3/18/2024 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Still big ruby garnet color. Big, rich, sappy, chewy/salty cherry liqueur & aged soft leather. Mostly resolved, rich tannins.

3/18/2024 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

(94+ Points) Deep ruby garnet. Minty red cherry. Rich, tight, very intense, with a great salty/sappy ripe, gripping intensity. WOTN (for me)

3/18/2024 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

(92+ Points) Lightest color. Dried roses, blackberry, cherry sauce & sumac tea. Med intensity.

3/18/2024 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Med garnet w/some ruby. Rich soy/umami, cherry sauce, beef blood, pencil lead. Good ripeness; med intensity. Mostly resolved tannins.

3/18/2024 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

(92+ Points) Med garnet ruby. Morello cherry, iron tinged raspberry/sumac tea, soft new leather.

3/18/2024 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

(93+ Points) Deep ruby garnet. Cool pencil lead with wild red, purple & black berry fruit. Tight, slightly grippy wild bramble, wineberry, sumac & iron. Tighter than '00. Excellent intensity. Tannins big, ripe & with strong grip still.

3/18/2024 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

(94+ Points) Deep purple garnet. Powerful red & wild berry fruit, still with some sappy freshness. Iron tinged rare beef, musky blueberry, raspberry & red cherry/berry coulis. The only wine still with some primary fruit.
Very close 2nd WOTN (to me)

3/17/2024 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

(91+ Points) Grapefruit, lime oil, Granny Smith, flint, red, Morello & Ranier cherry. Firm, airy, slatey powdered minerals. Sappy, salty & tangy. Drinks just off dry. This is one gorgeous guzzler. Will be a great Summer, anytime wine. #OneKourtStudio

1/28/2024 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

(92+ Points) PnP. BIG, balanced, fresh red & wild fruit, grippy, rich, fat, juicy & long on opening. Fresh, creamy, ultra juicy/sappy red & black cherry, cassis, licorice, blueberry & wild forest berries explode on the nose after a few minutes. Hint of smoky BBQ sauce. Chalky, ripe tannins; feels like a fairly nice chunk of Mouvedre. Good acidity, med+ intensity. Solid+ big boy Rhone. This is after 1/2 hour air; may get point upgrade. Great QPR.

1/19/2024 - Rob Hansult wrote:

Aromatic lime & lavender oil, citrus pith & zest, tart apricot, nectarine, grapefruit. Firm crushed rock minerality underpins the tight, expressive fruit & spice. Liquid steel & unsweetened whipped cream. Hint of pretty, subtle skin tannins. Excellent acidity. Drinks quite dry. Great intensity length & personality. More serious than the '20, but not as ready, obviously. Needs 4+ hours air at this stage. Long gorgeous future. Insane QPR @$25

1/19/2024 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Wow. Spice & fire! Intense ginger & lavender, lime zest & oil, nectarine, nectarine skin, rose petal, white flowers, greengage, lanolin, quinine & quince. Absolutely stuffed with powerful Kalk & oystershell minerality. Hugely pungent & elegantly, racily earthy. Great ripe lip-smacking acidity. Very stony crushed rock. Big intensity, length & complexity. Wow territory indeed, & this is just so, so young & so promising. This was after only 3 hours air.

9/16/2023 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Fleshy, thick, rich, fat & dense. Mineral laden, with ripe, rich & tart nectarine, apricot, peach, starfruit & kiwi, smoky lavender & drenched in lemon oil. Medium bodied & flavor packed. Excellent balance & acidity.
A beauty.

9/10/2023 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Grapefruit oil, pink grapefruit, lavender, apricot & tart apricot, smoky crushed rock minerals, red cherry & cherry stone, unsweetened whipped cream, violet & grape blossom.
Great freshness. Pungent, creamy & sappy.
Good acidity.
A ravishing beauty already with 2, 3+ hours air (SlowOx)

3/17/2023 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

(94+ Points) Best #MFR 21 Kab at #Massanois tasting (just edging out GH)
Elegantly pungent. Sweaty lime flesh, waxy starfruit, tart apricot, aromatic lavender, kiwi, tart mango & grape blossom. Steely crushed rock/slate minerality. Power, breed & intensity. Big nose. Powerful palate; guessing high dry extract. Great, ripe acidity. Drinks fairly dry. Semi-spectacular, even this young (this was 24hr slow-ox) #YeahBaby!

