4/10/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Pleasant smell and taste; still young. good balance between acidity and mouthfeel.
Went well with dinner.

4/9/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Ein angenehmer, säure- und gerbstoffbetonter Landwein. Gut zu trinken. Hat sich gut gehalten.

4/8/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

18Karat Altgoldene färbe, Rundes, gefälliges bouquet, weich mit einem Hauch von Säure/firne.
Auf dem Gaumen gereift, vollmundig, rund, Abgang mit einem Hauch von Säure; v
Insgesamt hat er sich sehr gut gehalten..Passt gut zum weissen Spargel mit frischen Kartoffeln.

4/4/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

The wine tasted was a Gran Reserva: Dark red color, typical rioja smell of black fruit, a bit of barnyard and sweaty socks. Quite round and harmonious.
On the palate smooth with tannins well subdued and in the background. Quite round and mellow.
Surprisingly good. Can't remember where I bought it, unfortunately....

4/1/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

A dramatically changed, and improved, wine from the one tasted in January 2022 with Anne Stoltenberg.
Now reminiscent of an well matured "Fasswein" of the Markgraeflerland: Enough acidity to keep the wine interesting and adding to a medium long finish. Mineral, and a bit reticent; none of the exuberance of a young Riesling. Very good mouthfeel and went very well with the shark cotelettes we ate alongside.

3/31/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

18 ct. golden color; reticent bouquet and taste: A whiff of white pepper and nuts, also a bit sweet on the nose, probably from extract; on the palate quite round, pebbles in the mouth; not overly long, but on the whole: Good mouthfeel.
Went well with the scampis we had for appetizers in our extended Easter lunch/ dinner.

3/24/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted at restaurant "Back" in Marbella alongside their tasting menu.
Color almost as black as Egypt's Night. surprisingly smooth and suave. Good mouthfeel without lots of complexity.
I would have expected this wine, made of the Petit Verdot grape, to be more ro be more tannic and rustic.

3/24/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted at restaurant Back in Marbella: Surprisingly pleasing, with good minerality and balance. Went well with the first part of the tasting menu we had and
None of the "funny", for me unpleasant by-taste I have come to associate with this grape variety.
Will be more open to buying Godello wines in the future.

3/12/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Really good wine, fine body and everything in perfect balance. More full-bodied than the Silvaner of the same year we had afterwards , and a bit less refined.
A pleasure to drink, nonetheless.

3/12/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

This is a really fine wine; probably the best Silvaner I had from this producer:
Pale Golden color; filigree and mineral bouquet, a bit of cowslip, perfect interplay between acidity and minerality.
Svelte body but steely backbone. On the palate exquisite and refined . A great mouthful of wine!
Really good!

3/11/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

well developed, quite smooth and round. Pleasant to drink but lacking complexity.

3/11/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted with my sisters and Juergen at the "inauguration" of our new apartment in Zurich:
Dark color, full body and good mouthfeel; substantiated well balanced.l with long aftertaste. Drinking well. Juergen liked it a lot.

2/20/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted at Daniele's 80th birthday dinner party.
Golden yellow color; wine was a touch too sweet to go with the Ravioli and squid appetizers served alongside

2/20/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted at Daniele de Lucca's dinner party for his 80th birthday. Bottles were gifted by his friend Nicki..
Dark color, surprisingly soft and suave, no alcoholic heat like many of the Amarones recently tasted. Went well with the ribeye steak served alongside.

2/14/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted with the Cahill's in restaurant Opal DC as part of our goodbye dinner:
This wine was quite attractive even though it was served in the wrong glass: Some almond and Turkish delight, apricot. quite intensive. On the palate it had good acidity/sugar balance; finished slightly bitter.
A good finish to a nice dinner with good friends!

2/14/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Bottle from Jim Cahill; tasted as part of our good-bye dinner at restaurant Opal DC.
Very dark color, barely any fading or bricking
Quite tannic and a bit short to start. Some lovage on the nose. As it opened up a bit I found it to be better than the Ornellaia tasted alongside; might have profited from more exposure to air. Overall there still was too much New World winemaking/ trying to please Robert Parker at play; a common fad from the nineties until mid twenty teens of this century.

2/14/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted with Cahill's during our good-bye dinner. bottle came from Jim Cahill...
This one was glorious, dark golden color, smoothly creamy with brioche on the nose. Wonderfully settled and complex.
A delight. The WOTN for me.
It showed how older champagnes can develop into absolute marvels; a pity that most are gulped down way too young.

