Although this is still a largely enjoyable wine, I can say it’s best days are behind it. The nose reminded me of candied lemon at its best, but for the most part it smelled of tropical fruits too ripe and beginning to rot.
What really holds the wine together at this stage is both the acidity and residual sugar. Both aspects simultaneously structure and dominate the palate. In other words, nuance is lost in the wine at this age (e.g., I sense ripe tropical fruits, but no one in particular).
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Deep caramel color, scents of pineapple cake, toasted nuts and burnt sugar, mature and integrated, not sweet but caramelized, the acid keeps all of the evolved flavors alive, just delicious, drink now
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Consumed over two days. On the first day massively impressive: concentrated nose of jaggery, currants, ripe greengages, tarte tatin, candied tangerine peel, stewed apricots, incense, star anise. Expressive on the palate, with baked and caramelised orchard fruits, candied kumquat, toffee apple, and burnt sugar. Enormous acidity keeps the sweetness in check and provides both depth and backbone. Very long, sweet, clean finish, resonating with an almost muscat note. Less vital on the second day - the aromas were muted, and the body had lost some stuffing, leading to a disappointing lightness in the midpalate. Still, a very appealing, well-made, and multilayered wine, approaching the end of its drinking window.
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Absolutely delicious. There is a certain stink that takes about 30 seconds to clear when you first open this, but then a haunting aroma of poached yellow fruits with anise and five spice, jasmine, chestnut honey, varnish and a deep earthniness that I can only compare to pu'er tea. These aromas and flavours of the East continue on the unctuous palate, which while almost syrup like while going down your throat, is never cloying or unpleasant. The finish seems almost eternal. A match made in heaven with Sichuan or Hunan food.
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This is really special. Huge density of delicious flavors without being tiring or syrupy- peach and apricot for sure, lemon, some southeast asian spice, honey and a touch of butterscotch. Just the right amount of acidity. White floral, peachy nose. I love Alsace. 94-95
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Seattle Wine Group - Dec 2014 Tasting - Theme: CA Cabs (Amaroso Room - Wine Storage Bellevue): Nose was filled with a sweetness and pinot gris characteristics. Loved the mouth feel; it was round, rich with enough acidity to keep it interesting; viscous but dry, not sweet. The mid-palate and finish were top notch. Definitely becoming a mature wine but no where past mature. Really enjoyed this bottle.
Golden colour with an intense nose of lychees, melon and grape, perhaps just a whiff of botrytis? VT style density of fruit. It has the feel of a sweet wine but I think that is just ripe golden fruit rather than residual sugar. Huge, intense wine with great depth and a superb finish. Grows bigger in the glass. Superb wine.
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Amber / orange color. Apricot jam and honeycomb nose with a touch of gravel. Big, rich wine that is less sweet than anticipated. Full, really reminds me of apricot skin. A good cheese wine but I must admit to becoming increasingly less fond of these wines with age (both mine and theirs!). (90)
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This bottle aged well, no sharp edges, deep yellow/golden color followed by a very floral nose. On the palate a deep smoothness, unctious without being cloying. No bitter notes. Perfectly aged.
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This is such a wonderfully rich wine. So long on pear and apricot, but evolving nutty raisin & creme brulee. Better than three years ago. Unctous feel for such a dry wine and the acidity is relatively low for a pinot gris.
2007 note - Honey and wheat color, a very rich golden hue. The nose is one of botrytis and creme brulee with honey, raisin, and dried apricot. The nose creates an expectation of sweetness, but it's not. On the palate, it is quite dry with notes of banana, apricot, botrytis, and a sherry type nutiness. A clean, sweet, honeyed finish carries on for 30 seconds. A wonderful wine with food or on its own.
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Very nice wine, likely drinking close to its peak. Golden yellow in color and fairly viscous; honeyed is a good descriptor. A great mix of peaches and minerals on the nose. Plenty of acidity to provide lift and avoid any sense of heaviness.
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Really nice wine and a welcome beautiful match for our lemon sole in a tomato saffron sauce (welcome because an austere white burg did not do much for the dish). This wine screams honeyed apricots and roses. My notes from almost 2 years ago speak first of spice -- strange. There is some light curry notes, but the fruit is so forward. Palate starts wth heavy fruits and oil and then moves into mineral with light, refreshing acidity. Absolutely great with food or at least with this rich complex dish.
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Honeyed but not sweet. Syrupy in texture but not heavy in texture, if a bit plodding. Not much flavor delineation here, but heavy in flavor, such as it is - honey, very ripe orange fruit. Missing some of the "freshness" that I find alluring in these wines, and hasn't gained much in complexity to make up for it. Pleasant, but a bit of a disappointment.
