Life’s pretty hectic nowadays when a get together that was cancelled at the last minute in July can be finally made happen no sooner than in late November. Fortunately at last I was able to host the boys yesterday at our newish apartment. The main idea was to try side by side the two Bandols. The 2001 Pibarnon was pretty killer while by no means at its peak yet. Bandol is perhaps the most masculine wine out there and this one epitomized it, seemingly smelling of a big beast’s sweat. The Fontaneou in comparison was a baby, unsurprisingly, but we all felt that it will age very well. Both wines paired well with nicely marbled beef sirloin cooked on cast iron, served with a delicious Hasselbacka potato gratin (a Seriouseats recipe).
To begin the night I blinded the other with the 1995 Ampeau Meursault. I thought the wine shows very young for its age so it is no surprise that the closest guess for the vintage was 2009
With the Meursault, the Rhône blend and the Zind-Humbrecht we had a very saliva-inducing platter of terrine de campagne, Italian salumi, home made sourdough bread, Ossau-Iraty, organic Vorarlberg Bergkäse, foie gras on toast etc etc. That is to say, a lot of food, so in a very Finnish fashion we heated up the sauna to have a break from eating.
After the sauna and some lagers everyone was asking for a crisp white so I grabbed the Hofgut Falkenstein Kabinett with ”Mia” designation. Safe to say we emptied the bottle in minutes and we were all blown away by the quality and style. Based on the couple of wines I’ve had I feel like surely this is one of the most exciting wineries in Mosel right now. I will be making space in my cellar for this producer, as will my mates.
2015 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl - France, Alsace (27.11.2022)
Surprisingly citrusy on the nose with a faint note of apricot. On the palate there is some viscosity but what surprises is how compact and firm it is. This is not a flamboyant Pinot Gris at all but rather a restrained (relatively), ultra-focused iteration. Really great acidity here - this does not resemble the textbook ideal of an Alsace Pinot Gris. Rich, textured and impactful. A very good wine that likely appeals more to the wine geek crowd than the casual drinkers.
2021 Hofgut Falkenstein Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (27.11.2022)
Really tight on the nose with green apple, limestone and some sponti funk. On the palate packs good concentration but in a very tight, chiseled form. Markedly intense - this does not go down without leaving its mark. There is sweetness but the huge acidity makes it seem quite dry and salty. This is as intense as Mosel Riesling come. A challenging wine for some, for my palate this is incredibly enjoyable. No weight whatsoever, electric.
2019 François Dumas Vin de France La Vigne de Dom - France, Vin de France (27.11.2022)
Gently fruited on the nose - a very inviting and generous aromatic profile. Marsanne pushes through with the marzipan/almond note but there are also minerally hints. On the palate it has volume and richness and the 14% ABV shows quite clearly. On the savory side with an oily feel. Fresh at first, with some time and temp going up its gets weightier and less drinkable.
2014 La Bastide Blanche Bandol Cuvée Fontanéou - France, Provence, Bandol (27.11.2022)
On the nose primary with plenty of ripe dark fruit with some iron and tar. Not very open, quite reserved. On the palate medium-bodied with pretty strong, grippy tannins. Altogether dry and savory, quite a lot of structure here. A lighter vintage but without a doubt it has the goods to age gracefully. Very classy.
2001 Château de Pibarnon Bandol - France, Provence, Bandol (27.11.2022)
Beautifully matured on the nose with rich brambly fruit, blood, bouillon and balsamico. Slightly volatile, but only in a positive way. On the palate full-bodied with big fruit and big tannins. Developed to a degree but still feels like there are years to go before maturity. A masculine wine for sure without any kind of jamminess. A very good wine with plenty of upside.
A fun line-up indeed! Your Pibarnon sounds a little further down the road than the rather burly 2005 I opened on Saturday, which definitely needed another five years.
Makes sense I suppose But all in all pretty long-lived wines indeed. The more I drink Bandol with some age the happier I am to have a pretty wide selection of producers and vintages in the cellar.
Oh I agree! Patience is usually rewarded and when they’re good they’re wonderful but sometimes it’s like watching England play football - talking of which…!
I finally managed to reach these tasting notes! Thus, once again, I’m capturing Ilkka’s thread for tasting note purposes instead of creating a new one for the same bottles.
I, too, forgot to take a picture of that Dumas bottle (which we forgot in the fridge during the photo shoot) but at least I remembered to include the Ampeau bottle (and also that bottle Raul Pérez Arrotos on which I had already written a TN previously, which is why I’m not adding a new one here)!