8/9/2023 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Hugely aromatic, screaming, pungent & leaping out of the glass after 5hr SloOx.
Pink grapefruit/grapefruit, greengage, lanolin, tart apricot, Granny Smith, lavender, lime oil, lilac & magnolia, with a touch of lime zest. Excellent acidity. Drinks like a light Spatlese with cut.
Hard to even put the glass down. Not the structure or intensity of the 21, but a real beauty that's virtually ready to go, with a 5+hr (or more) SlowOx. Constantin & #MaxFerdRichter have raised the bar over the last 10 years or so, & have taken it to another level in the last 1/2 dozen.
I'll drink these waiting for the 21's.
Impressively more-ish. 🥂

8/24/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Big, hugely pungent, round, fragrant, flowery, creamy, stacked & packed sweetie. Sweaty, smoked lime, ultraripe yellow peach, apricot, starfruit, mango, sultanas & lemon oil. Uber-ripe Riesling fruit with a strong undertone of honeyed nectar of Botrytis, with smoky, sappy lime oil & lime flesh on the back end. Lush & juicy. Finishes spicy, firm-ish & drier. Medium acidity. Think GoldKap Auslese in GoldKap Spatlese garb; obvious high must weight stuff here, with 9.5%ABV. Impressive & decadent, & drinking well already.

4/25/2023 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Big, white flowers, lanolin, nectarine & tart nectarine, lime & lavender oil, kiwi, egg custard, star fruit, quinine, Anjou pear & nectarine skin. Blossom-y & yellow/green citrus pith-y, citrus rind, citrus oil & unsweetened whipped cream. A complex, elegant, rich & taut, powerful Beauty now, & for years to come. Medium+ acidity. Medium+ intensity, persistence, depth & length. Drinks fairly dry. Needs & got 24 hour #SlowOx The Richter '21's are Killer. #Massanois Happy to have a bunch in the cellar

7/23/2023 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

'18 #SchlossLieser #Juffer Kab (93+ Points) Expecting a big sweetie from an 18, & that's what we have. Beautiful, pungent, smoky sponti. Exotic, creamy, orchard & tropical fruit dipped in lime oil & ginger. Mostly yellow fruit; creamy nectarine, yellow peach, apricot, ripe & green mango, red cherry, licorice, lavender & unsweetened whipped cream. Finishes firmer, with lime oil & zest, crystallized ginger, nectarine skin & lavender spice. Good acidity, balance & intensity. Drinks like a big, ripe, round Spatlese, & who am I to complain! Big, luscious, complex & ready to roll. Cheers! 🥂

5/13/2023 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Very deep ruby w/hints of lavender & purple. Outrageously aromatic. Wild red, black & blue berries. Flower petals & blossoms, with a minor in herbal/flowery.
Spectacular rich, thick, juicy, fresh & sappy crushed berries; mulberry, ultra ripe choke cherry, creamy Blueberry, plum sauce, licorice, blackberry, violet, cherry stone, raspberry, lilac & lavender.
Salty minerality throughout.
Big, fat, rich, ripe, lush tannins are already remarkably integrated.
Spicy, herbal stem inclusion gains power with extended air.
Excellent acidity, intensity, depth & length.
Tasted with 8 hour SlowOx, but so well balanced & integrated, surprisingly ready to roll in little more than an hour. Amazing pleasure is here!

9/4/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Tasted over 2 days. Showing very young, fruity, creamy, poised, spicy. Elegantly earthy & mineralized. Refined. Mildly pungent. White & yellow orchard fruit, nectarine, smoky lemon & lime, unsweetened whipped cream, ginger, mandarin zest & starfruit. Excellent ripe (tartaric) acidity. Quite restrained sweetness. Firm, racy finish with juicy nectarine skin, echoing classy, classic noble Rheingau earthiness. Finishes quite dry, in fact.
I keep upgrading score since opening yesterday. Medium intensity is really all that is keeping this puppy from being a truly great classic.
'13 is not a great (or favorite) vintage, but this is one of the best I've seen.
Impressive, pretty & classic.
Cork was VERY dense; probably partially explains this showing so young (bought off retailers shelf last week); curious to see if the other 5 are same/similar.

