von Weingut Dönnhoff, Nahe:
2012 Niederhausen Hermannshöhle Riesling GG
Rheinland-Pfalz
Deutschland
97Punkte
Komplex: pfeffrig, Curry, AvocadoHonig, Jasmin, frischfruchtige Motive von Schwarzer Johannisbeere. Im Mund geschmeidig, unmittelbar druckvoll, geschmolzene Phenole, ein ganz nahtlos rundes Amalgam aus Geschmeidigkeit, Nerv und taktiler Mineralität, subtil und kraftvoll zugleich, sehr lang vor allem in der mineralischen Komponente, großes weiteres Potenzial.
2018 Cheval Blanc • Le Petit Cheval Blanc
Rating 95
Drink Date 2022 – 2032
Cheval Blanc’s relatively new white wine, the 2018 Le Petit Cheval Blanc, is a blend of 74% Sauvignon Blanc and 26% Sémillon. This is the first vintage that the Sémillon plantings have come online to make the blend. Profound notions of ripe pineapple, passion fruit and white peaches explode from the glass, followed by fragrant notes of lemongrass, lime blossoms and yuzu zest with a waft of sea spray. The palate is full-bodied with an alluring oiliness to the texture and layer upon layer of tropical fruits, citrus peel and minerals, marked by a refreshing line and finishing with loads of mineral sparks. Put aside all your preconceptions of „Bordeaux Blanc“ and don’t even try to compare it to Pessac-Leognan. This has its own gorgeous expression of these grapes, defying regional tradition. Give yourself over to the rich decadence of this flamboyant white that is at once without peers, but is also quintessentially Cheval Blanc.
HEINER LOBENBERG ÜBER:
Le Petit Cheval blanc
Lobenberg: Dieser weiße Cheval ist auf kleineren sandigen und lehmigen Teilen von Cheval Blanc zu Beginn des Jahrtausends gepflanzt worden. 12 winzige Parzellen fließen hier ein. Biologisch berabeitet, Handlese, Ganztraubenpressung mit 80% Sauvignon Blanc und 20% Semillon. Vergärung nur im Holz von 600 Litern bis 3 Hektoliter, Malo und Ausbau auf der Feinhefe 18 Monate im neuen und gebrauchten französischen Barrique. Das Holz ist aber in der Nase sehr moderat. Blumige und mineralisch salzige Eindrücke dominieren. Im Mund erstaunlich frisch, Zitronengras, Bergamotte, Renekloden und weißer Pfirsich. Grüne Avocado, feinste provencalische Krautwürze und immer wieder die Frische von Limetten nebst Zitronemelisse im Abgang, Sehr eleganter und mineralisch frischer Wein!
HE Dausch The Gurus Pinot Noir Pfalz
Hans Erich Dausch (genannt HE), erzeugt extrem hochwertige Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) in dem Örtchen Eschbach in der südlichen Pfalz.
Seine Weine haben schon jetzt Kultstatus erreicht, sind aber am Markt kaum mehr erhältlich. Seine Rebstöcke sind, im Gegensatz zu vielen seiner Mit-Konkurrenten, ausschließlich deutsche Klone und nicht aus dem Burgund importiert. Der Lagenname seines Weinberges ist „Eschbacher Hasen“, ein relativ unbekannter Name für ein Stück Land mit herausragendem Potential. Den Ausbau seiner Weine nimmt HE Dausch im nordpfälzischen Laumersheim vor, den Weinkennern bekannt als Heimat des Weingutes Knipser. Hier lagert er auch seine Barrique-Fässer der berühmten Tonnellerie Francois Frères. Natürlich jedes Jahr 100% neue Eiche, wie im Burgund bei den Grand-Crus.
CASTELLO DEI RAMPOLLA
Sammarco 1982
- Gründungsjahr: ca. 1709
- Eigentümer: Maurizia und Luca di Napoli
- Önologe: Giacomo Tachis (†)
- Kellermeister: Luca di Napoli
- Jahresproduktion: ca. 90.000 Flaschen
- Rebfläche: ca. 42 Hektar
- Naturnaher Anbau
Das Weingut war maßgeblich am italienischen Weinwunder der 1980er Jahre beteiligt. Hier entstehen ein blitzsauberer Chianti Classico, der Super-Toskaner Sammarco und das Spitzenprodukt d’Alceo. Alle drei der jedes Jahr streng limitierten Rotweine spiegeln das beeindruckende Qualitätsbewusstsein von Castello dei Rampolla perfekt wider. Das in Panzano liegende Gut ist seit fast 300 Jahren im Besitz der Familie di Napoli. Spätestens seit Ende der achtziger Jahre ist es für ununterbrochene Spitzenqualität weltberühmt.
Die Grundlagen für den langjährigen Erfolg legte der Großvater der Geschwister Maurizia und Luca di Napoli. Alceo konzentrierte sich ab den 1970er Jahren ausschließlich auf den Weinbau, obwohl es damals riskant war, mit dieser Aufgabe allein seinen Lebensunterhalt zu sichern. Doch die Weinkenner merkten den guten Tropfen ihre Spitzenqualität schnell an und sicherten damit seine Existenz. Längst wird die legendäre Tenuta von Alceos Enkeln geleitet.