1995 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault (26.11.2022)
Made from relatively early-harvested fruit, fermented in concrete tanks, aged for 10 months in oak pièces and bottled in the summer following the harvest. Aged in the domaine's cool cellars and released when deemed ready (normally 15-20 years after the vintage). 13,5% alcohol, 6,3 g/l acidity. Tasted blind.
Deep, quite concentrated and surprisingly youthful neon yellow-green color. The nose feels sweet, quite concentrated and a bit toasty with quite youthful aromas of honeydew melon and golden apples, perfumed floral tones, some notes of grilled pineapple, light creamy oak nuances, a hint of melting butter and a distinctive touch of kerosene. The wine feels firm yet silky and very slightly viscous - probably due to the concentration brought by age - with a medium body and layered flavors of stony minerality and crunchy red apples, some creamy oak tones, a little bit of savory wood spice, light toasty notes of grilled pineapple, a hint of ripe peach and a touch of developed beeswaxy character. The high acidity lends good sense of structure to the wine. The finish is dry, long and slightly spicy with a fresh aftertaste of creamy oak and ripe citrus fruits, some savory notes of woody oak spice, light sweeter nuances of ripe apricot and honey, a little bit of buttery richness and a hint of toasty character.
A wonderfully fresh, precise and remarkably youthful effort for its age. I instantly identified the wine as a white Burgundy, but I thought it was something like 20 years younger - it honestly didn't taste one bit like a wine almost 30 years old! When the label was revealed I was floored, because I had already tasted the wine earlier, yet didn't recognize it. However, when I had tasted the wine a few years earlier, I had also been amazed how remarkably youthful the wine is for its age, so in that sense this wine was exactly what it should've been. Reading my old TN, this wine has changed very little in these couple of years - and based on this fact, I can assume this wine will easily continue to evolve and improve with further aging. Terrific stuff now, but expect the score to go up as the wine ages. Delivers for the price at 89,52€. (93 points)
2019 François Dumas Vin de France La Vigne de Dom - France, Rhône, Vin de France (26.11.2022)
A blend of Marsanne and Roussanne from Saint-Joseph and Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Riesling from a parcel planted in 2015. All the varieties are harvested at the same time and co-fermented together with indigenous yeasts. Aged in old oak barrels for at least 20 months. Vinified without any sulfites. 14% alcohol.
Youthful and slightly hazy lemon-yellow color with faint green highlights. The nose feels ripe, juicy and somewhat sweet toned, but also a bit straightforward at first - the finer nuances start to emerge only with some air. The wine feels quite viscous, somewhat wild and a bit heavy on the palate with a quite full body and nuanced flavors of beeswax and floral spice, some sweeter notes of cloudberry jam, a little bit of nashi pear, light herby notes of Roussanne and Marsanne reminiscent of chamomile and mountain herbs, hints of overripe apple or apple jam and cantaloupe and a touch of stony minerality. The wine is surprisingly high in acidity for its size and weight, but unfortunately the rather high alcohol shows through as well. The finish is oily, spicy and slightly warm with lengthy flavors of beeswax, some nashi pear, a little bit of herbal spice and chamomile, light sweeter notes of apple jam, mineral hints of wet rocks and chalk dust and a touch of acetic VA. The alcohol shows through more towards the end of the aftertaste.
A somewhat balanced and quite distinctive but also a bit too warm and heavy Rhône white. Although I'm sure that the Chardonnay/Chenin/Riesling component has granted the wine good sense of acidity and some minerality, they have not really made the wine more interesting aromatically - instead the wine feels more like a hodgepodge of flavors with no real sense of focus or identity. It does become a bit more nuanced and aromatically interesting with some air, but at the same time turning slightly heavier and sweeter, taking toll on the drinkability that was a bit on the lower side to begin with. An interesting wine, but didn't really win my heart over. Priced somewhat according to its quality at 21€. (87 points)
2021 Hofgut Falkenstein Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett "Mia" #22 - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (26.11.2022)
100% old vine Riesling from Ockfener Bockstein; in the AP number printed in the front label, number 22 is bolded, followed by the fuder name, Mia. Picked at 83° Oechsle (ie. 20 Brix), translating to 11,8% potential alcohol. Fermented spontaneously in one old fuder to 40 g/l, after which the fermentation is halted. 8% alcohol.
