This time, there are some excellent wines from Alsace (Zind-Humbrecht), California (Kistler) and the Palatinate (Friedrich Becker).
The Zind-Humbrecht 2020 Riesling Rangen de Thann is a sensational wine and almost perfect. The wine has orange zest, blossoms, almost full body, lots of extract, power and is very balanced, elegant, mineral, dense, long, complex, fresh and oily. The wine needs a lot of air and gets better and better. 19.8/20 points.
The Kistler 2019 Chardonnay Stone Flat Vineyard is a typical Californian Chardonnay with blossoms, caramel, white chocolate, white nougat, and, with air, whisky cask and cigar box, full body and a long finish. It is dense, mineral, long and balanced. 19.3/20 points.
The Friedrich Becker 2018 Pinot Noir Heydenreich Großes Gewächs resembles a great red Burgundy, but has a typical Spätburgunder sweetness on the palate. The wine has lots of dark toast, which is well integrated, strawberries, cherries, some animal notes, lots of extract sweetness, full body, complexity and great structure. It is fresh, long and dense. This makes it one of the best Pinot Noirs in Germany. 19.5/20 points.
