2011 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 91.7 points

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  4/28/2023 - forceberry wrote: 88 Points

  Made with grapes that are harvested very late in the season. The source vineyard is normally kept as a secret, but typically the wine is made from a blend of multiple vineyards, consisting of a careful selection of the very best grapes. 15% alcohol. Tasted blind.
  
  Remarkably youthful, pale and luminous lemon-yellow color. The nose is dominated by a remarkably powerful streak of saffron - reminiscent of an aged Sauternes - followed by unctuous notes of ripe citrus fruits and very ripe golden apples, some floral notes of apple blossom, a little bit of honeydew melon, light stony mineral notes, a slightly odd, gaseous notes of smoke and a touch of apricot. The wine feels concentrated, very substantial and even somewhat fat on the palate with a full body and intense, dry-ish to off-dry flavors of saffron and lemon marmalade, some apple jam, a little bit of stony minerality, light apricot tones, a hint of acacia honey and a floral touch of apple blossom. The mouthfeel is quite viscous and somewhat oily and the medium acidity feels barely adequate to keep such an enormous wine structured and in balance. The finish is rich, powerful and juicy with a very long, medium-dry aftertaste of honeyed richness and orange marmalade, some apple jam, a little bit of saffron, light stony mineral notes, an odd hint of that gaseous character and a touch of exotic spices. The high alcohol lends some heat to the palate towards the end of the aftertaste.
  
  A huge, super-concentrated and very distinctive blockbuster Riesling that feels just too ripe, too fat and too gargantuan for my taste. As the wine is officially of the Smaragd classification, its maximum residual sugar should be 9 g/l, but to me, the wine felt like it could've been even higher - somewhere around 12-15 g/l. However, as the wine was so super ripe, and its acidity felt quite modest for a Riesling, it's entirely possible that the wine was below the legal limit of 9 g/l and the other elements made the wine taste sweeter than it was. Furthermore, all those saffron and orange marmalade tones suggested the presence of botrytis, which might further explain all the richness, viscosity and sense of sweetness in the wine. All in all, this is a very impressive wine in its own right, but it's definitely not in my wheelhouse; I prefer Rieslings fresh, dry and incisive - this wine was none of those things. However, although I've never had an Unendlich Riesling before, I still managed to guess correctly that this was an FX Pichler Riesling - that odd gaseous character is something I see in very few wines, but pretty much invariably in FX Pichler's whites, making it a perfect identifier. I can understand if some people love this wine, but as it has been said many times, this is a love-it-or-hate-it wine - and at 170€ per bottle, I honestly don't think the price here makes any sense.

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  7/23/2021 - Alex Barbera Does not like this wine: 85 Points

  Mullbinde und das Hansaplast unter der Dusche begeistert mich wenig

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  7/17/2021 - NoTrollingerPlease wrote: 92 Points

  10 years after Riesling tasting - 2011 (Restaurant Waldhorn, Kirchheim, Germany): Glass: Sophienwald Universal
  Bottle double decanted about 7h before the tasting. Bought at release, perfectly stored.
  This is another wine that clearly polarizes! You either hate it or love it.
  Clear, medium yellow. Nose with the 2011 typical band aid notes, some ripe fruit, herbs.
  On the palate certainly a monster with its 15% abv and rather hot. But it is also quite complex, very deep, dense and unique. Ethereal notes, black pepper, botrytis, ripe yellow fruit, very mineral and a very long finish. 92-93+

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  1/25/2020 - NoTrollingerPlease wrote: 91 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, pale-golden color. Clean nose with some candied fruit, clean botrytis, herbs. Very dense and surprisingly without the band aid notes that you can find in some of Pichler’s wines in 2011. On the palate quite spicy from botrytis. Deep and dense, some bitter notes, acacia, anise, and with some slight band aid notes. Fatter than 2013 and 2012. Long finish. 91-92+

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  1/5/2020 - FransS wrote: 94 Points

  Loek's birthday lunch and tasting (Restaurant Bak, Amsterdam): It is a wine you do not taste frequently (normally), a difficult to describe bouquet with some caramel, a whiff of botrytis; the taste is ethereal with a very elegant, refreshing acidity underneath. The aftertaste grows with aeration. What will the future brings?

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