A few wines for Chinese New Year (Chicago, IL): Now this, this is Austrian wine I can get behind. The nose is intoxicating, with a complex array of fruit -- the typical riesling apple of course, but also more exotic things like mangos and melons. On the palate, there's a phenolic/green herb thing that makes this distinct from Clos Ste. Hune or a German GG. The weight is definitely Keller-level, and there's a sweetness to the fruit that I really like here. Maybe the green note could be dialled back a bit, but then this would probably have less of an Austrian sense about it. Without a doubt, this is one of the pinnacles of riesling, and I have to ask myself why I don't own any of this...
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Some serious whites: Crumbly cork and a dark golden colour, for me way too advanced but others didn't mind it so much. Smelled like a sweet wine actually, rather flat on first pour but got better in the decanter. Very impressive depth but the fruit and acidity was rather muted. No oomph or magic to the wine but I think this was not a representative bottle.
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F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich full vertical (1998-2017) (Restaurant Waldhorn, Kirchheim, Germany): Glass: Gabriel Standard Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking. Clear, medium golden color. Clean, medium+ intense, very deep and complex nose with lots of fine yellow fruit. Really beautiful. Wonderful texture and structure, lots of extract. Deep and dense. Bitter orange jam, ripe apricots, mineral core. High alc noticeable, but not disturbing. Very long and lingering. 94-95
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Tasting with some crazy geeks (@Private location, Solingen): *** Brief notes for my own memory, no CT rating. Points expressed are only rough guidelines *** Bottle opened a day before. Classic, massive Wachau Style. Lots of extract. Ripe fruit, creamy, bold, lots of pressure. I like this style! 93
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Poured to me blind, happy to report that I correctly guessed variety, country, region, and producer - I don't mean to brag but that may only happen once for me! It's a style I'm very familiar with so I had a leg up.
Brilliant yellow in the glass, slightly hazy. Immediately recognisable notes of Riesling: the classic terpenes, musk, citrus essence, white peach... a little tropical fruit here too, dried apricot note. Something stony and chalky in there too. Considerable weight and extract on the palate. Slight oiliness / honeyed flavour. Just coats the palate and fans out... very explosive, textural, powerful, lingering.
A special wine no doubt. I still question the price, that remains a mystery to me.
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What a fat snail. Golden yellow. In the nose lots of exotic fruits, very ripe peaches and apricots, overripe apples and lots of spices. Add to that a strong mineral. Altogether a highly aromatic Riesling with a lot of body. Soft surface, very material and incredibly dense and thick. Behind that is a salty minerality and again lots of spices. The high alcohol disturbs something, especially when the wine gets warmer in the glass. Aromatic and alcoholic length.
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"10 Years After" Riesling (Private Location): I think, I'll never become a fan of F.X. Pichlers Unendlich. It's simply not my style. Very, very ripe aromatics of dried apricots, honey, overripe yellow stone fruit, asian spices and some smoke. The palate is even riper. Acidity is on a good level imo, but there is so much extract and sweetness which is killing the fine components for me. I could hardly finished my glass. The Quality is definitely there, but it is just not my cup of tea. Not sure how it will develop over the next decades.
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10 years after Riesling tasting - 2007 (@Home): Glass: Riedel Sommelier Riesling Double decanted about 6h before serving. Clear, medium golden color with lots of tartaric acid. Clean, medium+ intense, developing and very interesting nose: English bitter orange jam, ripe apricots, herbs, spices and honey. In the background some slight mineral notes. Ripe German Riesling Auslesen usually smell like this 😊 Dry(ish) with lots of extract. Ripe, mild, medium acidity. Medium+ body, high alcohol (14,5% abv), balanced by the acidity and extract. Never hot or fat. Has lots of everything: Honey, ripe yellow stone fruit, smoke, mineral notes, orange jam. Power, luscious body and taste. A total contrast to the more lean German dry Riesling. It is always a pleasure to taste Unendlich, but also a bit weary… Is it at its peak? Certainly not. It makes a lot of fun now, but will continue to develop for at least 5+ years. 93-94
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I was full of expectation for this bottle. A bit scared of how 14,5% Riesling would taste, as I prefer the lighter Mosel-styled Rieslings.
On the nose it was not at all tropical, but very typcial mineral Wachau-Riesling with some floral elements. Some peach and tarragon, but the mineral and lime dominates. In the mouth very concentrated, but not too much. A very long finish, although perhaps too much alcohol.
I am hesitant to rate the wine; it has a very clean and beautiful nose, concentrated and long finish, but I would rather pay 1/10 of the price for a decent fresh Mosel kabinett. Somewhere between 88 and 93. Big is not always better.
