I love what Keller's doing with these aromatic varieties. I've loved the Scheurebe in the past, and this is the first time I've seen the Muskateller (Vom Boden's notes indicate it's "the first real harvest from these vines".) There's a hit of sulfur and reduction on the nose at first although that blows off fairly quickly (perhaps next time I'll give it some air, maybe even a quick splash decant), but very classic Muskateller aromatics here beneath. Super floral and perfumed, with more high-toned sage and other herbal elements amidst the sweet floral scents. The palate is delightful - so light on its feet and bone dry with a core of tart citrus and pear fruit that's conveyed with remarkable clarity and freshness, and a chalky mineral undercurrent. One of those wines where I could easily sit and explore a glass for an hour, or just chug it down on a warm summer day for the brightness and sense of joie de vivre. This is tremendous.
This has always been one of my favorite wines from Trimbach. I find myself liking Hune and the regular CFE a lot, but the older CFE VTs really may be my sweet spot for this producer. This comes across slightly past peak, but it's still outstanding. A mature, honied quality to the fruit here, and so much savoury and smoky depth around it. One of those wines where there's really no point cataloguing individual flavours, as the whole package is so much more than the sum of the parts. The texture is striking; rich and full bodied, almost glossy, without the cut and raciness of an Auslese or any of the Trimbach dry wines, but it works perfectly here. The flavours fall away a bit on the back end, but the whole package is compelling and a lovely wine to keep revisiting over dinner. Thanks Seth.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru
I had an outstanding bottle of this nearly a year ago, and another very good showing a few months earlier. But this was rather disappointing. A high-toned, slightly varnishy aspect to the nose initially, but that clears and blows away with a little time in the glass. There's pretty red fruit beneath with floral tinges and more savoury earthiness that keeps emerging with more air, but it doesn't show the scale and depth that I usually expect from Jouan's Sorbé (and it's certainly outclassed by the '12, which showed that depth in spades). It feels a bit lean on the palate, and while there's plenty of structure apparent - bright acids and still a fair bit of fine grained tannin - I'm not sure it has the fruit to really match it over time.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru
Everything I want from a bottle of Jouan's Sorbé; red fruits and florals and more savoury herbal and earthy elements all coming into a seamless whole. So fragrant; so polished and silken on the palate, just a wonderful wine. I'm glad I have a few of this. I found this a lot more enjoyable than a bottle of the '12 Jouan Clos St. Denis a few weeks ago which came across relatively oaky by comparison.
Only the second time I've had one of Despesse's wines, but clearly I need to have more. This is terrific; even though it's very youthful it's full of such depth - lots of deep red fruit here tinged with savoury smoky, earthy, and lightly saline notes, rich but so elegant with a freshness on the palate that makes it very easy to drink.
I always love what Allemand pulls off in cooler vintages, and this is no exception. Intensely floral and spicy aromatics lead into a palate that's just gorgeous - the fruit's more restrained and dialed back than usual, but it's still conveyed with that freshness and clarity I always expect from Allemand. It turns more savoury and meaty on the back end, and it's a terrific match with Noreetuh's roast duck and duck fat rice.
After some outstanding bottles lately, I've been coming around to the view that Barge is one of the very top tier producers in the Northern Rhône and I should be cellaring a lot more of their wines. This is just more evidence for that. This is just superb. Archetypical Côte-Rôtie, so floral and olive-y with a core of red fruit beneath on an elegant, medium weight frame. It seems as if it's just starting to enter a nice window of maturity - the fruit's still very fresh and youthful with plenty of structure beneath, but augmented by so much savoury depth right now. Great wine.
Been over a decade since I had this and it still rocks. There's something about Allemand in slightly cooler/leaner vintages I absolutely love (his 04s were what really hooked me on his wines), and it's the same here. The fruit here is darker in tone than the '21 Chaillot, it's very Reynard and very Cornas in terms of how brooding and how smoky/dark fruited it comes across, but as usual the brooding smoky and savoury notes are conveyed with such finesse and lightness of touch. Fantastic showing.
Briefly tasted this as part of a horizontal lineup of the '15 Prüm WS bottlings. This seemed rather one-note, muted, with the fruit coming across a little simple. If there's any producer where I'll give a benefit of the doubt that the wine wasn't in a great place at the time and likely just needs more time, it's this one. I've got a few in the cellar and am no less excited to open them in ~10-15 years, even with relatively mute showing.
