Hors Bordeaux Tasting notes: France, Spain, Austria and Germany

db’s Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay looks at the September releases on La Place from  Spain, France, Austria and Germany. 

Spanish releases (red) 

This year has seen the new release of  De La Riva Macharnuda, Dolio and Matallana in Spain, joining existing La Place ‘regulars’ Yjar and Marqués de Riscal’s Tapias.

Dolio 2019 (Ribeira Sacra DO; 66% Mencia; 20% Brancellao; 6% Sousón; 4% Caiño; 4% Garnacha Tintorera; 14% alcohol; a total production of 6655 individually numbered bottles). The first vintage of this wine produced at Aldega Algeira for la place de Bordeaux with the help of Telmo Rodríguez and Pablo Eguzkiza. Spicy, floral, fresh – gladioli and patchouli, peony – with a pleasing crushed rock minerality accompanying the dried cherries, figs and nuts, but also bright and crisp red berry fruits with even a little redcurrant. A little wild sage too. There’s a lot of tannin present and the granularity of those tannins is evident at first. But that gives a good impression of structure, helping to maintain the compact and yet quite fluid profile of the wine over the palate. Just a little reductive at first (though less so when re-tasted two months later just before its release) and with just a touch of dryness on the finish. Interesting, distinct and authentic this will find plenty of admirers. 93.

Matallana 2020 (Ribera Del Duero; a blend, predominantly, of Tinto Fino, Navarro, Valenciano, Albillo; 14.5% alcohol; certified organic). This could easily become something of a cult wine. A new release on la place – the first from Ribera Del Duero and unlikely to be the last – from the extremely talented Telmo Rodriguez (here working with Pablo Eguzkiza). Lovely grippy chalky tannins and quite an interesting gamey, almost animal element. Dried raisins. Figs. Dark berry fruit too and a little hint of raspberry puree. This will need time for the tannins to soften, but it has impressive aging potential. 95.

Yjar 2019 (Rioja Alavesa; a blend of Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha, Granegro and Rojal; 14% alcohol). Also from Telmo Rodriguez. Somewhat firm and closed at this nascent stage, but what it does show is its considerable potential. A little candlewax, assorted plum and baked plum fruits on the nose. Pure, focussed and precise on the palate, nicely layered and impressively dense and compact. This I find stronger than last year’s release but it’s very much a vin de garde and will need a good few years in a cool cellar to show of its best. A lot of potential. 96.

Tapias de Marqués de Riscal 2020 (DOC Rioja; 100% Tempranillo; pH 3.38; 15% alcohol). A fabulous wine in this vintage from Marqués de Riscal and another than has me noting fireworks. Cordite. This is explosive aromatically – almost literally and certainly figuratively. Slate and struck match. Barbeque smoke. Oak and a little vanilla pod. Dried rose petals. Liquorice and sea salt. Toasted brioche. There’s an attractive, slightly sweet-tinged gentle spiciness to this – cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and coriander. Coconut shell too. On the palate Tapias is gentle and soft, with ultra-fine-grained tannins, an impressive limpidity and yet plenty of aging potential (this is a real vin de garde but one that is more accessible young than one would imagine it could be). Impressive. Long and intense, sapid and fresh despite the density and concentration. A wine that exudes old-vine character. 96.

C.V.N.E. ‘Real de Asúa’ Carromaza 2020 (Rioja; 100% Tempranillo; pH 3.6; 14% alcohol; from two plots of 0.85 and 1.52 hectares in the Carromaza vineyard on south-facing slopes in the village of Villalba in the Rioja Alta at around 550 metres of altitude). Another excellent recent Spanish addition to la place now in its second September release. This is explosively expressive on the nose with a rich, soft dark crescendo of fresh berry fruit at first, then more and more cracked and crushed black peppercorns, liquorice, a hint of cedar and just a gentle sprinkling of sweeter spices, the oak use very restrained allowing the slightly ferrous and crushed pebble minerality to reveal itself. The tannins are extremely soft and plush, the mouthfeel opulent and silky and this has a beautiful radiance and fluidity in and through the mid-palate. Very refined, very elegant and yet impressively dense and compact too, with a long future ahead of it. This clearly comes from top terroir that has been thoroughly respected by the extremely talented María Larrea. Very precise and detailed. 96+.