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Expressive fruit laced nose. Complex, full bodied taste of peach, melon and orange peel perfectly structured with crisp acidity and minerality. Extended finish. Brilliant. My last 2007. Hope my 2008s are as good.......
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Smells like it's going to be a sweetish, more spatlese style wine, and tastes way drier than you'd figure from the scent but still has a texture slicker than you ordinarily get in a wine as dry as this. I was expecting a huge wine but this is way less intense than the M in every respect and more in line with normal ripeness levels. Doesn't taste like a super-cuvee, but it's lovely stuff.
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East Village Riesling Extravaganza (New York): Unreal nose - how do you describe this? Incredibly expressive and aromatic with bright flavours of melon, pineapple, mango and lime infused with a massive rocky mineral character with notes of pine cones and orange peel emerging with more air. Immense and full bodied yet perfectly balanced and light on its feet with brilliant acidity and precision. Absurdly long finish with the mineral and fruit sensations lingering on in the back of the mouth for a good while.
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Brunch at Wallsé – An absolutely beautiful wine that is stunning every time. The 2007 is much more elegant than the 2006. Medium golden color that is lighter than the 2006. First impression – An immediate explosion of fresh juicy white peach! Interesting orange peel element that is in the background. Some quince appears to be hidden underneath and sure enough it surfaces with air. Also some grapefruit with sugar on the top. Not too much acidity but enough to keep the wine in balance. Wet rock and some minerality complete the wine. Thick and oily.
It paired perfectly with the smoked trout.
Another spectacular showing (96-99)!
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1/21/2023 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
A few wines for Chinese New Year (Chicago, IL): Now this, this is Austrian wine I can get behind. The nose is intoxicating, with a complex array of fruit -- the typical riesling apple of course, but also more exotic things like mangos and melons. On the palate, there's a phenolic/green herb thing that makes this distinct from Clos Ste. Hune or a German GG. The weight is definitely Keller-level, and there's a sweetness to the fruit that I really like here. Maybe the green note could be dialled back a bit, but then this would probably have less of an Austrian sense about it. Without a doubt, this is one of the pinnacles of riesling, and I have to ask myself why I don't own any of this...
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9/17/2021 - melvinyeowq wrote:
Some serious whites: Crumbly cork and a dark golden colour, for me way too advanced but others didn't mind it so much. Smelled like a sweet wine actually, rather flat on first pour but got better in the decanter. Very impressive depth but the fruit and acidity was rather muted. No oomph or magic to the wine but I think this was not a representative bottle.
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1/25/2020 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 94 Points
F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich full vertical (1998-2017) (Restaurant Waldhorn, Kirchheim, Germany): Glass: Gabriel Standard
Bottle opened ~36h before. Double decanted ~ 10h before drinking.
Clear, medium golden color. Clean, medium+ intense, very deep and complex nose with lots of fine yellow fruit. Really beautiful.
Wonderful texture and structure, lots of extract. Deep and dense. Bitter orange jam, ripe apricots, mineral core. High alc noticeable, but not disturbing. Very long and lingering. 94-95
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1/10/2020 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine:
Tasting with some crazy geeks (@Private location, Solingen): *** Brief notes for my own memory, no CT rating. Points expressed are only rough guidelines ***
Bottle opened a day before. Classic, massive Wachau Style. Lots of extract. Ripe fruit, creamy, bold, lots of pressure. I like this style! 93
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9/9/2019 - Milliontown wrote: 95 Points
Poured to me blind, happy to report that I correctly guessed variety, country, region, and producer - I don't mean to brag but that may only happen once for me! It's a style I'm very familiar with so I had a leg up.
Brilliant yellow in the glass, slightly hazy. Immediately recognisable notes of Riesling: the classic terpenes, musk, citrus essence, white peach... a little tropical fruit here too, dried apricot note. Something stony and chalky in there too. Considerable weight and extract on the palate. Slight oiliness / honeyed flavour. Just coats the palate and fans out... very explosive, textural, powerful, lingering.
A special wine no doubt. I still question the price, that remains a mystery to me.
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3/11/2019 - fraundor wrote: 95 Points
- Yellow gold color.
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5/10/2017 - MQuentel@web.de wrote: 89 Points
What a fat snail. Golden yellow. In the nose lots of exotic fruits, very ripe peaches and apricots, overripe apples and lots of spices. Add to that a strong mineral. Altogether a highly aromatic Riesling with a lot of body. Soft surface, very material and incredibly dense and thick. Behind that is a salty minerality and again lots of spices. The high alcohol disturbs something, especially when the wine gets warmer in the glass. Aromatic and alcoholic length.