1998 Artadi • Viña El Pisón
Rating 96
Release Price NA
Drink Date 2010 – 2030
Senor Lopez de Lacalle says of the 1998 El Pison, “it is ripe but sometimes the tannin is more evident, a very well defined tannin, more structured”. After a decade in the bottle, it is displaying a lovely, complex, room-filling bouquet. While more structured than the 2004 and 2007, it still is a silky offering with loads of flavor that appeals to both the intellect and the senses. It will continue providing pleasure for another 15-20 years. No visit to Rioja would be complete without a visit to Artadi and maestro Juan Carlos Lopez de Lacalle. Artadi’s most recent releases are the 2007s which were reviewed in Issue 183. On this occasion, we sampled the promising 2009s from barrel in addition to the 4 vintages of the flagship Vina El Pison (all of which have been previously reviewed, the 1995 and 1998 by Robert Parker). The El Pison comes from a single Tempranillo vineyard planted in 1945 on pure limestone.
2010 Armand Rousseau • Mazy-Chambertin Grand Cru
Rating (94 – 96)
Release Price NA
Drink Date 2025 – 2035
The 2010 Mazis-Chambertin is explosive and totally beautiful in every way. Sweet red berries, roses, mint and hard candy come together in a striking display of class. Rousseau says the Mazis gets better with age, a frightening prospect considering just how good the wine is today. An endless, seamless finish is the only fitting conclusion. The Mazis is flat-out great. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2035. My visit with Eric Rousseau was one of the highlights of my fall trip. The 2010s are fabulous from top to bottom. Rousseau started picking on September 22. The fruit saw about four days of cold soak followed by a cuvaison that lasted anywhere from 15 to 21 days, depending on the wine. I was equally thrilled with the 2009s I tasted from bottle. I will have more on those wines in our April issue.
2016 Il Marroneto • Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie
Rating 100
Release Price NA
Drink Date 2024 – 2050
End of November 2020, The Wine Advocate
There it is: that Il Marroneto magic. To my palate, Alessandro Mori’s 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie best captures the soaring spirit and ambition of Brunello, made in its purest and most naked form. This vintage is a twin sibling to the 2010 that I awarded a perfect score. Whereas that wine surprised me, appearing with so much unexpected radiance and brilliance, this wine won me over in a more careful, less emotional and more contemplative manner. Having now tasted the 2010 vintage multiple times, I better know what to expect in terms of the near-term aging evolution of the 2016. I know that the laser-sharp purity of the fruit will soften, leading to more nuanced and finessed tones of underbrush, lilac, iron ore and candied orange peel over the next five years. This wine unfolds to show deep complexity up front with buoyant and jovial red fruit at its core. It vibrates with electric energy and charm.
2009 Vietti • Barolo Riserva Villero
Rating 100
Release Price NA
Drink Date 2020 – 2045
In a word, the 2009 Barolo Riserva Villero is magic. I’m not sure I understand how Luca Currado does it. With his wizard’s wand, he achieves a level of purity and intensity that I have rarely ever seen in Barolo or any other Italian appellation for that matter. The wine is centered and balanced at its core, but its aromas and flavors are absolutely explosive at the same time. The bouquet delivers dark fruit, tobacco, white truffle, balsam herb and grilled rosemary. The tannins are structured with a vein of supple sweetness. This wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in large barrel and is left to develop on the fine lees without racking. It is largely made in reduction to establish that crunchy and firm quality you feel in the mouth. This special Riserva was not made in 2008. However, it was produced in 2007, 2006, 2004, 2001, 1997, 1996, 1990, 1989 and 1982. Luca is planning to make it in 2013, and that’s great news for all.
2004 Joseph Phelps • Insignia
Rating 94
Release Price $240
Drink Date 2014 – 2034
A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec, the 2004 Insignia was aged 24 months in new French oak. It boasts a dense ruby/purple color as well as rich, full-bodied, supple tannins, abundant fruit and exciting levels of complexity and richness. This cuvee’s large production makes it one of the finest quality/quantity Cabernets produced in Napa Valley. Drink it over the next two decades. Tel. (707) 963-2745; Fax (707) 963-4831
2012 La Mission Haut-Brion
Rating 96
Drink Date 2020 – 2050
Tasted blind at the Southwold 2012 tasting, the 2012 La Mission Haut-Brion showed brilliantly. It has an intense, floral bouquet with rose petals and strawberry preserve, hints of sous-bois and tobacco gently unfolding in the glass, gaining more earthiness as it aerates in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, broad and spicy with hints of bell pepper suggesting high quality Cabernet Franc. It fans out gloriously with a sustained tertiary finish that completes what is a wondrous La Mission Haut-Brion from Jean-Philippe Delmas and his team. Tasted January 2012.
beauty should enter its drinking window in a couple of years and cellar gracefully for another 20+ years.
2006 Penfolds • Grange
Rating 98+
Release Price $500
Drink Date 2016 – 2030
Made from fruit coming predominantly from the Barossa Valley this year (97%) and containing 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2006 Grange has been added to my list of favorite recent vintages. Deep garnet-purple colored, it’s still a little youthfully mute, offering notes of warm cherries, black currants, anise, coffee and toast with underlying hints of soy, yeast extract, black olives and Indian spices. Tight-knit and solidly structured on the medium to full-bodied palate, the concentrated fruit is densely coiled around the firm grainy tannins and very crisp acidity at this stage, but promises something very special in the years to come. It finishes very long, complex and layered with the cedar poking through the fruit purity. Patience is required for this vintage; it should begin opening out around 2016 and drink to 2030+.