Tasted this as part of a horizontal lineup of the '15 Prüm WS bottlings. A much better showing than the Kabinett, I think the extra ripeness and richness helps here - it's still very primary and youthful, all orchard fruits and flowers with a light mineral aspect on the back end, and bright acids beneath. But yeah, this needs and I am not touching my bottles for several more years (at the very least).
Tasted this as part of a horizontal lineup of the '15 Prüm WS bottlings. From half-bottle (didn't catch the AP number), and I think this was opened (perhaps decanted?) a day in advance. This is incredibly primary, so raw and youthful and bursting with primary Mosel fruit and Auslese honeyed/floral sweetness - but it is also spectacularly good right now. Electricity beneath the fruit here. Every sip crackles, there's such energy here, and a sense of refreshment even with the ample sweetness and richness. This wine needs a lot of time, but it's going be worth the likely very long wait.
Liked this (more with time, the first impressions were disappointing), but also found this really disappointing for the pradikat and I wonder if this is a provenance issue. Both LGKAs seemed underwhelming and off, one had an Acker sticker, the other was from DeeVine, and I haven't had the best experiences with older Riesling from either. Heavy botrytis honey and spice frames the orchard fruit here, but the fruit doesn't have the freshness and energy that I've found in other '97s (one of my favorite Prüm vintages, where I find the Spätlese and Auslese drinking remarkably well now), and it lacks the aromatic depth and complexity of the regular '97 WS Auslese.
Flabby and extremely sweet (which seems about right for the vintage, especially at higher prädikats), but also feels rather hollow on the back end without the depth and complexity I'd expect from older Prüm, and with a slightly cooked aspect to the fruit that made me think this was heat damaged. Both LGKAs seemed underwhelming and off, one had an Acker sticker, the other was from DeeVine, and I haven't had the best experiences with older Riesling from either.
2023 Weingut Keller Muskateller trocken 93 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
I love what Keller's doing with these aromatic varieties. I've loved the Scheurebe in the past, and this is the first time I've seen the Muskateller (Vom Boden's notes indicate it's "the first real harvest from these vines".) There's a hit of sulfur and reduction on the nose at first although that blows off fairly quickly (perhaps next time I'll give it some air, maybe even a quick splash decant), but very classic Muskateller aromatics here beneath. Super floral and perfumed, with more high-toned sage and other herbal elements amidst the sweet floral scents. The palate is delightful - so light on its feet and bone dry with a core of tart citrus and pear fruit that's conveyed with remarkable clarity and freshness, and a chalky mineral undercurrent. One of those wines where I could easily sit and explore a glass for an hour, or just chug it down on a warm summer day for the brightness and sense of joie de vivre. This is tremendous.
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1989 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile Vendanges Tardives 95 Points
France, Alsace
This has always been one of my favorite wines from Trimbach. I find myself liking Hune and the regular CFE a lot, but the older CFE VTs really may be my sweet spot for this producer. This comes across slightly past peak, but it's still outstanding. A mature, honied quality to the fruit here, and so much savoury and smoky depth around it. One of those wines where there's really no point cataloguing individual flavours, as the whole package is so much more than the sum of the parts. The texture is striking; rich and full bodied, almost glossy, without the cut and raciness of an Auslese or any of the Trimbach dry wines, but it works perfectly here. The flavours fall away a bit on the back end, but the whole package is compelling and a lovely wine to keep revisiting over dinner. Thanks Seth.
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2013 Henri Jouan Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos Sorbé 89 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru
I had an outstanding bottle of this nearly a year ago, and another very good showing a few months earlier. But this was rather disappointing. A high-toned, slightly varnishy aspect to the nose initially, but that clears and blows away with a little time in the glass. There's pretty red fruit beneath with floral tinges and more savoury earthiness that keeps emerging with more air, but it doesn't show the scale and depth that I usually expect from Jouan's Sorbé (and it's certainly outclassed by the '12, which showed that depth in spades). It feels a bit lean on the palate, and while there's plenty of structure apparent - bright acids and still a fair bit of fine grained tannin - I'm not sure it has the fruit to really match it over time.