2/13/2024 - Bandreas Does not like this wine:

Gift from Marco Brunello; opened for the tasting with Cahill's in the restaurant Opal DC...
Dark garnet nose, dense in the center.
On the nose some black fruit and a touch of camphor and sweet carob.
On the palate it is short and raspy with all the tannins.
I hope it opens up and develops for the tasting in 1 1/2 hours....Will report on it later.
Unfortunately id did not really open up and blossom but remained woody and dull. For my taste too much modern/New World winemaking at play and
I am afraid that Tim Heaton was right in his tasting note of 02/02/24.
Overall I am finding that - for me - the "Super Tuscans" , apart from early Tignanello, very rarely deliver on the promises made in their marketing hype.
For me, another case of "emperor's new clothes"
Sorry, Gospodin Rote Kapelle!

2/5/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at restaurant La Rioja, Denver:
Dark red color, not much bouquet ; on the palate rather uniform; not complex but pleasing.. Finishes completely dry with a note of dusty tannins but is not tannic. Robust, but not coarse...
This is the way I remember most Portuguese red wines to be like.
Went well with the food

2/1/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted at the Grove restaurant in Auckland; the wine was the last one of the wine accompaniment to the 8-course tasting menu.
Another first: Never had a Ratafia, nor one from the champagne region.
The wine was fortified with Marc de Champagne. It had a pinkish/ mahogany hue in the glass. Came across as a bit "clumsy", unbalanced and alcoholic.
May improve and tone down with increasing age, but I am not sure and neither am I about wanting to repeat the experiment of drinking a Ratafia.

2/1/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted at the Grove restaurant in Auckland. The wine was part of the wine accompaniment to the 8-course tasting menu. Am not sure about the vintage I tasted...
Never had an ice wine from the Malbec grape nor from South America.
Interesting experience: Dark and extracted color; quite substantial body feel, still a good bit of tannin The latter balances the sweetness, no acidity perceptible.
At the end though i am not sure that the experiment is worth the trouble.

2/1/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the Grove restaurant in Auckland; wine was part of the wine accompaniment to the 8 course Tasting menu.
A nic surprise in many ways: After being less than enthused with Waiheke wines when tasting at Batch vineyard; this came along as surprisingly balanced, well developed and showing no "heat " in spite of its 14.5% alcohol.
The wine went very well with the dry aged beef mignon served alongside with it.
The only NZ Cabernet Sauvignon I ever tasted and it did not disappoint.

2/1/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the Grove Restaurant in Auckland as part of the wine accompaniment to the 8-course tasting menu.
Restrained nose, with lots of acidity but also a soft underpinning . A little less "sweaty socks" than what I am used to with Tondonia. Nicely complex.
The wine went superbly well with the lamb chop served along with it.

1/31/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the Grove restaurant in Auckland as part of the wine accompaniment to the 8 course tasting menu.
Served in a Riedel PN glass which brought out a very attractive bouquet of black fruit and also some violets. Quite a dark color. Round,quite intense and long on the palate where it finishes quite earthy with good tannin grip.(which seems to come more from the fruit than the oak) Went very well with the duck served alongside.

1/31/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted at the Grove restaurant in Auckland.
This was a bit austere and still quite neutral but I assume that it has potential for the future.

1/31/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the Grove restaurant in Auckland as part of the wine accompaniment to the 8 course tasting menu.
This wine is actually a blend of 50% Viognier, 40% Marsanne and 10% Rousanne.
This wine had unmistakable Rhone character: while completely dry it did not show any acidity but some lanolin character on the palate, with a long finish. Despite its 14% alcohol volume it showed no heat. Went very well with the crayfish alongside which it was served. Well done.

1/31/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the Grove restaurant in Auckland as part of the tasting menu.
Tropical fruit on the nose: pineapple especially. Juicy and good fruit; relatively voluminous mouthfeel. Excellent acid/fruit balance and went very well with the zucchini in butter emulsion with a topping of caviar. Quite good and a very positive surprise... One of the best dry New Zealand Rieslings tasted.

1/30/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted by the glass at the Onslow Restaurant in Auckland. Had it with slow cooked lamb shoulder.
Did not really go well with the lamb but that is my fault, not the wine's.
Wine was correct; do no remember very much of it.

1/30/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted at the winery: This wine has much New World Feel: Tropical fruit, bit of citrus, buttery notes. Much less mineral than for instance the Kumeu River Chardonnay.
No bad but but for me lacking tension and energy. Did not excite me.

1/23/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at Betsey Jane's in Fox Glacier.
surprisingly well developed and ready to drink 14 ct. Golden color; good balance, minerality and weight on the palate. Fairly long in the mouth
A real discovery for us. So far the best Pinot Gris we had from New Zealand.