7/2/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

A bit of a mixed bag, especially for 1st 6 hours.
On opening taste for 3+ hour slow-ox a bit muddled & muddy, leaning ripe to not quite overripe, showing plush structure, with a medium light touch of stem grip & spice.
After about 6 hours a fresh, sappy, tart & wild fruity, rich, ripe, red fruited vein opened up to join an earthy, muted, (seeming) mixed ripeness levels, stem inclusion.
By the next mid-morning the sappy, fresh red fruit had taken over the entire profile, with just a bit of spice, stem spice/grip, dehydrated raspberries & rose petal.
Medium/med+ acidity. Med intensity.
A whopper of a Chameleon. The point is, this puppy needs mucho air time atm.

5/25/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Big, firm, dry, ripe, broadly spicy/herbal & stuffed with rich, creamy, ripe & tart yellow orchard fruit, especially ultra ripe pear & ripe & tart, creamy nectarine.
Adds lavender oil, steely unsweetened whipped cream, med+ acidity, excellent intensity & an extended finish.
Very nice sipper. & a great food wine.
Wish we'd see more Franken wines 'round these parts.
Insane QPR @$18+ BTW

4/24/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Med ruby
Nose > Red licorice, black & Morello cherry, blackberry, red raspberry, caraway seed, lavender, tomato leaf, menthol & smoked sage. Underlined by nice, slightly grainy, grippy, powdery oak; mostly non-American (or exceedingly well hidden)
Palate > Med/med+ bodied; not a Cali blockbuster by any stretch.
Red & black cherry, black plum, red & black raspberry, bitter chocolate with a touch of (unsweetened) Turkish coffee.
Tannins are med, with some nice grip, & at this stage ever so slightly over power the primary fruit.
Medium intensity. Good balance & acidity.
Nice combo of sappiness with some rich fruit, & slightly shading to the red side.
Nice stuff; solid, but not all that exciting.
(91+)

4/24/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Nose > Quince, smoked lime & lime flesh, creamy white nectarine, tart apricot, licorice, lavender & flint, licorice, tart red & wild cherry, citrus pith & liquid steel.
Powerful, pungent & complex.
Palate > Round, creamy & rich in the front palate ... for a brief moment before it tightens up with structured tart orchard, slightly salty, sappy powdered minerals & citrus fruit.
Tart nectarine, nectarine skin, apricot & tart apricot, kiwi, pink grapefruit, lime oil & pink lemonade.
Adds blackcurrant, tart red & wild forest berries with air time.
Great balance, acidity & intensity.
Great interplay of several ripeness levels (is this tending to more of a block-pick to add layers; more than was usual in the past, anyway ... ?)
give it a multifaceted personality. Love the way it tightens & firms up on the mid to back palate, adding tart orchard, citrus with red & wild berry fruit & minerality, while keeping some of the fore-palate thread of creamy steeliness.
Generating big lime flesh, pink grapefruit & tart apricot in the extended finish & aftertaste.
No crime to drink these puppies now, BUT give lots of air time; next one I pop will be opened in the early AM for PM tasting.
Impressive, but then I cannot remember a Max Ferd Richter wine from 2017 vintage on that was NOT impressive ... & that's eye-opening in itself.
(93+)

4/20/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Pop'n pour ... some (nice) noticeable spritz in the bottom of the glass still.
Nose > Lemon/lime-oil, elegant lavender, white flowers & violet, creamy ripe & tart nectarine & aromatic grape blossom.
Adds key lime, key lime pie & unsweetened whipped cream with a bit of air.
Palate > Big, firm, round.
Liquid steel, lime-oil & lime flesh, tart nectarine, tart apricot, bitter-sweet pink grapefruit & Morello cherry.
Finishes with power, elegance & balance, carrying red & tart cherry, pungent pink grapefruit, lime zest/oil & touch of unsweetened whipped cream.
Wow, is this animated & electric! Sure drinks less sweet than its 90 Oechsle @harvest & 80g/l RS.
Great acidity, balance, length, depth & intensity.
What a great balance for a Spatlesen! Drinks at near to (real) Kabinett balance.
This will age/live a very long time, but is near irresistible even now.
Bravo!
The Richter's are making some absolutely top Riesling these days.
Will revisit to make sure I haven't been too stingy on points with this Pop'n pour look-see.
(94+)

