Dinner with Suzanne, Jay, Zach, and after what seems like ages, the Count himself at Grand Sich last night. Great company, the GS kitchen was on form with all their dishes, and we had some pretty spectacular wines. A really fun evening - thanks all.
(there was also a sherry that I don’t recall, but I’ll trust Mikhail to fill in)
2013 Jutta Weinbau Ambrositsch Glockenturm Gemischter Satz
Pleasant but quite unexciting. There’s plenty of bright fruit tinged with floral notes and a lively acid spine beneath that balances the very faint sweetness, but it’s not particularly interesting and seems a bit one-note. Refreshing, but this drinks like a basic QbA Riesling, unfortunately at twice the price.
1971 Schloss Reinhartshausen Erbacher Hohenrain Riesling Spätlese
Z’s birthyear, so there’s another excuse to pop a 1971er. This is absolutely phenomenal, and everything that I want a great mature Riesling to be. The scent is an immediate wow with all sorts of developed honeyed, smoky, autumnal forestal and pine needle flavours, but beneath there’s still plenty of brightness to the more youthful fruit and floral elements. The palate presence is stunning, incredibly polished and graceful with bright acids keeping it very lively, and this is just a fantastic Riesling.
2008 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Loibner Steinertal
Tastes as if this came from rock rather than grapes. Powerful and intense on the palate with plenty of extract and waves of vivid stony and saline mineral elements framing fresh orchard fruits and herbal elements. There’s a sense of lightness on the palate with the acidity keeping it very precise and focused, and it finishes with great length.
2005 Nigl Riesling Privat
I couldn’t focus on this as much as I would have liked to, with the Reinhartshausen and Pichler in my other glasses, but this was very nice. Ripe fruit, stony minerality, a faint touch of reduction at first that cleared with a little air to give way to brighter floral aromas, very elegant.
2009 Marie-Noelle Ledru Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée du Goulté
A strange showing - I really liked this when I had a bottle a few weeks ago, but this seemed a bit simple in contrast with some bright fruit and doughy notes, but not showing the depth I recall. With air it opened up some, though this was a bit disappointing given my usual high expectations for Ledru. I’m curious to see how leftovers develop.
2007 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard
Liked but didn’t love this. There’s lots of ripe red fruit here tinged with some brambly and cola notes, the texture’s quite polished and elegant but it feels a touch soft on the palate as well and the finish is a bit clipped.
2010 Maison Ilan Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux
After all the talk on here, it’s always interesting to actually sit down with one of the Maison Ilan wines. First impressions from the aromatics are quite pleasant, with lots of bright red fruits framed by more savoury earthy and faintly oaky accents, but from there it’s all downhill. The palate feels a bit thin and hollow in the middle, not living up to the initial fragrance, and with more air the scent becomes quite offputting as the oak flavours deepen in intensity and overwhelm the fruit.
2002 Mount Langi Ghiran Shiraz Mast Rare Reserve Block
Damn is this good. A really great, old school Aussie Shiraz with plenty of fruit that’s certainly ripe, but not heavy or overripe, and accented by the start of developing smoky, leathery, and other savoury earthy flavours. The balance here is fantastic - intense on the palate with plenty of power, yet also quite graceful with bright acids and a grainy tannin spine keeping the fruit in check. This kept getting better and better with air. Thanks Count.
1998 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Clos Windsbuhl Vendange Tardive
This is a powerhouse; incredibly intense and concentrated on the palate with layers of ripe fruit, honey, floral notes, and faint spicy accents. It’s a big wine but not over the top as some ZHs can be, the balance is quite good with fairly bright acids to match the sweetness and the alcohol kept in check, though it still feels quite youthful and primary. Goes very nicely with the spicier Sichuan dishes.
1998 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein
A thrilling wine, a high wire act of incredibly intense, concentrated passionfruit, white cherries, Meyer lemons, and all sorts of other ripe citrus and tropical fruit flavours accented with honey, flowers, and higher toned spicy elements. The balance is again phenomenal with powerful acids that give it an incredibly elegant palate presence despite the massive sweetness, and incredible length. Very much wow stuff.