VivaltuS 2018 (Ribera del Duero; 98% Tempranillo; 2% Cabernet Sauvignon; selected from a variety of parcels all at high altitudes of between 900 and 1000 metres on poor clay, sandy and limestone soils; aged in French oak, 15% of which is new, and terracotta; pH 3.67; 14% alcohol). The third release of this wine with Jean-Claude and Jeff Berrouet as the consultants. A gorgeous wine that is utterly beguiling in the glass, though that benefits massively from a couple of hours in the decanter. Supremely fresh and vibrant aromatically, with a lovely mix of spring blooms and wild herbal elements, a little cedar and graphite that build with gentle aeration in the glass and a plump crushed berry freshness. This is very direct and engaging, captivating in its elegance, its honesty and its authenticity. The tannins are super-svelte and like La Fleur this is dense and compact with fruit strapped closely to the spine and very slowly released over the palate, giving this great intensity and length. Sinuous and gracious in its utter purity, this is a most beautiful expression of Ribera del Duero and something of a revelation. A lesson in moderation and balance. 96+.

La Fleur VivaltuS 2018 (Ribera del Duero; 98% Tempranillo; 1% Cabernet Sauvignon; 1% Merlot; a section selection from parcels all at high altitudes of between 750 and 1000 metres on poor clay, sandy and limestone soils; 14% alcohol). Slightly dusty and earthy on the nose with quite a pronounced and slightly ferrous minerality, wild herbs (rosemary and thyme), lily of the valley and loganberry, baked and fresh plums, a little damson too and freshly sharpened pencil. Tight to the spine and impressively dense and compact on the palate with fine-grained if still quite substantial tannins. Linear, pure and refined, yet not losing any of its authentic charm and identity despite the sophisticated wine-making. 94.

Spanish releases (white)

De La Riva Macharnudo San Cayetano 2022 (Vino di Pasto; 100% Palomino; 13.5% alcohol; this is an unfortified Palomino and comes from the famous Macharnudo vineyard in Jerez). White peach, apricot skin and a gentle, delicate, light florality. A little saffron and peach stone, almond and walnut shell. There’s also a pronounced limestone minerality (from the albariza terroir) here. That, alongside the slight waxiness, makes this almost reminiscent of something like Dauvissat’s Premier Cru Chablis La Forest. Searing freshness but also such richness and a beautifully diaphanous texture. Hyper saline. Wondrous and wonderfully waxy in its mouthfeel. Very different. Shockingly fresh on the long and vibrant finish where the freshness builds, grasping the fruit and scrunching it up, squeezing all the richness out of it to release a fabulous juicy sapidity that tapers slowly to a distant vanishing point. Very long with laser-like linearity. Excellent. Highly original and very exciting. This is quite a discovery. It is also a wine that really benefits, at this early stage, from decanting. 97+.

French releases (red) 

Meanwhile in France, new labels include Caroline Frey’s Hermitage La Chapelle and Hermitage Le Chevalier de Sterimberg, Domaine de Baronarques, Domaine Barons de Rothschild’s Chateau d’Aussières, La Bouche du Roi and Philipponnat’s extremely rare micro-cuvée champagne from within Le Clos des Goisses, Les Cintres.

La Bouche du Roi Abondance 2022 (IGP île de France; 100% Pinot Noir; on clay and limestone). One of three fascinating new red releases from this property close to Versailles recreating an old tradition of wine-making in the region that was, in the 18^th century, the most productive in France. Raspberry. Spice. White pepper. Pomegranite and redcurrant. Fresh, pure, lithe but with decent substance too. The fruit is tightly strapped to the spine giving this a pleasing sense of structure. No great complexity but lots of fruit purity and precision. The tannins are fine-grained but a little punchy and even aggressive on the finish. But this is a nice mouthful of unpretentious, fresh and crisp young Pinot with a nice menthol lift on the finish. 91.

