I liked this a lot less than my last note today -- this was a little astringent and thin, and yet also seemed to have some oxidized fruit notes that didn't work with the palate. Odd showing.
Surprisingly fresh and green for a wine of such age, with vibrant acidity throughout, though the palate is where this seems to fall a little flat, as it comes across a little simple, without too much depth of flavour. In particular, I have always felt CFE is a heavyset version of the Trimbach wines, and this bottle seems to buck that trend. In any case, I'd be inclined to drink up, at least based on this bottle.
A little reduced on the nose initially, but then this hits like a ton of bricks. Ripe, large-scaled, and incredibly opulent with an abundance of ripe tropical fruit that is incredibly expansive on the palate. The structure of this wine is hidden by the generous fruit (and that comparison is all the more stark having this next to the 2017) but both the mineral cut and the veins of acidity are there if you look for them. For my palate, I feel that this is the better of the pair given the added richness from the fruit and has more long term potential as well for that reason.
A significantly different wine compared to the 2018. They share the same mineral and acidity structure, but where the 2018 has fruit to put on that skeleton, the 2017 is a barebones exposition of the raw structural power of riesling. It's nowhere as fruit forward, and perhaps even slightly austere, and shows more a herbal, green style than the tropical, voluptuous younger sibling. Impressive for its stature, but I prefer having the flesh (and fat) on the skeleton, and give my nod to the 2018.
From half-bottle. Admittedly a difficult vintage, and I think it shows a little here with some of the flavours coming off a little less than perfectly clean. To my palate, this is readily mature and has a good expression of secondary riesling characteristics, though there is a certain browning tinge to this wine that is less than ideal. There are some white cherry and peach flavours here, and the moderate sweetness here is quite nicely balanced by the acidity. This does have that characteristic Dönnhoff lightness to it; in fact, it's a great bottle of wine just marred by that slight dirtiness.
It has been ages since I opened a bottle of this and this is really firing on all cylinders right now. It's like sweetened crushed rocks. So drinkable and fresh, and with so much minerality you get that kind of tannic feeling on the palate. 2007 has always struck me as a bit fleshy but this bottle has no excess fat at all. It is sculpted, shapely, and just mind-bendingly delicious. I'll have to start picking off a few more of these now that I know how good they are currently.
I'll be the first to admit that despite Dönnhoff being the second-largest holding in my cellar, I've never been a huge fan of their GGs (Emrich-Schönleber takes the crown in the Nahe). This bottle is amply impressive though, and I suspect it has to do with the relatively opulent and generous vintage, which gives this wine a richer, fleshed out body to complement the green herbs and mineral cut. Very impressive in its stature, this is a bottle that I may well have to consider putting into my own cellar...
The cork fell in the moment I touched it. But no matter, the juice itself was brilliant -- this was perhaps the best bottle of the 1976 lot I bought those few years back. The nose does have a little funk, but that did seem to dissipate after some air (or maybe it was corked and didn't show it, like the first bottle of this I opened). In any case, this is opulent, rich, and elegant, with generous sweetness and some dried stone fruit flavours, as well as abundant acidity. There's a herbal tinge here that adds quite a bit of complexity as well. Fully mature, I would not wait on this any longer.
#11-94. I don't know exactly what this means, but it tastes like what an old Willi Schaefer bottle ought to. I tend to prefer the Domprobst from Schaefer, finding it more slatey and minerally taut, but this bottle holds its own impressively well. There's a slight creaminess here (that the Domprobst doesn't tend to pick up as much) but the mineral chew on the back end of this wine is pretty impressive. A little aged riesling funk rounds out this relatively sweet, off-vintage bottle that is nonetheless very impressive.
As a friend notes, old riesling always comes off a bit cidery to him, and I think this is a bottle that exemplifies that. There is indeed a sappy, brown-fruited acidity here, as well as a prominent tone of sweetness and a little bit of a maple spice as well.
Motor-oil dark and thick. Opulent, luxurious, and viscous beyond belief. An intense chocolate and carob flavour on the nose and palate, with a lifted herbal element that gives this a freshness that is especially surprising given just how syrupy this wine is in texture. Never for a second does this feel cloying, though it is so rich that a little goes a very, very long way.
NV Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Shaman 13 85 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
I liked this a lot less than my last note today -- this was a little astringent and thin, and yet also seemed to have some oxidized fruit notes that didn't work with the palate. Odd showing.
