The nose is fresh and aromatic with balanced tones of pears, green apples, white fruits, lemon peels, mineral tones, and saline. The Medium bodied feel is balanced with tart, high acidity. This is nice and balanced across the nose and palate with good length to the finish. That said, it does lack some depth compared to better Rieslings within Hirsch's own portfolio.
This is picture perfect Gruner as it opens up beautifully in the glass with tones of nectarines, pears, apples, quince, white pepper, jasmine, peach, mineral notes, and some flowers. There is very good depth and style here that really draws you into the glass. The Medium/full bodied feel is well balanced and poised with tart, high acidity and good length on the finish. I always love Alzinger and this is yet another bottle that proves that love. I would really like to try one of these with age on it just to know where it goes. Still, these are some of the best from Austria and I've yet to have a bottle that disproves said feeling.
The nose here is more pristine while still showing classic Gruner tones of crushed rocks, pears, apples, snow peas, peach, orange peels, white pepper, acacia flowers, licorice, and some spice notes. There is very good complexity here and good depth, but the tones do sit more on the surface. The Medium/full bodied feel is balanced and poised with racy, high acidity. This is a lovely and balanced Gruner that does need some age. I can see some improvement with a few years of aging, but this isn't one for super long-term holding.
The nose is refined and fresh with a good amount of lemon peels, nectarines, green apples, white peaches, saline, and white flowers. This has really nice depth and balance with a spring-like nature to the tones. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and with a bit of weight along with racy, high acidity. This is a lovely Riesling with a little bit of age to it. It shows off more of a pristine style from the Wachau than showing off some of the botrytis effects the region can give.
This is fully mature on the nose and shows off a real savory side. The fruit is autumnal and is fading a bit with dried cherries, raspberries, berries, and sour red cherries along with roasted herbs, violets, licorice, rose hips, earth, leather, and spice notes. The Full bodied feel is balanced but the high acidity is a bit drying and the high tannins are a little harsh. This feels like a Barolo that is on the downslope and has been going that way for a couple of years. I'm glad to have tried it, but I'm also glad I don't own any.
The nose is deep and intense, filling the glass with loads of gooseberries, lemon peels, crushed rocks, saline, white fruits, peaches, flowers, papaya, and nectarines. This is a nose that ramps every bit of Sancerre up like 3 notches. There's so much going on and it's like an electric light show. The Medium bodied feel is well balanced and fresh with racy, high acidity. The acidity also shows off the electricity of the nose while the feel shows off all sorts of class and poise. This is such a great vineyard and producer. When those two things meet, you can get something pretty friggin killer and that's exactly what's going on here. This likely could benefit from a few years to calm down a little bit, but holy hell is it something right now.
The nose shows a more forward and upfront quality to it with buttered toast, pears, red apples, quince, biscuits, yellow flowers, brioche, and some custard. The nose is nice and balanced, but it lacks depth and tension. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and fresh with tart, high acidity. This is a fun Les Chetillons, but it's a clear notch below Pierre Peters (which for better, for worse it will always be compared to).
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Can it possibly be? Yet another 14 Boillot that isn't pox'd?! Well yes, yes it true and this is absolutely gorgeous with loads of vanilla beans, pears, red apples, meyer lemons, custard, toast, orange peels, oak, and yellow flowers. There is excellent depth and balance here with a seamlessness to the nose. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and poised with tart, medium+ acidity. This is a beautifully showing Boillot. There is always some trepidation when even a barely older bottle gets opened given the premox problems of this house, but when they hit, they hit!
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
The nose is wide open and filled with verve as it shows off deep tones of flint, crushed rocks, apples, meyer lemons, pears, quince, and some toasty notes. The Medium/full bodied feel is balanced and textured with tart, medium+ acidity. This is clearly youthful and it's also pretty gorgeous. There is so much depth and elegance across the nose and palate that makes you want to drink it right now.
The nose is wide open and perfumed with loads of saline, peaches, pears, green apples, crushed rocks, flint, yuzu, jasmine notes, white flowers, and some stone fruits. There is good depth and balance here with a bit of extra heft to the nose. The Full bodied feel is well balanced and plush with mouthwatering, high acidity. This could likely use a few more years to sort itself out. There is a ton to like here right now as it shows off rich fruits with just the right amount of tension on the nose and palate to give it some drive.
2021 Weingut Hirsch Riesling Zöbing 89 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal
The nose is fresh and aromatic with balanced tones of pears, green apples, white fruits, lemon peels, mineral tones, and saline. The Medium bodied feel is balanced with tart, high acidity. This is nice and balanced across the nose and palate with good length to the finish. That said, it does lack some depth compared to better Rieslings within Hirsch's own portfolio.