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Honey and wheat color, a very rich golden hue. The nose is one of botrytis and creme brulee with honey, raisin, and dried apricot. The nose creates an expectation of sweetness, but it's not. On the palate, it is quite dry with notes of banana, apricot, botrytis, and a sherry type nutiness. A clean, sweet, honeyed finish carries on for 30 seconds. A wonderful wine with food or on its own.
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Lots of Sushi & Burgundy wines: More golden in color than the Donnhoff. Botrytis nose, it smells like its going to taste sweet but near dry. The layers are emerging with hints of sweetness. Very good with the sushi.
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Pale yellow colour with slight strains. Full nose with musky floral perfume and paint base. Bracing upfront acidity - Meyer lemon bright. Good body, more lean and precise than I expect from ZH. Long, rolling finish with stoney notes and fennel pollen spice and dustiness. Opened to be broader and more expressive over time. Really good.
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Dark yellow. Aromas of asian spices, flowers and pear/apricot. Unctuous mouthfeel, almost sweet with some complexity led by a mineraly component that I did not pick up on the nose. Despite it thickness, it had a nice palate cleansing finish. Great match for asperagus soup with truffle oil.
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4/6/2023 - Oberunter-5 Likes this wine: 85 Points
Drank over 4 or 5 days—
Although this is still a largely enjoyable wine, I can say it’s best days are behind it. The nose reminded me of candied lemon at its best, but for the most part it smelled of tropical fruits too ripe and beginning to rot.
What really holds the wine together at this stage is both the acidity and residual sugar. Both aspects simultaneously structure and dominate the palate. In other words, nuance is lost in the wine at this age (e.g., I sense ripe tropical fruits, but no one in particular).
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1/9/2023 - whits Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep caramel color, scents of pineapple cake, toasted nuts and burnt sugar, mature and integrated, not sweet but caramelized, the acid keeps all of the evolved flavors alive, just delicious, drink now
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8/1/2017 - TheNeuroticDobermann wrote: 91 Points
Consumed over two days. On the first day massively impressive: concentrated nose of jaggery, currants, ripe greengages, tarte tatin, candied tangerine peel, stewed apricots, incense, star anise. Expressive on the palate, with baked and caramelised orchard fruits, candied kumquat, toffee apple, and burnt sugar. Enormous acidity keeps the sweetness in check and provides both depth and backbone. Very long, sweet, clean finish, resonating with an almost muscat note. Less vital on the second day - the aromas were muted, and the body had lost some stuffing, leading to a disappointing lightness in the midpalate. Still, a very appealing, well-made, and multilayered wine, approaching the end of its drinking window.
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5/19/2017 - ChrisWagner Likes this wine: 94 Points
Acidity remains despite obvious age. This is just insane now. I don't know how else to put it. Golden straw color. Just great.
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9/29/2015 - f22nickell Likes this wine: 94 Points
Seattle Wine Group - Sep 2015 Tasting - Theme: BDX - 2009 vs. Pre-2000 (Amaroso Room - Wine Storage Bellevue): Better than my last bottle. Nose has orange peel, citrus, honey and tangerine. Palate followed the nose. Slightly sweet, but came across dry due to the acid. Great mouth feel, length and depth. Again, finish started slightly sweet, but ended dry on a perfect, upswing note. I am a big fan of Zind.
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7/26/2015 - depechemoroder Likes this wine: 93 Points
Absolutely delicious. There is a certain stink that takes about 30 seconds to clear when you first open this, but then a haunting aroma of poached yellow fruits with anise and five spice, jasmine, chestnut honey, varnish and a deep earthniness that I can only compare to pu'er tea. These aromas and flavours of the East continue on the unctuous palate, which while almost syrup like while going down your throat, is never cloying or unpleasant. The finish seems almost eternal. A match made in heaven with Sichuan or Hunan food.
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3/10/2015 - sp4388 Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is really special. Huge density of delicious flavors without being tiring or syrupy- peach and apricot for sure, lemon, some southeast asian spice, honey and a touch of butterscotch. Just the right amount of acidity. White floral, peachy nose. I love Alsace. 94-95
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1/24/2015 - stufis wrote: 92 Points
Wonderful...honeyed notes, lengthy finish, all supportive of the whole package. What a pleasure.