4/18/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Nose > Beautiful crushed red raspberry, red & Morello cherry, with hints of anise, camphor & cherry bark.
Palate > Fruit & spice carries through to mouth, with excellent balance of fruit / tannin / acidity.
Ripe, rich red fruit, & tart red fruit character.
Sappy, luscious, refreshing & more-ish.
Excellent balance & acidity (med/med+).
Finishes with Amerena cherry, Morello cherry & bitter cherry bark.
Excellent complexity.
Its 14.5%ABV completely hidden.
Frankly all that keeps this from getting a decently higher score is the only medium intensity on the palate.
A pretty good QPR for ~$20.

4/13/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

A big (115 Oechsle), layered sweetie (125 g/l).
Nose > Grape blossom, lime flesh/zest, unsweetened whipped cream, red & Morello cherry, tart nectarine & apricot.
Pungent, musky, apricot-y Botrytis (1/3 of the fruit was affected) is both in your face, & in balance; not taking over the personality.
Palate > Lots going on. Tension is between lime/citrus flesh/oil, & ultra-creamy, cool, but ripe & slightly tart orchard fruit.
Semi-electric: Great ripe (tartaric) acidity.
Really reigned in ATM (only got 15 min air ... so far), but bursting with layers of counterbalancing fruit, from tart to ultra-ripe, & add a nice big dollop of musky, apricot-y, perfectly clean, pungent Botrytis.
Will try to give this more air, but ... it's goin' Fast!
Adding size, depth, intensity & nuance by the minute ... blackcurrant & violet on the palate, lilac, cantaloupe & lavender on the nose, with a touch of that cold mountain stream/petrichor character that I rarely associate with anything but ultra dry Wachau Riesling.
Very fresh, animated & gaining electric power by the moment.
Great intensity. Great acidity & balance.
Wow stuff

4/10/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Huge lime flesh nose to start.
Gorgeous tight, rich, fleshy fruit on nose & palate.
Lemon/lime-oil, white nectarine, tart apricot, ugli fruit, kiwi, with red/tart cherry, lavender, lemon pith & violet.
A firm, pungent, expressive fruit bomb ... & this is just with 10 min air.
With more air adds powdered minerals, lemon drop, crushed rock, dragon fruit, pink grapefruit & limestone.
Finish is long, powerful & pungent with stony lime-flesh & pink lemonade.
So young, but already showing so much.
Medium sweetness (75 g/l); excellent balancing acidity.
A big, flavor packed Mosel, especially for only 7.5% ABV.

4/3/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Nose > Ginger, limestone, mineralized red, orchard & tart orchard fruit, strawberry, lavender & green & yellow citrus fruit. Crushed rock & limestone, with slightly toasted bread, creamy lees & unsweetened whipped cream in background.
Big, but elegantly tame, elegant Pinot fruit.
Palate > Mineralized red fruit: red cherry, wineberry, tart orchard fruit, strawberry, hint of licorice, sassafras & lavender.
Clearly bone dry, with good/balanced acidity, but gentle/elegant balance; not severe (quite correct, but this acid-loving critter would not have minded a touch more).
Oystershell, citrus pith & mineralized red/orchard/citrus fruit gained intensity with air (tasted/drank over 90 min).
Good balance, length & medium intensity.
Elegance & balance over power.
A big, beautiful, Very Good Cote des Bar Pinot Noir that just missed approaching spectacular for want of just a skosh bit more ripe acidity, & slightly amped up intensity, but I'll take it, as duty requires.
(92+)

2/7/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Big, pungent, musky sweetie. Really an Auslese, verging on GK.
Harvested @107 Oechsle; 90 g/l RS; 10% ABV; 80 yo, ungrafted vines.
Nose > Fruit crammed, pungent/musky & creamy.
Big apricot, nectarine, peaches 'n cream, lime flesh, lemon oil, red & Ranier cherry, unsweetened whipped cream,
musk melon & lavender Bomb.
Noticeable perfect/wonderfully clean botrytis, but it's just a component part, & adds complexity more than takes over.
Palate > Even more pungent & musky in the mouth.
Nose carries through into mouth, adding powerful nectarine/nectarine skin, botrytis/apricot spice & a touch of Sultanas.
Nice amount of botrytis, but not too much to overwhelm the creamy sweet ripe orchard fruit.
Big wine with a lot going on.
Acidity is medium (higher acidity would have vaulted this into the stratosphere).
Med+ intensity & length.
A #BangForYourBuck, impressive #QPR Auslese/GK Auslese.
(92+)