Domaine de Baronarques 2021 (Limoux; 64% Merlot; 13% Cabernet Franc; 13% Malbec; 8% Syrah; 2% Cabernet Sauvignon; 14% alcohol). Elegant, subtle yet aromatically expressive and very beautifully scented. Wild herbs. A lovely leafy freshness and a brilliantly plump crunchy fruit. Cassis. Blueberry. This is lively, charged and vertical – there’s almost a sense of St Emilion plateau limestone about this, with that verticality and those ultra-fine-grained chalky tannins. A fascinatingly complex wine, even at this early stage. Very much a wine of delicacy and finesse. I love the sapidity and the rippling juiciness on the finish. Etiolated and refined, with just a little of the warmth of the south to it. 92+.

Domaine d’Aussières 2019 (Corbières; 52% Syrah; 20% Carignan; 19% Mourvèdre; 9% Grenache Noir; 14.5% alcohol). A new release and the first wine from Corbières on la place. Naturally sweet scented, with the Syrah for now dominating the aromatics. Spicy and peppery. A little pencil shaving and graphite. This is quite ferrous in its minerality. Tense and with good vertical delineation, if a little foursquare and stolid for now. Above all dense and compact. An impressive wine that is likely to represent excellent value. 92.

Hermitage La Chapelle 2021 (Hermitage; 100% Syrah; 13.5% alcohol; certified organic). Pure, bright, fresh and very true to its identity, this is also floral, sapid, dynamic and energetic. Subtle white floral hints: wisteria and jasmine. Crunchy bright berries popping in the mouth. A touch of wood-smoke and a subtle hint of espresso. Compact and impressively imposing but without any demonstrative sense of weight. Fine-grained tannins accentuate the sensation of layering, giving this a lovely feel, shape and dynamic evolution over the palate. So soft but so much intensity too. Sapid and with up-currents of freshness. Long and supremely elegant. This continues the succession of recent greatness from La Chapelle. 97. [a small release of the 2006, 2011 and 2013 vintages is also planned – these I will taste in a separate article].

Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin 2021 (Châteauneuf-du-Pape; 75% Mourvèdre; 10% Syrah; 10% Grenache; 5% Counoise; 14.5% alcohol; certified organic). Elegant and subtle with a beautiful dark-shaded florality (in contrast to the white flowers of La Chapelle). Peonies. Violets. Rose petals. There’s a lovely raspberry fruited purity to this too. So precise and pure and fresh. Exquisite. Hommage à Jacques Perrin is often difficult to appreciate at this early stage but not here. So lithe and pure and tender, with great eloquence and clarity and beautifully svelte tannins. I love the return of the florality and the green tea leafy-ness on the finish. 97.

Hermitage La Chapelle 2013 (Hermitage; 100% Syrah; pH 3.60; 13.5% alcohol; aged for 12 months in oak barrels, of which 15 per cent were new, and in natural concrete ‘eggs’). Ferrous and slightly funky, this is the most immediately expressive aromatically of the trio of older vintages in this year’s re-release. This is earthy and cedary with the dark stone fruit – baked plums and cherries – playing a little more of a background role. Dried rose petals, leather too, white truffle and trompette de la mort with more aeration. One senses the oak a little more than with the 2011 and this is quite spicy, though never sweet. Sinuous and more open-textured, translucent and radiant in the mid-palate but without the depth, density and concentration of the greatest of more recent vintages here. But it is still very gorgeous and the quality of the tannin management is extraordinary. Sapid and fresh on the finish, and actually less dry than when I first encountered it. I like this more now that I re-taste it a year on. Though it’s quite ethereal and airy, I’m struck more by the compactness of the fruit in the mid-palate and readjust (upwards) my prior rating. 95.

