Due to the complications of traveling to a restricted state I have sadly not been to LA since February. It was so wonderful to be back to see friends over great wine and food!
2015 JB Becker Jean Baptiste - I have had this wine twice in the last few weeks and it is definitely shutting down. Still good but nowhere near the excitement experienced in past bottles that were stellar.
2019 Falkenstein Sonnenberg Kabinett #9 Munny - saline, savory, tension, energy and a joy to drink. One of those wines you look over at the bottles after what feels like 5-10 minutes and it is already gone (we were four people!).
Side note: Otafuku in Gardena (suburb of LA) was wonderful. Outside dining in their parking lot. $15 corkage. Riesling friendly food. The Chicken wing was my favorite (high praise from a Buffalo kid). They are known for their noodles and fresh tofu and they did not disappoint. Thanks Charlie for the info.
1989 Egon Müller Spätlese - beautiful, more evolved and tertiary than the 90 Spätlese. Had it not been for the other wines on the table this would have probably left a greater impression.
1990 Egon Müller Spätlese Auction - last bottle of this was one of the best bottles of Riesling I have ever had. This was very good but not quite at that level. More complex and deep than the 89. Still evolving for sure. I wish I could drink these more regularly.
2013 Egon Müller Kabinett Auction - Wow! Great, great showing for this bottle. The energy and tension of 13 is there and the fruit is starting to meld beautiful with the other components. As you all know I LOVE 2013 in Germany.
2014 Leflaive Bienvenue Batard Montrachet - 2014 is my 2013 in Germany. Just love the vintage. This was filigreed and if I dare say Riesling like with its lemon and mineral tones, the highest compliment from me! Wonderful bottle.
2008 Keller Hubacker - As the GGs in my cellar continue to age the question of optimal drinking continues to be more and more relevant. I honestly don’t know where I stand. A dear friend who has a great collection with perfect provenance feels strongly that answer is 20+ I think were I am coming out is unlike sweet wines that shut down and have peak moments I like the continual and gradual arch of the GGs. I basically like to try them at all ages. This was a good example of that, it was absolutely stunning and had more bass like tones and was aromatically different than a younger Hubacker. I guess we will not fully know the answer to the question until we have some in the 30+ category. I do realize there were many dry wines made before the GGs and these can give us some clues. In the meantime I will just keep drinking them and hope I still have some to try in the 20-30 year window.
2017 Ulli Stein 1900 - Wonderful to see the Mosel Fines Wines recent post that these are the most underrated wines. I have known that for many, many years and buy these wines across of offerings in multiple case quantities every year. And Ulli is one of my favorite people in the world. This is from a small vineyard that is in between two residential houses and one of the oldest in all of the Mosel. Thee 2017 1900 is Feinherb in style, slightly sweet, perfect acid, minerality, and fresh.
2017 Bize Corton-Charlemagne - Fantastic showing for this young wine. I love the Bize CC and only wish I could find it more easily. Incredible wine and value. This was full of minerality and lemon with just a hint of oak. A riesling drinkers chard…