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5/6/2017 - m_arcon wrote: 90 Points
"10 Years After" Riesling (Private Location): I think, I'll never become a fan of F.X. Pichlers Unendlich. It's simply not my style. Very, very ripe aromatics of dried apricots, honey, overripe yellow stone fruit, asian spices and some smoke.
The palate is even riper. Acidity is on a good level imo, but there is so much extract and sweetness which is killing the fine components for me. I could hardly finished my glass. The Quality is definitely there, but it is just not my cup of tea. Not sure how it will develop over the next decades.
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5/6/2017 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 93 Points
10 years after Riesling tasting - 2007 (@Home): Glass: Riedel Sommelier Riesling
Double decanted about 6h before serving.
Clear, medium golden color with lots of tartaric acid. Clean, medium+ intense, developing and very interesting nose: English bitter orange jam, ripe apricots, herbs, spices and honey. In the background some slight mineral notes. Ripe German Riesling Auslesen usually smell like this 😊
Dry(ish) with lots of extract. Ripe, mild, medium acidity. Medium+ body, high alcohol (14,5% abv), balanced by the acidity and extract. Never hot or fat. Has lots of everything: Honey, ripe yellow stone fruit, smoke, mineral notes, orange jam. Power, luscious body and taste. A total contrast to the more lean German dry Riesling. It is always a pleasure to taste Unendlich, but also a bit weary… Is it at its peak? Certainly not. It makes a lot of fun now, but will continue to develop for at least 5+ years. 93-94
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10/15/2016 - Elvis1969 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Provad på PM & Vänner i Växjö. Kvällens vinnare i stenhård konkurrens.
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10/29/2011 - ktrh Likes this wine: 91 Points
I was full of expectation for this bottle. A bit scared of how 14,5% Riesling would taste, as I prefer the lighter Mosel-styled Rieslings.
On the nose it was not at all tropical, but very typcial mineral Wachau-Riesling with some floral elements. Some peach and tarragon, but the mineral and lime dominates.
In the mouth very concentrated, but not too much. A very long finish, although perhaps too much alcohol.
I am hesitant to rate the wine; it has a very clean and beautiful nose, concentrated and long finish, but I would rather pay 1/10 of the price for a decent fresh Mosel kabinett. Somewhere between 88 and 93. Big is not always better.
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7/13/2011 - jtech wrote: 98 Points
Insane
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6/20/2010 - craiglpalmer wrote: 97 Points
Expressive fruit laced nose. Complex, full bodied taste of peach, melon and orange peel perfectly structured with crisp acidity and minerality. Extended finish. Brilliant. My last 2007. Hope my 2008s are as good.......
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8/10/2009 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 90 Points
Smells like it's going to be a sweetish, more spatlese style wine, and tastes way drier than you'd figure from the scent but still has a texture slicker than you ordinarily get in a wine as dry as this. I was expecting a huge wine but this is way less intense than the M in every respect and more in line with normal ripeness levels. Doesn't taste like a super-cuvee, but it's lovely stuff.
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4/24/2009 - henrychinaski wrote: 95 Points
Not quite as mindblowing as the last two bottles but still stellar. Exotic aromas combined with rock dust and minerality. Energy and depth.
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1/31/2009 - henrychinaski wrote: 99 Points
Nearly perfect wine. White peach, minerals, light, floral, balanced.
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1/31/2009 - salil wrote: 98 Points
East Village Riesling Extravaganza (New York): Unreal nose - how do you describe this? Incredibly expressive and aromatic with bright flavours of melon, pineapple, mango and lime infused with a massive rocky mineral character with notes of pine cones and orange peel emerging with more air. Immense and full bodied yet perfectly balanced and light on its feet with brilliant acidity and precision. Absurdly long finish with the mineral and fruit sensations lingering on in the back of the mouth for a good while.
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12/15/2008 - henrychinaski wrote: 96 Points
Brunch at Wallsé – An absolutely beautiful wine that is stunning every time. The 2007 is much more elegant than the 2006. Medium golden color that is lighter than the 2006. First impression – An immediate explosion of fresh juicy white peach! Interesting orange peel element that is in the background. Some quince appears to be hidden underneath and sure enough it surfaces with air. Also some grapefruit with sugar on the top. Not too much acidity but enough to keep the wine in balance. Wet rock and some minerality complete the wine. Thick and oily.
It paired perfectly with the smoked trout.
Another spectacular showing (96-99)!
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