1/26/2022 - Rob Hansult wrote:

... when ya drink #WoopWoop & it tastes just like Cherry (Chocolate) Cola, El Oh El A Lo-la

1/26/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Nose > A blast of fresh red cherry that screams: Grenache!
Mulberry, wild cherry, lavender, red raspberry, rhubarb, red currant & hint of red licorice.
Palate > Spicy, fruity, sappy. Very fresh & lively.
All the red fruit & sappy herbal spice comes through to palate & adds a hit of stem spice.
Good acidity. excellent length, & finishes with spicy, sappy, herbal red fruit.
Med intensity. Med/med-low tannins, w some drying tannins, but fairly attenuated.
Already a nice sip.
(92+)

1/26/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Very fragrant. Good complexity.
Red & wild cherry, red raspberry, mulberry, violet, lavender, pomegranate, red plum & strawberry aromas & flavors, with just a hint of vanilla & pretty oak perfume.
Palate is lively, with excellent acidity & adds a touch of quality French oak perfume.
Med/low-ish tannins.
Finishes with grip that is more fruit & acidity, with elegant tannins bringing up the rear.
Excellent balance. Good length. Med/med+ intensity.
Pretty, serious & impressive.

1/25/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Med/light, of course. Nice balance/acidity, very pretty red & wild fruit; no more, no less.
(90+)

1/23/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

T-Top version, & quite nice, if just lacking that extra intensity of best LBV's. OK, Wow! Hold yer horses!
Really opened up after just a few minutes.
Amazingly HUGE nose of violet, lilac, lavender & ultra-ripe red fruit, licorice, with hints of bitter chocolate.
All following through on the palate, with excellent acidity, medium, smooth, rich tannins, & any heat well hidden.
#WinnerWinnerChickenDinner!
(92+)

1/12/2022 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Nose > Red berries, strawberry, wild forest fruit, dried & fresh herbs.
Palate > Red & wild berry fruit with dried flowers. Adds sappy herbal spice in midpalate.
Lean balance. Good acidity. Slightly grippy tannins. Med intensity.
(89+)

12/29/2021 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Nose > Pretty red & wild berry fruit; red cherry, choke cherry, red raspberry, black plum.
Palate > Medium bodied & lean-ish. Decent fruit; red & choke cherry, raspberry, with touch of violet, lavender & licorice.
Slightly sappy & fresh.
Med/med+ slightly grippy tannins per the balance with fruit/intensity; will be better w/food.

12/25/2021 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Pop'n pour
Nose > Lime-flesh, grapefruit & lemon-oil, white-nectarine, lavender, apricot, lime-creme, red-cherry &
limestone on-the-rocks.
With air adds creamy nectarine-skin, violet, a hint of Chartreuse & some pungent musk.
Palate > Big rich firm mouthful.
Lemon-oil, lime-flesh, creamy white nectarine, crystallized citrus-pith, apricot/tart-apricot, Morello & Rainier cherry.
Adds richness, some riper orchard fruit, powdered minerals & a subtle yet powerful creamy nectarine-skin/skin-contact background element w/air.
Great, integrated, ripe acidity. Med++ intensity, depth & length.
Drinks off-dry.
More quietly impressive than exuberant, & may warrant upgrade w/air ... if it lasts long enough!
Still getting better as bottle ran dry.
(94+)

12/25/2021 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Nose > Lime-oil, lime-flesh, pink-grapefruit, lime-creme, tart-apricot/tart-nectarine, with
nectarine-skin, grape blossom, petrichor & lavender.
A blast of Spring fruit/orchard blooms interplanted with aromatic herbs.
Palate > Big, firm, tight (2 hour slo-ox), but expressive.
Huge green citrus/lime-oil, tart-apricot, tart-nectarine/nectarine-skin, lavender, apricot,
ginger & pink-grapefruit.
Great volume, intensity & freshness.
Underlined by creamy lime-zest, petrichor & quince. Great, ripe acidity. Excellent balance & body (9%ABV).
Electric balance of fruit/acid/intensity.
Drinks on the dry-ish end of the Kabi spectrum.
750's of this evaporate in an eye-blink.
(94+)

