8/17/2014 - Collector1855 wrote:

Switzerland as a wine producing county has several problems that make it difficult to find 90+ point wines from there. Most Swiss wine should be regarded as digestiv for Cheese Fondue or to make Ministers drunk quickly during Comptoir apéros, a cheers to the late Mr. Delamuraz... There are 3 reasons for that 1) in many areas the lesser grape varietals are used, Chasselas and Gamay (Chasselas is a table grape not a wine grape) and Gamay, well, I'd rather not comment. 2) most terroir is good to produce potatoes and mais but not wine and 3) unlike Austria the country never uses its quality scandals (eg, Giroud Vins) to weed out the many primitive, subsidized producers that are paid per liter and not quality.
Gantenbein is one of the few exceptions (others are some emerging leaders from the Merlot di Ticino movement). Tasting note: Medium-light red. Expressive nose of floral and red cherry notes with some sweet spices. There is noticeable oak as well. On the palate quite light bodied but with excellent balance and freshness. This goes towards Burgundy 1er Cru qualit. Great to see that they can pull this off from Bündner Herrschaft (=Heidi Land). The 2012 is even better.

7/11/2014 - SLOFred wrote:

Another over rated 2010 BDX. Sadly, I have more of these. Bitter front, empty mid palate. tannic finish. I just see no fruit and no potential.

8/26/2013 - The Drunken Cyclist wrote:

It looks as though I have let these go a bit too long. The fizz is faint and tired and there are the beginnings of oxidation. Still Very Good, but not what it should be. thedrunkencyclist.com

1/23/2013 - tooch wrote:

UGC Chicago (The Drake Hotel - Chicago, IL): I had been tempted to buy other vintages of this at Binny's given the price and its scores. Glad I haven't. Overall, the fruits are dried out with a fair bit of menthol on the nose. Palate was dark and dense - blackberries, smokey earth, and sour cherries. Not my style.