February 22, 2024 - Asperg Wine Syndrome Tasting Group: 3 Guys, some wine II (Asperg): Glass: Zalto Universal
Tasted blind. Clear, pale, medium golden color. Clean, medium+ intense, developing nose. Smoke, yellow stone fruit, mellow apple and crushed stones. Very dense, balanced and round.
Bone dry, medium+ acidity, perfectly integrated. Only 12,5% abv. Sweet yellow stone fruit, herbs (sage), phenolic. Needed time and air to develop tension, energy and precision. Potential for another decade. 93
March 17, 2023 - Yellow gold in the glass, quite clear.
Nose is archetypal Riesling with gasoline front and center; waxy white florals; unripe peach; citrus (bizarrely this almost calls Persian dried limes to mind - not quite there but adjacent).
Ultra light on the palate, with ripping, mouthwatering acidity. The flavor is heavily integrated at this point so it is hard to pick any specific flavors out but there’s elements of unripe peach, limey/oily citrus, and almost honeyed white flowers, in addition to a bit of gasoline carry through from the nose. Extreme oystershell/chalk minerality. This is super focused, precise and sleek. Demands another sip. Not tired at all, don’t think there is any particular hurry to drink this. Delicious!
January 1, 2023 - Decanted about half an hour. Floral on the nose, with some citrus and petroleum peeking out underneath. Harmony in this well integrated and mature wine, that shines more in better vintages.
December 8, 2022 - Day 2 of my vertical. Yesterday the flamboyant 2006. I am doing the 2004 today and it is a totally different beast!! Much better structure than the 2006. This is elegant, loaded with orchard fruits, mandarins, slight tropical fruits, baked bread, jasmine. Good minerality, with a saline, sea shell character. just plain yum.
November 1, 2022 - First time trying aged riesling!
Medium gold colour.
Intense nose of baked apple with hints of petrol and dried apricot.
On the palate, high acidity, lovely complexity and long finish.
Tried alongside a recent vintage of the regular Trimbach Riesling. An interesting comparison! Would be great to try alongside a more recent Frédéric Émile vintage.
October 18, 2022 - Brief vacation notes; 10/17/2022-10/22/2022 (Hotel Sonne, Partschins, IT): Drunk over two days. Clear, pale, youthful golden color. Clean, medium+ intense, developing nose. Lots of salt, yellow stone fruit, petrol and crushed stones. Very dense, deep and complex. Beautiful perfume!
Bone dry, medium+ acidity, perfectly integrated. Only 12,5% abv. Lots of salt, chalky mineral notes, some oak, yellow stone fruit, herbs (sage) and nice petrol notes. What a tension and grip! Combined with great pressure, extract and density. Very lean and precise body. Everything is wonderfully balanced and the wine has also a beautiful juiciness. Long, salty, mineral finish. Potential for another decade. Needs air and time. 94
September 7, 2022 - Tulip yellow. Gorgeous, mature aromas of petrol, citrus, and botanicals. This has gained weight over the years and now is more typically full bodied but not densely packed. Crystalline lemon and guava, completely dry, unrelenting acidity, and chock full of soil. I had always thought of the 2004 Frédéric Emile as one of the lighter expressions of this cuvée, but the last few bottles have changed my view. I’m sorry to reach the end of my supply since the wine still seems to be improving and revealing new facets.
July 23, 2022 - Unapproachable on release, the wine is only starting to unwind a tiny bit now, at age 18 -- and I'm wondering if I opened it 20 years too soon! Pale yellow, with an intensely focused nose that seems almost laser-like: petrol, orange marmalade, citrus oils. My wife, an amazing desert baker, makes a kind of buttery vanilla cake infused with a lemon syrup and then frosted with just a touch of a very tart frosting... I find that here. On the palate, extremely tart, almost a "lemon wine", yet delicious: sharply delineated, clean mineral inflected finish, if ever one could say "oyster shells", this is the wine. And in fact, somehow the petrol tastes right, which isn't obvious given that after all, it really is the flavor of petrol! For me, easily 93+. In 20 years, could be quite a bit higher.
July 6, 2022 - This came around beautifully with an hour of air. The note below is on point, though i’d add that there’s a faint smoky note in the background that adds to the complexity.
April 16, 2022 - Easter 2022 Dinner for Madelene, Ken and Moss (Wanaka Wedge House, Queensberry, Central Otago, New Zealand): At its peak of maturity, or in late maturity. Very dry, but the ripe nature of the wine manifests in a weight that adds richness and a slight toffee apple quality to the mineral notes. Focused and very developed in the palate and nose, but this is in no way drying out. A touch of petrol notes add complication to the apricot and lime character of the fruit. certainly outstanding, and a gorgeous match with the Jena Georges Vongerichten recipe for salmon in cardamom broth.