Served in Zalto Universal stems. I meant to give this some air based on previous notes, but got distracted. Beautiful, instantly recognizable weissburgunder nose - like I said in a previous note "as if mature chardonnay and vouvray had a fling with Riesling." The floral component lay at the base topped by what we decided was a pina colada served in a cup of river stones. That settled down into a more typical honeyed white peach profile, but still retaining a few tropical notes. Fully mature, but not at all flabby. The age and structure worked amazingly well with our "Fennel Three Ways Pork Roast" (fronds, seeds, pollen), which has posed some problems for Rieslings in the past. The acid was just barely up to the task of the crispy skin and fat cap, but it made it. What a delight these have been. I'm sad to be down to my last 3.
With fantastic pork chops. Needed air, amazingly, given I wasn't sure how lively it would still be. I got something that smelled like cork, but knew that was impossible given the glass stopper. It didn't last, though. Overall this was the oddest bottle of this we've had and I didn't like it as much as I normally do, there was something a little off on the aromatics, even when the corky scent blew off. That said, air helped a lot, it tightened up, and it was enjoyable, with many characteristics still intact. See note from 2016.
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On the nose, it's as if mature chardonnay and vouvray had a fling with Riesling: a fairly neutral (not in a bad way) core highlighted by rounded edges of dried honey, rich stone fruits, and a delicate flirtatious floral aspect coyly winking from behind the broad mid-notes. In the mouth, the acid is subtle and not immediately obvious, except in the lift and balance from which the sweet fruit benefits. Perhaps that's a reflection of the vintage? I wanted a little more liveliness on tongue, but that's a tiny complaint. Changed very little with air, which makes me think that the subdued acid is very much of the vintage and the ageability despite that speaks to the brilliance of the wine making. I believe he's a very forward-thinking winemaker. He replaced all corks with glass stoppers after (I think) the 2002 vintage because of the high percentage of corked wine. This was a wine of great warmth, like late afternoon sun on the beach - not the shimmering of Riesling, but a red gold burnished beauty. It matched nicely with Kunik goat/cow's milk cheese. So glad to have more of these!
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9/27/2020 - NYC_Maenad Likes this wine:
Served in Zalto Universal stems. I meant to give this some air based on previous notes, but got distracted. Beautiful, instantly recognizable weissburgunder nose - like I said in a previous note "as if mature chardonnay and vouvray had a fling with Riesling." The floral component lay at the base topped by what we decided was a pina colada served in a cup of river stones. That settled down into a more typical honeyed white peach profile, but still retaining a few tropical notes. Fully mature, but not at all flabby. The age and structure worked amazingly well with our "Fennel Three Ways Pork Roast" (fronds, seeds, pollen), which has posed some problems for Rieslings in the past. The acid was just barely up to the task of the crispy skin and fat cap, but it made it. What a delight these have been. I'm sad to be down to my last 3.
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4/8/2020 - NYC_Maenad Likes this wine:
With fantastic pork chops. Needed air, amazingly, given I wasn't sure how lively it would still be. I got something that smelled like cork, but knew that was impossible given the glass stopper. It didn't last, though. Overall this was the oddest bottle of this we've had and I didn't like it as much as I normally do, there was something a little off on the aromatics, even when the corky scent blew off. That said, air helped a lot, it tightened up, and it was enjoyable, with many characteristics still intact. See note from 2016.
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11/26/2016 - NYC_Maenad wrote:
On the nose, it's as if mature chardonnay and vouvray had a fling with Riesling: a fairly neutral (not in a bad way) core highlighted by rounded edges of dried honey, rich stone fruits, and a delicate flirtatious floral aspect coyly winking from behind the broad mid-notes. In the mouth, the acid is subtle and not immediately obvious, except in the lift and balance from which the sweet fruit benefits. Perhaps that's a reflection of the vintage? I wanted a little more liveliness on tongue, but that's a tiny complaint. Changed very little with air, which makes me think that the subdued acid is very much of the vintage and the ageability despite that speaks to the brilliance of the wine making. I believe he's a very forward-thinking winemaker. He replaced all corks with glass stoppers after (I think) the 2002 vintage because of the high percentage of corked wine. This was a wine of great warmth, like late afternoon sun on the beach - not the shimmering of Riesling, but a red gold burnished beauty. It matched nicely with Kunik goat/cow's milk cheese. So glad to have more of these!
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