12/22/2021 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Nose > Blackberry, lilac, black mulberry, black cherry, sassafras, hint of creosote & raspberry coulis.
Palate > Big blackberry, small black/blue forest fruit & choke cherry. Medium, slightly grippy tannins. Med intensity & length.
Shows just a hint of heat on palate (labeled 14.8%), but not on nose.
Good, but doesn't transcend the sum of its parts.
Should/could use more intensity for this price point.
(90+)

12/22/2021 - Rob Hansult wrote:

Some nice Gewurtz-y lychee, orange creme/zest flavors, with noticeable sweetness.
The sweetness is all the more glaring, in a slightly unbalanced way, since the acidity is painfully low.
Not a bad wine, but the extremely low acidity makes it a niche wine ... maybe spicy Asian food ... or Spritzers w/lime-juice & seltzer ...

9/30/2019 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Nose > Big, aromatic, outrageously pungent & sweaty.
Ripe, lush, fat & juicy.
Pink grapefruit, cantaloupe, lime-oil, yellow nectarine, red & Ranier cherry.
Complex, with tons of fresh pungent fruit & powdered minerals.
Palate > Powerful, pungent, creamy/sappy fruit. A sweety, but great balance, volume & complexity.
Pungent pink grapefruit, creamy ripe nectarine, lanolin.
Powdered minerals & a mouthful of grapey, fresh Riesling. Lime flesh, smoky lemon & lime-oil.
Med acidity. Long flavor & aftertaste. Med+ intensity.
Very aromatic on nose & palate.
Big, Classic personality.
Voluptuously fresh & utterly irresistible.
(92+)

12/4/2021 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Nose > Creamy/steely citrus/citrus-zest, Bosc pear/pear-skin, white peach, ginger,
white flowers, petrichor & a touch of lavender.
Pinot dominant on nose & palate.
Palate > Nice combo of fresh green, white, yellow fruit & creamy/bready leesiness, with fruit on aromas following to mouth.
Finishes with some citrus zest & chalk, hiding/managing the Brut sweetness decently.
Adds a little size, & some nice earthiness with a bit of air.
The medium intensity & length keep it from a higher score.
Nice food wine, if not too spicy or well flavored.

11/19/2021 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

A true Kabi
Nose > Hugely aromatic & pungent, with green, yellow, red citrus/oil/zest & lavender/herbal/spice.
Palate > Electric! Intense, pungent stony/slatey citrus oil & penetrating herbal/lavender/spice.
A real powerhouse of lip-smacking, mineralized pungent/tart orchard & citrus fruit, intertwined with silky, flowery yet potent herbal spice.
So fresh, vibrant, & have to repeat: Electric!
Elegant & racy.
Med+ intensity, acidity & length.
Fairly big boned & structured for an 8%ABV wine.
Very impressive.
Drinks fairly off-dry even for a "real" Kabi, & getting close to Feinherb balance.
Kudos to the Richters for really going for a true Kabi ... & hitting it out of the park!
Winner, Winner; Chicken Dinner!
Will be keeping my eye out for Fass #4
(93+)

11/16/2021 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Very deep ruby with a touch of magenta
Nose > Still somewhat shy & tight after almost a day of air, but starting to open as it warms up a bit, & starting to give some gorgeously deep, rich, intense, spectacular Syrah fruit.
Purple, red/wild-red, blue, choke & black fruit, in that order atm.
Morello & Schaerbeek cherry coulis, wineberry, pomegranate, purple black & red raspberry, violet, lavender, lilac, sealing wax & smoky black olive tapenade with a hint of creosote.
Exciting; so much going on.
At the same time tremendously rich, sappy & fresh, with great minerality.
Very elegant , refined & pretty.
Very deep, intense & complex; keeps drawing your nose back into the glass.
Palate > Very tight still, but lots stuffed in there. Sappy & tightly held.
Red & choke cherry, pomegranate, smoky/sappy cherry bark, loganberry with smoked sage & a touch of clove.
Big, quite grippy, slightly chalky tannins marry with intense fruit; sappy/salty, rich/tight, pungent mineralized red & choke cherry, & carry the fruit into the spicy, smoky finish/aftertaste & add a hint of rhubarb.
Feels like big stem inclusion.
Not surprisingly shows quite linear & clenched in the mouth (even for this Baby-Killer!) ... but the stuff is in there.
The nose is (with lots of air & coaxing) already spectacular & to die for, but the palate needs time, & plenty of it for normal humans to enjoy drinking.
Put a 1/2 bottle in the fridge; will see where this puppy's at on day 3 ...