Pale, rather neutral whitish-green color. Somewhat closed, quite reductive and super youthful nose with classic, focused Riesling aromas of ripe, zesty citrus fruits, some grapey fermentation notes, a little bit of pear-driven primary fruit, light floral notes of apple blossom, a flatulent hint of sponti funk and a touch of clementine. The wine is crisp, lively and racy on the palate with a light body and very youthful, medium-sweet flavors of sharp lemony tones and piercing saline minerality, some tart Granny Smith apple notes, a little bit of grapey primary fruit, light skunky notes of reduction, a MSG-like hint of savory umami character and a touch of fresh gooseberry. The bracing acidity lends remarkable sense of structure, freshness and electric energy to the wine while offsetting most of the residual sugar, making the wine feel medium-dry rather than medium-sweet towards the aftertaste. The finish is brisk, fruity and quite mineral with a long yet slightly restrained aftertaste of lemony citrus fruits and green apples, some saline mineral notes, a little bit of crunchy whitecurrants, a little bit of grapey primary fruit, a mineral hint of incisive steely character and a touch of floral lift.
A wonderfully crisp, racy and eminently drinkable Kabinett Riesling that feels just way too young for its own good. The wine is bursting with fruit and energy, but the overall feel is still moderately reductive with its skunky notes of sponti funk, and the fruit department still shows quite a bit of very primary grapey notes that - at least to me - lend a somewhat generic, anonymous feeling to Rieslings that are too young. While immensely delicious with its combination of residual sugar sweetness and racy acidity, this wine feels like it could really use a lot more age before it really starts to show its best. Great stuff now, but will get so much better if one just has the patience to wait. Recommended. (90 points)
2015 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl - France, Alsace (26.11.2022)
A single-vineyard Pinot Gris from Clos Windsbuhl, a vineyard that produces grapes that are atypically light in color and show higher acidity than others. The average vine age is 46 years. 13,2% alcohol, 10,8 g/l residual sugar, 4,65 g/l acidity and pH 3,3.
Pale lemon-yellow color. The nose feels quite ripe and sweet with aromas of yellow-toned fruits like peaches and honeydew melon, some beeswax notes, a little bit of poached pear, light zesty citrus fruit nuances and a hint of savory spices. The wine is broad, somewhat oily and still quite firm on the palate with quite lush medium-dry flavors of nectarine and tangerine, some honeydew melon, light notes of beeswax, a little bit of apple jam, a hint of stony minerality and a slightly evolved, nutty touch of almond. The medium-to-moderately high acidity doesn't feel high enough to lend the wine much freshness, but it is adequate enough to keep the wine very much in balance. The finish is broad and rich with a long medium-dry aftertaste of honeydew melon and ripe orange-driven citrus fruit, some apple jam tones, a little bit of beeswax, light nutty nuances of almond and a hint of vague mineral character.
A very lovely, tasty and harmonious Pinot Gris that is obviously from the off-dry department, yet doesn't come across as too ripe, heavy or flabby in any way. Even if the wine isn't particularly high in acidity, it carries its sweetness really well while exhibiting great firmness and sense of balance. Tasty, textural stuff. Based on how relatively little development the wine shows at the age of 7 years, I can see this aging and improving for at least twice as much - although the wine is pretty darn lovely right now. Terrific stuff. (92 points)
2014 La Bastide Blanche Bandol Cuvée Fontanéou - France, Provence, Bandol (26.11.2022)
A blend of Mourvèdre (92-93%) and Grenache (7-8%) from a 30 years old, 1.75 hectare vineyard with northwestern exposure. Fully destemmed, fermented spontaneously, macerated with the skins for three weeks, aged for 18 months in old, large (1800 to 8000-liter) foudres.
Very deep and quite opaque blackish-red color. Brooding, moderately sweet-toned but also a bit closed nose with aromas of dark forest fruits, a little bit of sweet dark plummy fruit, light meaty nuances of bloody game, a volatile hint of nail polish, a touch of savory spices and a whiff of blackberry marmalade. The wine feels dense, dry and somewhat closed on the palate with a firm, medium-to-moderately full body and ripe yet rather savory flavors of meaty umami and game, some leathery notes, a little bit of wizened dark plum, light balsamic notes, a hint of peppery spice and a touch of asphalt. The wine has a wonderful, quite tactile texture and an impressive, rather sinewy structure due to its moderately high acidity and grippy yet not aggressive or tough tannins. The finish is savory, dense and quite tannic with a long, slightly reserved aftertaste of wizened black cherries, some earthy notes, a little bit of leathery funk, light peppery tones, hints of game and meaty umami and a ferrous touch of blood.