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12/9/2014 - f22nickell Likes this wine: 93 Points
Seattle Wine Group - Dec 2014 Tasting - Theme: CA Cabs (Amaroso Room - Wine Storage Bellevue): Nose was filled with a sweetness and pinot gris characteristics. Loved the mouth feel; it was round, rich with enough acidity to keep it interesting; viscous but dry, not sweet. The mid-palate and finish were top notch. Definitely becoming a mature wine but no where past mature. Really enjoyed this bottle.
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12/26/2013 - kevin h wrote: 94 Points
Golden colour with an intense nose of lychees, melon and grape, perhaps just a whiff of botrytis? VT style density of fruit. It has the feel of a sweet wine but I think that is just ripe golden fruit rather than residual sugar. Huge, intense wine with great depth and a superb finish. Grows bigger in the glass. Superb wine.
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10/29/2012 - dbkitc wrote: 90 Points
Amber / orange color. Apricot jam and honeycomb nose with a touch of gravel. Big, rich wine that is less sweet than anticipated. Full, really reminds me of apricot skin. A good cheese wine but I must admit to becoming increasingly less fond of these wines with age (both mine and theirs!). (90)
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6/27/2010 - stufis wrote: 94 Points
This bottle aged well, no sharp edges, deep yellow/golden color followed by a very floral nose. On the palate a deep smoothness, unctious without being cloying. No bitter notes. Perfectly aged.
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3/26/2010 - N2Vin wrote: 94 Points
This is such a wonderfully rich wine. So long on pear and apricot, but evolving nutty raisin & creme brulee. Better than three years ago. Unctous feel for such a dry wine and the acidity is relatively low for a pinot gris.
2007 note - Honey and wheat color, a very rich golden hue. The nose is one of botrytis and creme brulee with honey, raisin, and dried apricot. The nose creates an expectation of sweetness, but it's not. On the palate, it is quite dry with notes of banana, apricot, botrytis, and a sherry type nutiness. A clean, sweet, honeyed finish carries on for 30 seconds. A wonderful wine with food or on its own.
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12/4/2008 - jerhardt wrote: 92 Points
Very nice wine, likely drinking close to its peak. Golden yellow in color and fairly viscous; honeyed is a good descriptor. A great mix of peaches and minerals on the nose. Plenty of acidity to provide lift and avoid any sense of heaviness.
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1/13/2008 - thomaskeil wrote: 93 Points
Really nice wine and a welcome beautiful match for our lemon sole in a tomato saffron sauce (welcome because an austere white burg did not do much for the dish). This wine screams honeyed apricots and roses. My notes from almost 2 years ago speak first of spice -- strange. There is some light curry notes, but the fruit is so forward. Palate starts wth heavy fruits and oil and then moves into mineral with light, refreshing acidity. Absolutely great with food or at least with this rich complex dish.
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12/7/2007 - jbaron wrote: 90 Points
Honeyed but not sweet. Syrupy in texture but not heavy in texture, if a bit plodding. Not much flavor delineation here, but heavy in flavor, such as it is - honey, very ripe orange fruit. Missing some of the "freshness" that I find alluring in these wines, and hasn't gained much in complexity to make up for it. Pleasant, but a bit of a disappointment.
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4/29/2007 - N2Vin wrote: 93 Points
Honey and wheat color, a very rich golden hue. The nose is one of botrytis and creme brulee with honey, raisin, and dried apricot. The nose creates an expectation of sweetness, but it's not. On the palate, it is quite dry with notes of banana, apricot, botrytis, and a sherry type nutiness. A clean, sweet, honeyed finish carries on for 30 seconds. A wonderful wine with food or on its own.
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10/10/2006 - winefool wrote: 91 Points
Very rich, juicy, (almost syrupy) PG, but not too sweet. A wonderful food companion.
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5/31/2006 - jamiekutch wrote:
Lots of Sushi & Burgundy wines: More golden in color than the Donnhoff. Botrytis nose, it smells like its going to taste sweet but near dry. The layers are emerging with hints of sweetness. Very good with the sushi.
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5/23/2006 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Pale yellow colour with slight strains. Full nose with musky floral perfume and paint base. Bracing upfront acidity - Meyer lemon bright. Good body, more lean and precise than I expect from ZH. Long, rolling finish with stoney notes and fennel pollen spice and dustiness. Opened to be broader and more expressive over time. Really good.
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3/26/2006 - thomaskeil wrote: 90 Points
Dark yellow. Aromas of asian spices, flowers and pear/apricot. Unctuous mouthfeel, almost sweet with some complexity led by a mineraly component that I did not pick up on the nose. Despite it thickness, it had a nice palate cleansing finish. Great match for asperagus soup with truffle oil.
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