1/23/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at a most unlikely place in Fox Glacier: Betsey Jane's. While the town offers nothing, not even a half decent look on Fox Glacier, the restaurant is surprisingly good and has a small but good wine list.
Anyway: This wine was much more developed than its young age would suggest: 18 ct. golden color, good mouth-feel and weight. Tangy with good sweetness/acidity balance; a touch of bittersweet orange marmalade. Perfect for sipping.

1/21/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the Redcliff restaurant in Te Anau. this was a very positive surprise: Not only they served it in a good glass with a small rim but also the wine itself was delicious. Sweet with a firm acidic backbone; delicate and fragrant with a wonderful mouthfeel.
It tasted more like a Sauternes than a late harvest German Riesling but the overall result was great: long in the mouth with great balance and finesse: A delight!

1/20/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted at the Winery; it was delicate, pleasant and a whole bunch better than the typical insipid Pinot Grigio from Italy...
Some pear detectable on the palate; the sur-lie style did not very much show up.
Interesting enough to have as a pre-prandial...

1/20/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted at the winery:The manager at the tasting room brought this one out when he noticed our interest and maybe a bit more than general knowledge... Delicate, translucent reddish brown color; the wine is delicate, maybe a bit past its best. Smoky undertone both on the nose and the palate. Mmmh?

1/20/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted at the winery.
Relatively delicate and pale color. Same (delicate) impression on the palate. On the nose and the palate there is a "smoky"-like undertone. Not sure whether I find this to be an attractive feature...Apparently it is the "signature" sign of the wine-maker which was also noticed on the 2011 Finla More PN .
Due to the yeasts they are using ? the man in the tasting room could not answer those questions...

1/20/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Same impressions as the 2019 PN from this producer. The 2018 one maybe a little less pleasant to taste.

1/20/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Dark color, certainly more meat on the bone than the PN's tasted at the previous winery (Chard Farm) but also considerably less delicate and nuanced. Some black cherries on the palate otherwise unremarkable. but the bigger body went well with the cheese plate we ate along with it.

1/14/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

This was a non-blended wine thrown in for the tasting by the cellar staff: It has a paler color than the Grand: racy acidity on the nose which - however - disappears on the palate.
A bit mor monochromatic than the former one.
Interesting to taste, though for the contrast and to experience what the blending does to the wine...

1/14/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the winery; wines of 20+ years of age on average but, obviously some older wines blended in for richness and structure.
Extremely rich, complex and long; very harmonious.
Bought a bottle

1/14/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the Winery. Barrel age 15 years average.
Dark Mahogany , intense smell, immensely viscous; very rich on the palate quite rich.

1/14/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

Tasted at the winery in Rutherglen . Friendly welcome.
The wine is 8-10years old.
Racy acuity on the nose; rich on the palate but a tad short.

1/14/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

toffee and caramel on the nose; immensely sweet on the palate. a bit of balancing acidity left but may be a little short.. Much sweeter and rounder than the Grand Muscat from the same producer.
Bought a bottle

1/14/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

a wonderful, clearly delineated bouquet; very intense and refined.The taste was a bit drowned in all the impressions...

1/14/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

attractive nose, dark color. ok wine

1/13/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the winery; was part of two flights: Muscat and Topaque. Tasting was lovingly prepared by the staff of the winery.
Very dark brown; extremely dark center; intense and intensely sweet on the nose. Top quality! Very pure and hedonistic on the palate. At first softer on the palate then comes the "kick".
smooth and long finish. A rare experience. we bought a bottle.

1/13/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the winery: dark brown /mahoganny color with greenish tinge. Great presence on the nose and the palate. More earthy and intense than the Muscat of the same range.

1/13/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the winery in Rutherglen. The tasting was lovingly put together by the staff of the winery.
Bitter orange and caramel on the nose; sweeter than the "Rutherglen" version.
Searing on the palate; very good sensation; better - to my taste - and more presence than the Muscat of the same category.

1/13/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the winery as part of a flight of "Topaques" and Muscats.
Lighter and brownish/orange color; bitter orange on the nose and the palate. Appetizing; leaves the desire for another sip..
Quite sweet and - if anything - a tad short.

1/13/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted at the winery during a lovingly prepared tasting by the staff.
Dark brown, mahogany color, with burnt sugar/caramel on the nose. Intense and long.
Really good.

1/13/2024 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

Tasted during our 3 -day tour through Rutherglen; devoted to re-discover the "stickies" I loved so much 50 years ago....
This one had ad eep and dark brown color with an exquisite and intensely sweet bouquet; on the palate it had great intensity, was searingly long and intense. reminded me of a fruit infused dark chocolate praliné.
A non-plus-ultra! Words are failing me to describe this wine.