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2012 Henri Jouan Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos Sorbé 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru
Everything I want from a bottle of Jouan's Sorbé; red fruits and florals and more savoury herbal and earthy elements all coming into a seamless whole. So fragrant; so polished and silken on the palate, just a wonderful wine. I'm glad I have a few of this. I found this a lot more enjoyable than a bottle of the '12 Jouan Clos St. Denis a few weeks ago which came across relatively oaky by comparison.
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2022 Jerome Despesse Cornas 94 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Only the second time I've had one of Despesse's wines, but clearly I need to have more. This is terrific; even though it's very youthful it's full of such depth - lots of deep red fruit here tinged with savoury smoky, earthy, and lightly saline notes, rich but so elegant with a freshness on the palate that makes it very easy to drink.
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2021 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot 94 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
I always love what Allemand pulls off in cooler vintages, and this is no exception. Intensely floral and spicy aromatics lead into a palate that's just gorgeous - the fruit's more restrained and dialed back than usual, but it's still conveyed with that freshness and clarity I always expect from Allemand. It turns more savoury and meaty on the back end, and it's a terrific match with Noreetuh's roast duck and duck fat rice.
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2010 Domaine Barge Côte-Rôtie Le Combard 95 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
After some outstanding bottles lately, I've been coming around to the view that Barge is one of the very top tier producers in the Northern Rhône and I should be cellaring a lot more of their wines. This is just more evidence for that. This is just superb. Archetypical Côte-Rôtie, so floral and olive-y with a core of red fruit beneath on an elegant, medium weight frame. It seems as if it's just starting to enter a nice window of maturity - the fruit's still very fresh and youthful with plenty of structure beneath, but augmented by so much savoury depth right now. Great wine.
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2008 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard 95 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Been over a decade since I had this and it still rocks. There's something about Allemand in slightly cooler/leaner vintages I absolutely love (his 04s were what really hooked me on his wines), and it's the same here. The fruit here is darker in tone than the '21 Chaillot, it's very Reynard and very Cornas in terms of how brooding and how smoky/dark fruited it comes across, but as usual the brooding smoky and savoury notes are conveyed with such finesse and lightness of touch. Fantastic showing.
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2015 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Briefly tasted this as part of a horizontal lineup of the '15 Prüm WS bottlings. This seemed rather one-note, muted, with the fruit coming across a little simple. If there's any producer where I'll give a benefit of the doubt that the wine wasn't in a great place at the time and likely just needs more time, it's this one. I've got a few in the cellar and am no less excited to open them in ~10-15 years, even with relatively mute showing.
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2015 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 92 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Tasted this as part of a horizontal lineup of the '15 Prüm WS bottlings. A much better showing than the Kabinett, I think the extra ripeness and richness helps here - it's still very primary and youthful, all orchard fruits and flowers with a light mineral aspect on the back end, and bright acids beneath. But yeah, this needs and I am not touching my bottles for several more years (at the very least).
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2015 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 95 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Tasted this as part of a horizontal lineup of the '15 Prüm WS bottlings. From half-bottle (didn't catch the AP number), and I think this was opened (perhaps decanted?) a day in advance. This is incredibly primary, so raw and youthful and bursting with primary Mosel fruit and Auslese honeyed/floral sweetness - but it is also spectacularly good right now. Electricity beneath the fruit here. Every sip crackles, there's such energy here, and a sense of refreshment even with the ample sweetness and richness. This wine needs a lot of time, but it's going be worth the likely very long wait.
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1997 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Lange Goldkapsel Auction
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Liked this (more with time, the first impressions were disappointing), but also found this really disappointing for the pradikat and I wonder if this is a provenance issue. Both LGKAs seemed underwhelming and off, one had an Acker sticker, the other was from DeeVine, and I haven't had the best experiences with older Riesling from either. Heavy botrytis honey and spice frames the orchard fruit here, but the fruit doesn't have the freshness and energy that I've found in other '97s (one of my favorite Prüm vintages, where I find the Spätlese and Auslese drinking remarkably well now), and it lacks the aromatic depth and complexity of the regular '97 WS Auslese.
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1999 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Lange Goldkapsel Auction
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Flabby and extremely sweet (which seems about right for the vintage, especially at higher prädikats), but also feels rather hollow on the back end without the depth and complexity I'd expect from older Prüm, and with a slightly cooked aspect to the fruit that made me think this was heat damaged. Both LGKAs seemed underwhelming and off, one had an Acker sticker, the other was from DeeVine, and I haven't had the best experiences with older Riesling from either.
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