Let's have a look at Jean Pernet Champagne, Heymann-Löwenstein Riesling Uhlen R, two great Reds from Burgundy and perhaps the best Red from Austria.
The Jean Pernet NV Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru Reserve is a smart buy if you have time. We bought this bottle 10 years ago for € 22.- and the Champagne needed this time to evolve. It has a fine perlage, flowers, some caramel, medium-body, balance and a medium finish. So don't drink it young. 18/20 points.
We opened a Heymann-Löwenstein 2016 Winninger Uhlen Riesling R (Rothlay) in mid-December and forgot the bottle in the wine fridge. Although there was only one glass left in the bottle, the wine was still in good shape after approximately 4 weeks. Only the fruit has diminished a bit, but the wine is still alive and kicking.
The village and 1er Cru wines of Odoul-Coquard need to be drunken young. Only the Grand Cru (Clos Vougeot and Charmes-Chambertin) have a long life. The Odoul-Coquard 2013 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuees is an exception: The wine has cherry, liquorice, strawberry and a little amarena, although it has rather cool aromas. It has medium- to full-body, a long finish, balance, a medium complexity and potential to improve in the next years. It will hold for another decade. 18.3/20 points.
Many wines from Burgundy have already disappointed us. But Domaine Perrot-Minot wines are always almost great and never disappoint. The Domaine Perrot-Minot 2012 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru Vieille Vigne has everything you expect from a great Burgundy: It has toasted notes, cherry, strawberry, complexity, full-body, density, a long finish and powdered sugar with aeration. The wine needs air and the big Zalto Burgundy glass and gets better and better with aeration. It still has potential to improve with cellaring. You don't want to stop drinking this wine. 19.8/20 points.
This is perhaps the best red wine from Austria: The Wild Boys of Club Batonnage 2008 Batonnage is made from Blaufränkisch, Cabernet and Merlot but the aroma of the wine reminds of a Syrah (e.g. Jonata Syrah). The wine has bacon, blackberry, rosehip, blossoms, cool aromas, spices, some plaka, complexity and a long finish. It needs the big Zalto Burgundy glass and it is a modern and powerful wine. 19.3/20 points.