A stern and somewhat reserved yet still quite poised and, above all, wonderfully structured Bandol that feels like it isn't young anymore, but not particularly aged either. The wine has dropped its youthful nuances and turned into a rather grumpy fellow that really needed some air to come around - and even then was quite reluctant to really open up. There's definitely some ripeness here, but the wines is still very savory, somewhat tough and relatively lightweight (for a Bandol, that is) in style. There's a lot to love here, but the wine isn't an immediate charmer and knows it. At the moment the wine is maybe a bit too unyielding for full enjoyment, but it is pretty delicious all the same. I'd say let the wine age for another 5-10 years, just to get it past that grumpy, closed phase and develop into some lovely tertiary complexity - expect my score to go up as the wine ages. And remember to let the wine aerate for long enough! Terrific stuff and solid value at 28,50€. (93 points)
2001 Château de Pibarnon Bandol - France, Provence, Bandol (26.11.2022)
A blend of Mourvèdre (90%) and Grenache (10%). Fermented spontaneously while macerating on the skins for three weeks. Aged in oak casks for 20 months. 14% alcohol.
Dense and quite opaque blackish-red color with an evolved maroon hue. The nose feels dense, evolved and very complex with layered aromas of wizened dark fruits and dried figs, sweet red cherries, some leathery funk, a little bit of balsamic VA, light lifted minty notes, a hint of cigar box and a touch of meat consommé or red wine reduction sauce. The overall feel is very attractive and, despite all the evolved savory tones, suggestive of sweetness. The wine is dense, very firm and chewy on the palate with a full body and savory, moderately evolved flavors of meaty umami and wizened cherries, some balsamic tones, a little bit of game, light cigar box notes, autumnal hints of sous-bois and earthy garrigue and a sweeter touch of dried figs. Structurally quite stern and muscular, thanks to both the high acidity and still quite assertive and relatively unresolved tannins. The finish is dry, rather tannic and somewhat evolved with a complex, harmonious aftertaste of game and meaty umami, some balsamic notes of VA, a little bit of meat consommé, light sweeter notes of wizened figs and ripe black cherries, a hint of leathery funk and a touch of cigar box.
A big, bold and quite powerful Bandol that is starting to show some age, yet still manages to retain lots of vibrant fruit character and tons of structure. This ain't young, but it is still quite far off its plateau of maturity, too. Immensely enjoyable now, but I wouldn't be surprised if the wine continued to age, evolve and improve for many, many years more. Beautiful stuff, highly recommended. Delivers for the price at 72€. (95 points)
That Pibarnon sounds great. We had 2000 a couple weeks ago that came off a bit roasted and darker than you describe, which was a bit surprising given the house style and elevation. I concluded it was quite affected by the relatively hot 2000 summer although I hadn’t had an aged Pibarnon in recent memory.
I had a much stronger and more immediately positive impression of the Falkenstein Mia than you did. I liked it surprisingly almost immediately on opening despite some Sponti and found it had a unique and strong aromatic profile beyond Sponti but also evolved well over a couple days as the wine opened up.
I also enjoyed the Falkenstein Mia a lot, especially if you look at how rapidly the contents of the bottle just evaporated from my glass! However, I must admit I’ve never been a big fan of very young Rieslings. I don’t mind sponti funk too much, unless it’s too dominant to the extent it just obfuscates everything else and makes the wine stink of hard-boiled eggs. In this wine the sponti funk was more of a nuance, as you can see from my tasting note how much I could find in the wine beyond sponti.
My bigger problem with young Rieslings is the primary fruit and all the fermentation aromas. I know many people love these qualities as they make the wine feel so fruity and exuberant in their youth. However, just like elements like excessive use of new oak or too much brett, they homogenize the wine to my palate. I find these primary notes in Rieslings make the wine feel banal and just, well, generic young Riesling. They are elements that smell and taste exactly the same, no matter if the wine is a $5 Riesling or a $100 Riesling - which is why I used to wonder in my early days of wine enthusiasm why these expensive young Rieslings feel like cheap everyday wines! The primary fruit profile of a young Riesling is quite distinct and easily noticeable once you familiarize yourself with it, but it is also something that always feels more or less the same. It might be thrilling when you pick it up for the first time, but when you pick it up for the 100th time from a different wine and it always smells and tastes the same, you sort of get an anti-reaction (the same thing that happened to me with new oak).
Although I can easily see beyond these primary fruit notes (as in the case of this Mia, where the very high quality and finesse of the wine are so obvious despite its sponti and very primary fruit), it still is more a distraction than an attractive element to me. This is also the main reason why I’d rather drink almost all the wines with at least a few years (well, quite often +5 years) on them. I just want a wine to blow off all its primary fruit and estery fermentation aromas before I open a bottle. Probably even more so with Rieslings than with other wines.
Sure, I guess waiting a day or two might’ve yielded better results, but this wine didn’t really stand a chance at that. The bottle was so ridiculously drinkable it was emptied in like less than 10 minutes.
