July 29, 2022 - Quite tasty. Enjoying it still on day 5 (!) Little sips and more to go still. Shy at first, and incredibly taut. Almost hard to distinguish this between this and a botrytized Chenin, but then the Riesling notes POP, and there isn't much in the form of lanolin and candle, so then undeniably Riesling. When ZH screams, it screams, and often it doesn't, but this is excellent. Quite enjoyable and well done.
March 7, 2022 - Return to Napa; 3/6/2022-3/13/2022 (Wineries and various restaurants): Kindof the middle wine in the line-up of ZHs for me. The Gewurtz was almost a bit sour and stood out for that and the PG was light and sweet and this was middle bodied and middle flavor. Totally fine but didn't stand out after a long day of wine.
October 9, 2014 - Grand Sich and the Eiswein Show: botrytis very present here - nose of sweet apricot and lychee syrup, and some apple pie. dry mid becoming sweeter toward the finish - still very much a dessert wine. With some time - it showed more fruit and power - gaining tropical notes and a hint of spice. Sadly not as exuberant as the Goldert was, but a great wine in its own right. long silky finish gives it the feel of a well aged Sauternes.
after 3 days in a half-bottle in the fridge - the wine opened up a lot more. richer mid with better balance. amazing aromatics... this is still a baby i guess!! (went from 91 to 93)
October 8, 2014 - This is a powerhouse; incredibly intense and concentrated on the palate with layers of ripe fruit, honey, floral notes, and faint spicy accents. It's a big wine but not over the top as some ZHs can be, the balance is quite good with fairly bright acids to match the sweetness and the alcohol kept in check, though it still feels quite youthful and primary.
January 26, 2014 - 2009 Morgon Dinner (San Francisco): Amber. Rich, honeyed nose. Sweet, exotic fruit. Unctuous with adequate acidity. Fully mature.
January 26, 2014 - 2009 Morgon Horizontal (San Francisco, CA): Medium orange color; wonderful nose of orange blossom, honey, white fruits; palate has balanced sweetness, white fruit flavor, fades a bit quickly. Good overall, lovely mature sweet wine that has at this point integrated most of its sugar. Lacks the complexity or density on the palate of the best sweet wines though. 91
January 6, 2011 - Alcohol :: 11%
Med golden color display similar golden profile with honey, peaches, tight with chalky mineral and some underlying ripe fruits. Quite heavy on the round, intense palate, well balance, creamy, velvety texture with honey, plum and tropical fruits along with some bortrytis spices that bring on to the fine, round but short in finish with orange peel bitterness and alcohol. Kinda straight forward for what it is, could be too young or not enough aeration? I guessed this was a Alsace Pinot Gris for the heavy, rich profile with bitterness show at the end as this lack of the vibrancy of what a Riesling should be as well as the kerosene tones that usually associate with aged Alsace Riesling. Buy - No.
January 6, 2011 - First Simple Dinner of the Year (Jade Palace, Forum): A Riesling nose with a little bit of age. I placed this at the sweetness level of an Auslese GK. However, it is not as 'bright' and clean as a German Riesling but does not detract from the overall experience and in fact adds a unique character to it. Very balanced and drinking amazingly well now. This was really something and definitely one of the best Alsace VT I've had.
January 6, 2011 - 2011 Simple Series I: JT's Dinner (Jade Palace, Forum Galleria): Wow. Solid stuff, a great way to start of the dinner, especially when this was paired with either the roast pork with crackling or the lobster claw in salted egg-yolk. Yellow gold in colour, its nose was very expressive, with lots of honeyed scents, candied ginger, peach, nectarines and yellow plums. Very rich and showy. The rich, almost oily textured palate took on the same theme. Here again, the wine was richly honeyed, with more ginger notes, ripe peach, yellow plums, apricots, some orange peel and a touch of tropical, almost pineapple-gummy flavours. Really nice and exuberant, but kept ever so serious by an undertone of dried earthy mineral and some spice. In spite of its richness though, it always showed a superb sense of balance and great integration so that each pour went down so easily. A little bitter orange peel note at the very finish rounded the wine off nicely with a slight nod to its Alsatian origins. Lovely.
September 12, 2003 - Tasted at the Vintage Wines, Ltd. tasting bar. Bright disc. Medium gold robe with clear rim. Clean, very intense nose of white peaches, pears and apricots. Medium-bodied on the palate, with good acidity and similar flavors as for the nose. Long but somewhat thin-textured finish. Overall very nice. Worth cellaring.