Hermitage La Chapelle 2011 (Hermitage; 100% Syrah; pH 3.68; 14% alcohol; just 15% new oak). Amongst the most aromatically expressive of vintages of La Chapelle. Very fresh and yet sunny in personality and very floral again, but with slightly darker shaded flowers – violets, lilacs, a hint of lavender too and that wild herbal character to be found in the 2007 too. Mimosa and even a little hint of orange blossom. In a longer flight, this was the most floral of the vintages from 2005. But there’s a lovely classical cedar component too and a more vivid and vibrant pure raspberry and mulberry fruit. It is a little broader-shouldered too but luminous and clear at the core, like the 2009. A rolling, rippling, sinuous mid-palate – less linear than the 2010 – and with a wondrous fantail finish. The tannins are chewy and, on the finish especially, not quite as fine-grained as the two preceding vintages. Charming and authentic in its slight hint of austerity, but still very attractive and a lovely expression of the vintage. 95.

Hermitage La Chapelle 2006 (Hermitage; 100% Syrah; pH 3.57; 14% alcohol; just 25% new oak from this vintage on). Tasted as part of a vertical at the property with Caroline Frey in October 2022 and again in late August 2023. The very first vintage entirely produced by Caroline Frey (the 2005 was just assembled by her). Lovely, soft and engaging if a little old school and slightly funky in a millennial La Chapelle kind of a way. Ripe, round and very much ready. There’s a touch of violet; and with air, pencil shavings, a balsamic note, a little girolle and white truffle; there’s also just a slight hint of sous bois and a damp cellar floor about this too – but it actually adds to the character. Very seductive. Gamey notes, classic truffle and leather – earthy, with a hint of garrigue and wild thyme, slightly ferrous and a little feral even. There’s less obvious minerality and this is softer than the slightly more focused and age-worthy later vintages. Overall, this has a pleasing grip and forward march across the palate, even if the tannins are a little rough around the edges, especially towards the finish. 92.

Odysée 2020 (Vin de France; 48% Cabernet Sauvignon; 42% Grenache; 10% Carignan; from Pierre Graffeuille, now of course at Château Montrose, and Matthieu Dumarcher; the old vine Grenache and Carignan come from the latter’s vineyards in Baume-de-Transit in the very north of the Southern Rhone). As ever, this is rather fun. Lots of spice – cinnamon and a little clove – with the Rhone elements very much dominating on the nose at this early stage (more than in other vintages of this wine as I recall). The rather different regional components do not yet feel fully integrated, with victory for the Rhone aromatically and perhaps rather more for Bordeaux – or at least an honourable tie – on the palate! It will be fascinating to watch how this evolves. Bright, lifted and fresh, sapid and rippling with lots of energy. The minerality is a little ferrous-rich, even ‘rusty’ and that makes this feel a little stolid on the finish. But fine and promising. Above all, this will reward patience. 93.

French releases (white)

La Bouche du Roi Les Louis d’Or 2022 (IGP île de France; 100% Chardonnay; on clay and limestone; 12.5% alcohol). One of three new white releases from this property close to Versailles recreating an old tradition of wine-making in the region that was, in the 18^th century, the most productive in France. This has a nice sparky minerality and a chalky verticality. Confit lemon, fresh lemon juice and lime cordial. A little candlewax. A hint of blood orange too. Tense with a nice pick up and forward momentum over the palate. Lithe and above all structured. Crisp and bitingly fresh, with lemon zest and white grapefruit. Taut, tight and long on the finish with a nice saline minerality. 92.

Domaine de Baronarques blanc 2021 (Limoux; 95% Chardonnay; 5% Chenin Blanc; 13% alcohol). Creamy, rich and yet wonderfully pure, focused and precise. Quite floral and delicate at first on the nose with a salivating salinity and freshness. Everything about this is crystalline. Very pure. Very fine. The most vertical in its aromatic presentation of this little flight of vintages. This has a glorious shape and evolution across the palate in the mouth. Tighter and tenser from the start than the 2020, the freshness incorporated throughout rather than welling up from below. Very structured. A brilliantly gracious wine of great freshness – dense, like the 2020, but more compact, taut and tense. Incredibly long and incredibly linear … tapering in steps towards the finish (like descending a long mountain staircase). The finish is so dynamic and lively – one senses the health of the vineyard. The best Domaine de Baronarques I have ever tasted. 94.

Hermitage Le Chevalier de Sterimberg 2021 (Hermitage; 100% Marsanne; 14% alcohol; certified organic). Crystalline, pure, nutty, fresh and with plenty of crushed stone mineral character. A slight white florality – lily of the valley perhaps. Hyper-vertical with loads of lift, the freshness reinforced by the salinity. Sapid. Racy. Crisp. Rich but carried by the impressive vein of acidity. 96.

Champagne releases

* – an exclusivity of the négociant CVBG

Chateau d’Avize (Leclerc Briant) 2013 (Champagne; 100% Chardonnay; dosage of 2.3g/l; disgorged in April 2023; 12% alcohol). One of just three ‘chateaux’ labels in the entire region. Cinnamon toast. Fifty shades of citrus and yuzu. Light, bright and ethereal. Elegant. Gracious, even, in its now familiar ultra-fresh style. There is a bright brilliance, intensity and energy to this that sets it apart, lovely citrus notes and lots of salinity. Perfectly judged and just right. Fabulous and every bit as good as the first release, from the exceptional 2012 vintage. 96.

Clos Lanson (Lanson) 2008 (Champagne; 100% Chardonnay; just 1 hectare; dosage of 4 g/l; 12.5% alcohol). Toastier than Chateau d’Avize with subtle brioche notes and a hint of yeast. There’s almost a grain whisky character to this too and lovely wild floral elements. Garrigue herbs. Gooseberry. Grapefruit pips and zest. A hint of the tinderbox. This is staggeringly complex and very youthful. It’s also richer and also more saline on the palate. Intense and wondrously concentrated. Brilliantly fresh but also so delicate and refined. Quite superb. I love the youth of this and the little hint of iodine and oyster shell on the finish. 97.

Clos des Goisses (Philipponnat) 2014 (Champagne; 71% Pinot Noir; 29% Chardonnay; dosage of 4.5 g/l; disgorged in March; 12.5% alcohol; no malolactic fermentation). Tasted in Bordeaux in July and then with Charles Philipponnat at the property two weeks before its release. A subtle hint of gold. Salty. Bready. A little blanched almond or new season almonds before the skins have formed and darkened. Yuzu. Lime and lemon in all their guises. Granny Smith. This is a little like the 2013, but more fluid, even fresher and perhaps more youthful too. It’s also quite a contrast to Les Cintres (tasted alongside) – almost delicate in comparison. Limpid. Classic. Pure, if a little more closed than Les Cintres. Strawberry. Redcurrant. Cinnamon. White flowers. A little honeyed note too and a touch of saffron. Very gracious and refined. Tight and fresh and extremely elegant. It will grow in amplitude with time, as indeed it does with aeration. Extremely tense and charged with energy. Ethereal. Very primitive, but with staggering potential. Hyper fresh. Dense and more compact than Clos Lanson and with even more minerality and salinity. This floats and glides and dances in the mouth where it is, for now, much more expressive. 98.

Les Cintres (Philipponnat) 2012 (Champagne; 100% Pinot Noir; dosage of 4.3 g/l; disgorged in June 2022; 12.5% alcohol; 2176 bottles). Tasted with Charles Philipponnat at the property two weeks before its release. From two parcels internal to the Clos des Goisses and made only in the very best vintages from a selection of around a third of the grapes harvested in each parcel – the rest being for Clos des Goisses. A little darker than Clos de Goisses with a hint of the pyramids about it – Tutankhamun gold! This has an amazing natural sweetness – and a staggering richness. It is massive but so structurally fresh too – with the acidity so integral to the personality of this wine. It is impressively expressive, at this very early stage in its evolution, but with so much more to come. Frangipane; red fruits; mango; a little white peach flesh; walnut brittle; lots of rocky minerality; saffron; roasted langoustine shell; marshmallow; tarte tatin a little hint of pasture; a touch of fleur d’oranger and clementine zest. Incredible complexity aromatically, and incredible layering in the mouth. A wine that combines immense power with incredible energy, freshness and elegance. We are in the presence of rare greatness and majesty. 99

Clos des Goisses ‘L. V.’ Long Vieillissement (Philipponnat) 1998 (Champagne; 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay; dosage of 4.5 g/l; disgorged in March 2023). Tasted with Charles Philipponnat at the property two weeks before its release. Wow! A wine of staggering purity and intensity. Girolles and black truffle, cèpes and trompettes de la mort. Quince, apricot and peach. Some exotic fruits, perhaps a little mango. Saffron. This is ample and richer in style than if it had been made today. Creamy risotto, with plenty of caramelised butter. On the palate, apricots, a little fleur d’oranger, just a hint of raspberry and loganberry. And a little fleur de sel. This is more slender and etiolated on the finish, but utterly wonderful at the same time. It’s a beautiful signature of the vintage and of this exceptional terroir. Sapid and juicy on the gracious finish where the sense of delicacy and finesse is strongest. 95+.

Austrian releases

Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese Grande Cuvée No. 4 2020 (Burgenland; 60% Welschriesling; 40% Chardonnay; 210 g/l of residual sugar; total acidity of 7.6 g/l; 10% alcohol). Tasted with Gerhard Kracher at the offices of his Bordeaux courtier. This is the principle release on la place, with the other cuvées only available as part of the 2020 collection case. And it contains, this year, all of the Chardonnay – there is no monocépage Chardonnay TBA in this vintage. Tutankhamun gold in the glass. More closed on the nose initially than the 2019, tasted alongside, but so amazingly pure. Candlewax. Saffron. Pineapple. Pears rather than apricots this year, confit melon. A little ginger. A touch of spice – above all, cinnamon. Crème brulée and burnt sugar. Peanut brittle. Apple pie with the pie crust. Assorted citrus notes. Lime. This is just fabulously pure, incredibly crystalline and energetic and intensely saline. Sapid and fresh as ever. This seems to pick its fruit each year – here we have the pixilated picture perfect rendition of white pear! More herbal and saline on the finish, with that fabulous and distinctly ‘Kracher’ mineral character. A brilliantly exciting wine and a revelation. 98+.

Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese Zweigelt No. 1 2020 (Burgenland; 100% Zweigelt; 152,8 g/l of residual sugar; total acidity of 6.8 g/l; 10.5% alcohol). Only available as part of the Kracher 2020 collection case. Another brilliant wine from Kracher in this vintage. This is so incredibly pure, focused and precise. It’s like the scent of slightly buttered peaches gently wilting and caramelising under a warm grill. But there’s also an almost perfect capturing of peach skin itself – one can almost sense the hairs and feel their texture in your mouth. And we have too not the crème below nor the burnt sugar above, but the point where the caramelised sugar touches the crème brulée below. Exquisite and a wine that really needs to be tasted to be understood. Unctuous, incredibly savoury and fabulously fresh. 94+.

Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese Traminer No. 2 2020 (Burgenland; 100% Traminer; 180.5 g/l of residual sugar; total acidity of 7.8 g/l; 11 % alcohol). Only available as part of the Kracher 2020 collection case. Gloriously pure and incredibly fragrant once again. But here there’s more obvious botrytis character, bringing subtle hints of truffle and accentuating the salinity. We also have peanut brittle, lemon zest, pink grapefruit pith, poire Belle Hélène and, as ever with Kracher TBA it seems, the purist and most finely detailed and pixilated impression of a perfectly ripe fruit – here the pear, though on re-tasting I also find melon charantais. Wonderful. Richer and much more viscous than cuvée no. 1 but with the same captivating energy and vivacity. 95.

Kracher TBA No. 3 Scheurebe 2020 (Burgenland; 100% Scheurebe; 209 g/l of residual sugar; total acidity of 8.9 g/l; 10.5% alcohol). Only available as part of the Kracher 2020 collection case. Ginger. Ginger ale. Confit ginger. Japanese toasted rice too. The saline note feels more iron-enriched here. Peanut brittle. White melon, confit white currant and gooseberry. Incredibly rich and yet so luminous, with a rice pudding creaminess. Possibly more monotone than some of the others, but I love that ’50 shades of ginger’ thing that really reminds me of Doisy Ducroca. Very saline, almost a hint of the athlete’s locker room! A little exotic note of fresh pineapple, passion fruit and dragon fruit. Marginally less searing in its freshness that the others, but with a lot of aging potential. 95.

Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese Grande Cuvée No. 4 2020 (Burgenland; 60% Welschriesling; 40% Chardonnay; 210 g/l of residual sugar; total acidity of 7.6 g/l; 10% alcohol). Tasted with Gerhard Kracher at the offices of his Bordeaux courtier. This is the principle release on la place, with the other cuvées only available as part of the 2020 collection case. And it contains, this year, all of the Chardonnay – there is no monocépage Chardonnay TBA in this vintage. Tutankhamun gold in the glass. More closed on the nose initially than the 2019, tasted alongside, but so amazingly pure. Candlewax. Saffron. Pineapple. Pears rather than apricots this year, confit melon. A little ginger. A touch of spice – above all, cinnamon. Crème brulée and burnt sugar. Peanut brittle. Apple pie with the pie crust. Assorted citrus notes. Lime. This is just fabulously pure, incredibly crystalline and energetic and intensely saline. Sapid and fresh as ever. This seems to pick its fruit each year – here we have the pixilated picture perfect rendition of white pear! More herbal and saline on the finish, with that fabulous and distinctly ‘Kracher’ mineral character. A brilliantly exciting wine and a revelation. 98+.

Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese Rosenmuskateller No. 5 2020 (Burgenland; 100% Rosenmuskateller; 252.5 g/l of residual sugar; total acidity of 8.5 g/l; 9% alcohol). Only available as part of the Kracher 2020 collection case. Rather different than the others on the nose, with a much more dried fruit character – we find figs, raisins, dried apricots, currants, a little baked and fresh plum and assorted sweet spices, but also candied rose petals, Turkish delight, patchouli, camomile tea and a touch of frangipane. This is incredibly dense, viscous and oily on the palate but with a remarkable energy, freshness and vibrancy that is the signature of all of these Kracher wines. The tension that creates is all the more startling because of the sheer density and concentration of the wine. Spectacular. 96.

Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese Welschriesling No. 6 2020 (Burgenland; 100% Welschriesling; 304.7 g/l of residual sugar; total acidity of 8.4 g/l; 8.5% alcohol). Only available as part of the Kracher 2020 collection case. Tasted last of these and strikingly different from the others, with more red berry fruit on the nose – raspberry and confit wild strawberries – alongside the more familiar blood orange, buttered peaches, pink grapefruit and assorted citrus and confit citrus notes. Intensely saline already on the nose and incredibly so on the palate, which actually feels marginally less viscous than the Rosenmuskateller cuvée, despite the additional 50 grams per litre of residual sugar! The reason is the almost miraculous and breath-taking dynamism and sense of forward momentum over the palate that lures one into thinking this is, in a way, a lighter and more delicate wine than it is possible to be at over 300 grams per litre. So tense and lithe, so pure and crystalline, so refined. 97.

German releases (white)

* – an exclusivity of Ginestet

Weingut Battenfeld Spanier C.O. Liquid Earth Riesling 2018 (Rheinhessen; 100% Riesling; 12.5% alcohol). Wondrous. Radiant. Explosive, with a touch of cordite and flint alongside the authentic Riesling bright fruit and petrol. Confit lime and grapefruit zest, also mandarin rind and a very rich pebbly minerality. So incredibly fresh – you almost expect something sweeter from the power and intensity of the nose and that produces a wonderful sense of energised shock and interest, reinforcing the considerable tension. Immensely pure, focused, chiselled and precise with that brilliant stony, pebbly minerality very evident. This is brilliant now but will age so graciously to reinforce the background nuttiness. Superb once again. Great terroir identity once again. 97.