11/13/2021 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Bright burnished pink/gold
Nose > Bursts into the room, & then into your nose.
Wildly aromatic.
Sweet, rich, pungent Muscat & sweet, golden Sultanas & fresh, uncooked honey, with a hint of Tokaji Eszencia.
Palate > Big, sweet, rich, but not fat & creamy. Very powerful Muscat flavor.
Flower nectar, essence of golden Sultanas, honey, & just layers & layers of elegantly pungent Muscat.
Quite sweet, but not cloying. I'd guess in the 12-15+%-ish RS range, but kept fresh & interesting by the good acidity.
Great balance. Excellent acidity. Medium+ intensity. Great length & persistence.
10+ years in oak (old & large, I'm assuming), but really does not show; completely overpowered by intense, powerful Muscat character.
Very clean, pure & surprisingly, very fresh.
By far the most elegant Black Muscat I've tasted.
(93+)

11/13/2021 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Very pale red
Nose > Some pretty red & wild berry fruit, rose petal & hint of lavender/spice.
Palate > Fruit, flowers & spice follows from nose.
Balance is good, but no great intensity or length.

11/13/2021 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Insanely deep ruby red
Quite nice. Very big, verging on huge.
Very rich, ripe. A touch of saltiness, like ya sometimes get in ripe, slightly dimpled Syrah in a warm/hot dry year.
Deep black & blue fruited.
Black cherry, blueberry/roasted blueberry, black raspberry, loganberry with hints of pomegranate, creosote & choke cherry.
Ripe, rich, medium tannins. Medium + intensity, density & length.
Extremely fat & rich, but balanced, in a #BigBoy way.
15% ABV (on label); showed no heat, & rich, fat fruit carried all the way through finish & aftertaste.
Enough acidity to keep the ultra richness from cloying.
Fairly impressive.
1st Cali Graciano for me. Not sure I'd pop for the North of $80 price tag (friends brought this to dinner), but inched out a '17 Ch. Lassegue (not a patch on the '16) & 2002 Setubal Moscatel Roxo Colheita for WOTN for me.

11/10/2021 - Rob Hansult Does not like this wine:

Medium deep red/brick red
Nose > Not (necessarily) a Brett Bomb, but earthy/band-aid Bretty oak is covering any fruit on the nose on opening.
Palate > Some red cherry fruit still in the mouth, but Brett brings up the rear fairly quickly, & leaves you with a metallic twang.
Lets see if air brings up any fruit/structure > on the nose, it didn't; the palate expanded just a little to show some light, red berry fruit.
Passed its best, & what best that was is at best a big ? mark; Brett unfortunately doomed this bottling from elevage.
Drink up; pour out; make Sangria. Your choice.
Nose = 60; Palate = 80 (& only if you don't mind Brett; I'm being nice) ...

11/10/2021 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine:

Deep red/ruby with hint of violet.
Nose > Hugely rich/fruity/aromatic nose. Screams Malbec. All about rich/pungent red, blue, wild berry & inky fruits.
Blueberry, strawberry/strawberry-preserves, Morello cherry, caraway seed, red & black choke-cherry, pomegranate, blueberry pie &
black plum skin.
Palate > Rich/sappy/fruity. All that fruit carries through in the mouth.
Great acidity. Low-ish tannins. Medium intensity.
Excellent length & persistence.
Love the pungent grapyness.
Not sure if this is 100% Malbec, but really shows the beauty & fruit of the grape.
A bit more extracted tannin would have done additional good for the mouthfeel.
Tannins do add a little more grip & some cherry-stone with some air.
You could treat this like good non-Cru Beaujolais & give it 10, 15+ min in the fridge if ya wanna amp up the fruit even more.
WSET/MW could use this bottle as an example to show what the Malbec grape tastes like.
Great QPR @$15 if ya like a fruit stuffed Malbec.
(90+)