemon oil, pink grapefruit. Lively, mouthwatering acidity that leaves the palate clean and urging for more. Classic sea-food wine to drink now or within 3-5 years. 17.5-18/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Slightly disappointed. Nose is locked and pale, on the palate this seems thicker, more concentrated than the other two in this flight. Minerality seems to be covered by the lush fruit. Maybe some extra years in the cellar will turn this slightly inconspicuous wine into a bruiser. 17/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
This was killer, and one of the best wines in this tasting. Deep golden yellow. Very harmonious and perfectly balanced. In a very fine place, right now. Dried apricot and candied lime-notes are on the background, but beautiful hints of evolution scream for your attention: nutty blond tobacco, beeswax, antique-shop, fresh-cut hay. And... this never gets heavy or clumsy. No, it's refreshing like an eveningbreeze after a hot summersday. 18.5/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Extremely impressive and luxurious bouquet, which is in good harmonay with the broad and extensive palate. Peach juice, coconut, passionfruit, pine kernels. Always difficult to estimate when to open the next bottle of these kind of wines. Is it closing down or will it open up in a few years time? Dunno... But it was wonderful tonight. 18/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
This is a real 'odd-ball'... Citrusfruit, apricot and red berries are seasoned with spices like nutmeg, vanilla, black pepper and thyme. It has a light and fresh presentation at first but then firms up in your mouth. Hard to discribe since it hardly has any resemblance to any other white wine I know. Noble, but tenacious and intriguing. 18.5/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
This puppy certainly was NOT over the hill. It was shining all night and even more so after a couple of days in the fridge!
Of course it's evolved. But that adds complexity and depth to a wine that probably also was very impressive in its youth. The concentration is unbelievable, but I did not think that it was out of place. Somehow it fits in beautifully. Interesting notes of cappuccino, truffles and rubber on top of a banana/mango/passionfruit-coulis. One of my most memorable whites ever. Awesome. 18.5-19/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Firm oak use, but there is enough fruit and juiciness to cover that up. Interesting green vegetable/herbal thing going on. Red apples, Banana-split, lemon curd. Feels quite restrained and subtle, certainly compared to the other two in this flight. Delicious.18/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
This one stunned everyone at our White-Icon-Tasting, including the classicists! Extremely fresh and balanced, good poise and a the wine keeps a beautiful tension all the way to the end. Oak is completely integrated and plays a supporting role, just like it ought to do. Wish all white Burgundy was at this level AND price-point! Top of the bill, must definately buy more. 18.5/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Whoa, this is heavy sh*t. To me, it's over the top. Nose is dominated by oak, amaretto, vanilla and butterscotch. Also a lot of thick, sweet floral notes like honeysuckle, lilac and hyacinth. Felt priviliged to be able to savour The Judge again, but it was clearly outclassed by the Leeuwin Art Series today. 17.5/20
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Personal WOTN: 1997 Sine Qua Non - Twisted and Bent
Other wines to look out for: FX Pichler Kellerberg Riesling, Baumard Clos du Papillon, Nikolaihof GruVe Vinothek, Raveneau Chablis, Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay.
© 2003-24 CellarTracker! LLC. All rights reserved. "CellarTracker!" is a trademark of CellarTracker! LLC. No part of this website may be used, reproduced or distributed without the prior written permission of CellarTracker! LLC.
NV Jérôme Prévost Champagne La Closerie Extra Brut Les Beguines
France, Champagne
(LC06) Very vinous in style, some oxidative notes, just like I like it in my Champagne. Restrained, mineral and not very fruity, but tasteful and highly drinkable. Thick and creamy with a mousse that I would call medium-intensive. Me thinks, it has lots of life left. Fabulous wine, excellent QPR!
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue