Friday, February 27, 2015

2013 Joh. Jos. PRÜM (Mosel)

I understand that there is an auction Spätlese from Prüm, but otherwise the offerings are all Auslesen for 2013. The wines are extremely difficult to understand when immediately opened – because there is such concentration of dry extract I think. At any rate, they have off-putting aromas, but when one comes back a day later, they have transformed themselves, and continue to improve with even more time, and this should be another excellent year at Prüm, perhaps even a great one. (Continue reading here.)

Thursday, February 26, 2015

DR. LOOSEN -- 2013 Kabinetts and Spätlesen (Mosel)

These wines are just as they should be, with the expected hierarchy of vineyards and excellent representations of terroir. (Continue reading here.)

Saturday, February 21, 2015

2013 Franz KÜNSTLER (Rheingau)

Günter Künstler has been turning out one magnificent vintage after another, and if this sampling is indicative of the whole range, 2013 continues that string. Alas, production is down 1/3 in 2013. (Continue reading here.)

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

2013 Fritz HAAG (Mosel)



From one of the Mosel’s iconic producers, the unevenness of the production here is emblematic of the vintage – the top wines fared the best. (Continue reading here.)

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

2013 Reichsgraf von KESSELSTATT (Mosel)

Words in parentheses (e.g., vintage or village name) are indicated on the back label, but not the front label. (Continue reading here.)

Friday, February 13, 2015

MAXIMIN GRÜNHAUS/Schlosskellerei C. von SCHUBERT: 2103 Rieslings, 2012 Weissburgunder, 2011 Spätburgunder (Mosel)

As always, the best producers come out fine in the challenging vintages. The quality here is very good across the board. (Continue reading here.)

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

2013 Robert WEIL (Kiedrich, Rheingau)

From this challenging vintage, Weil has succeeded admirably across the board. Although the top wines aren’t by any means giveaways, this is a large estate with excellent holdings and quality across the board and so you can do extremely well with the generics, which are very reasonably priced. (Continue reading here.)

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Miscellaneous Northern Rhône Reds Recently Sampled

The good news is that there is a string of very good vintages coming down the line from this region. 2011 distinguishes itself by power, perhaps at the expense of precision. 2012 and 2013 look to have that extra precision and to be more elegant; I’m told by some producers that they expect 2014 to turn out that way, too, although we’ll have to wait and see. (Continue reading here.)



Wednesday, February 4, 2015

2013 Miscellaneous Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise Summary

Below is a summary by appellation of my reviews for 2013 wines from Miscellaneous Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise appellations not previously summarized. Click on the producer’s name to go to the full review of that producer’s wines. (Continue reading here.)

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

2013 Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet Summary

Below is a summary by appellation of my reviews for 2013 wines from Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. Click on the producer’s name to go to the full review of that producer’s wines. (Continue reading here.)

Monday, February 2, 2015

2013 Meursault Summary

Below is a summary by appellation of my reviews for 2013 wines from Meursault. Click on the producer’s name to go to the full review of that producer’s wines. (Continue reading here.)

Sunday, February 1, 2015

2013 Volnay and Monthélie Summary

Below is a summary by appellation of my reviews for 2013 wines from Volnay and Monthélie. Click on the producer’s name to go to the full review of that producer’s wines. (Continue reading here.)