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2022 Alzinger Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Dürnsteiner 91 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
This is picture perfect Gruner as it opens up beautifully in the glass with tones of nectarines, pears, apples, quince, white pepper, jasmine, peach, mineral notes, and some flowers. There is very good depth and style here that really draws you into the glass. The Medium/full bodied feel is well balanced and poised with tart, high acidity and good length on the finish. I always love Alzinger and this is yet another bottle that proves that love. I would really like to try one of these with age on it just to know where it goes. Still, these are some of the best from Austria and I've yet to have a bottle that disproves said feeling.
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2021 Nikolaihof Grüner Veltliner Federspiel 90 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
The nose here is more pristine while still showing classic Gruner tones of crushed rocks, pears, apples, snow peas, peach, orange peels, white pepper, acacia flowers, licorice, and some spice notes. There is very good complexity here and good depth, but the tones do sit more on the surface. The Medium/full bodied feel is balanced and poised with racy, high acidity. This is a lovely and balanced Gruner that does need some age. I can see some improvement with a few years of aging, but this isn't one for super long-term holding.
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2017 Nikolaihof Riesling Smaragd Vom Stein 91 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
The nose is refined and fresh with a good amount of lemon peels, nectarines, green apples, white peaches, saline, and white flowers. This has really nice depth and balance with a spring-like nature to the tones. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and with a bit of weight along with racy, high acidity. This is a lovely Riesling with a little bit of age to it. It shows off more of a pristine style from the Wachau than showing off some of the botrytis effects the region can give.
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1995 Giacomo Fenocchio Barolo Bussia 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
This is fully mature on the nose and shows off a real savory side. The fruit is autumnal and is fading a bit with dried cherries, raspberries, berries, and sour red cherries along with roasted herbs, violets, licorice, rose hips, earth, leather, and spice notes. The Full bodied feel is balanced but the high acidity is a bit drying and the high tannins are a little harsh. This feels like a Barolo that is on the downslope and has been going that way for a couple of years. I'm glad to have tried it, but I'm also glad I don't own any.
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2021 Gérard Boulay Sancerre Monts Damnés 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
The nose is deep and intense, filling the glass with loads of gooseberries, lemon peels, crushed rocks, saline, white fruits, peaches, flowers, papaya, and nectarines. This is a nose that ramps every bit of Sancerre up like 3 notches. There's so much going on and it's like an electric light show. The Medium bodied feel is well balanced and fresh with racy, high acidity. The acidity also shows off the electricity of the nose while the feel shows off all sorts of class and poise. This is such a great vineyard and producer. When those two things meet, you can get something pretty friggin killer and that's exactly what's going on here. This likely could benefit from a few years to calm down a little bit, but holy hell is it something right now.
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2015 Robert Moncuit Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Les Chetillons 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
The nose shows a more forward and upfront quality to it with buttered toast, pears, red apples, quince, biscuits, yellow flowers, brioche, and some custard. The nose is nice and balanced, but it lacks depth and tension. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and fresh with tart, high acidity. This is a fun Les Chetillons, but it's a clear notch below Pierre Peters (which for better, for worse it will always be compared to).
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2014 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Can it possibly be? Yet another 14 Boillot that isn't pox'd?! Well yes, yes it true and this is absolutely gorgeous with loads of vanilla beans, pears, red apples, meyer lemons, custard, toast, orange peels, oak, and yellow flowers. There is excellent depth and balance here with a seamlessness to the nose. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and poised with tart, medium+ acidity. This is a beautifully showing Boillot. There is always some trepidation when even a barely older bottle gets opened given the premox problems of this house, but when they hit, they hit!
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2019 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
The nose is wide open and filled with verve as it shows off deep tones of flint, crushed rocks, apples, meyer lemons, pears, quince, and some toasty notes. The Medium/full bodied feel is balanced and textured with tart, medium+ acidity. This is clearly youthful and it's also pretty gorgeous. There is so much depth and elegance across the nose and palate that makes you want to drink it right now.
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2020 F.X. Pichler Riesling Ried Loibenberg 93 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
The nose is wide open and perfumed with loads of saline, peaches, pears, green apples, crushed rocks, flint, yuzu, jasmine notes, white flowers, and some stone fruits. There is good depth and balance here with a bit of extra heft to the nose. The Full bodied feel is well balanced and plush with mouthwatering, high acidity. This could likely use a few more years to sort itself out. There is a ton to like here right now as it shows off rich fruits with just the right amount of tension on the nose and palate to give it some drive.
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