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1983 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 90 Points
France, Alsace
Surprisingly fresh and green for a wine of such age, with vibrant acidity throughout, though the palate is where this seems to fall a little flat, as it comes across a little simple, without too much depth of flavour. In particular, I have always felt CFE is a heavyset version of the Trimbach wines, and this bottle seems to buck that trend. In any case, I'd be inclined to drink up, at least based on this bottle.
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2018 Weingut Keller Abts E® Riesling Großes Gewächs 95 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
A little reduced on the nose initially, but then this hits like a ton of bricks. Ripe, large-scaled, and incredibly opulent with an abundance of ripe tropical fruit that is incredibly expansive on the palate. The structure of this wine is hidden by the generous fruit (and that comparison is all the more stark having this next to the 2017) but both the mineral cut and the veins of acidity are there if you look for them. For my palate, I feel that this is the better of the pair given the added richness from the fruit and has more long term potential as well for that reason.
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2017 Weingut Keller Abts E® Riesling Großes Gewächs 95 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
A significantly different wine compared to the 2018. They share the same mineral and acidity structure, but where the 2018 has fruit to put on that skeleton, the 2017 is a barebones exposition of the raw structural power of riesling. It's nowhere as fruit forward, and perhaps even slightly austere, and shows more a herbal, green style than the tropical, voluptuous younger sibling. Impressive for its stature, but I prefer having the flesh (and fat) on the skeleton, and give my nod to the 2018.
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2000 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 90 Points
Germany, Nahe
From half-bottle. Admittedly a difficult vintage, and I think it shows a little here with some of the flavours coming off a little less than perfectly clean. To my palate, this is readily mature and has a good expression of secondary riesling characteristics, though there is a certain browning tinge to this wine that is less than ideal. There are some white cherry and peach flavours here, and the moderate sweetness here is quite nicely balanced by the acidity. This does have that characteristic Dönnhoff lightness to it; in fact, it's a great bottle of wine just marred by that slight dirtiness.
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2007 Dönnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Spätlese Auction 95 Points
Germany, Nahe
It has been ages since I opened a bottle of this and this is really firing on all cylinders right now. It's like sweetened crushed rocks. So drinkable and fresh, and with so much minerality you get that kind of tannic feeling on the palate. 2007 has always struck me as a bit fleshy but this bottle has no excess fat at all. It is sculpted, shapely, and just mind-bendingly delicious. I'll have to start picking off a few more of these now that I know how good they are currently.
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2018 Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs 93 Points
Germany, Nahe
I'll be the first to admit that despite Dönnhoff being the second-largest holding in my cellar, I've never been a huge fan of their GGs (Emrich-Schönleber takes the crown in the Nahe). This bottle is amply impressive though, and I suspect it has to do with the relatively opulent and generous vintage, which gives this wine a richer, fleshed out body to complement the green herbs and mineral cut. Very impressive in its stature, this is a bottle that I may well have to consider putting into my own cellar...
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1976 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Auslese Faß 75 95 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
The cork fell in the moment I touched it. But no matter, the juice itself was brilliant -- this was perhaps the best bottle of the 1976 lot I bought those few years back. The nose does have a little funk, but that did seem to dissipate after some air (or maybe it was corked and didn't show it, like the first bottle of this I opened). In any case, this is opulent, rich, and elegant, with generous sweetness and some dried stone fruit flavours, as well as abundant acidity. There's a herbal tinge here that adds quite a bit of complexity as well. Fully mature, I would not wait on this any longer.
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1993 Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese 93 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
#11-94. I don't know exactly what this means, but it tastes like what an old Willi Schaefer bottle ought to. I tend to prefer the Domprobst from Schaefer, finding it more slatey and minerally taut, but this bottle holds its own impressively well. There's a slight creaminess here (that the Domprobst doesn't tend to pick up as much) but the mineral chew on the back end of this wine is pretty impressive. A little aged riesling funk rounds out this relatively sweet, off-vintage bottle that is nonetheless very impressive.
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1975 Michel Schneider Zeller Marienburger Auslese Eiswein 90 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
As a friend notes, old riesling always comes off a bit cidery to him, and I think this is a bottle that exemplifies that. There is indeed a sappy, brown-fruited acidity here, as well as a prominent tone of sweetness and a little bit of a maple spice as well.
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1946 Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Convento Selección 95 Points
Spain, Andalucía, Montilla-Moriles
Motor-oil dark and thick. Opulent, luxurious, and viscous beyond belief. An intense chocolate and carob flavour on the nose and palate, with a lifted herbal element that gives this a freshness that is especially surprising given just how syrupy this wine is in texture. Never for a second does this feel cloying, though it is so rich that a little goes a very, very long way.
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