Let's taste some great wines at a birthday party.
Along with Gloria Ferrer's Carneros Cuvée, the Schramsberg 2004 J. Schram Brut is one of the best sparkling wines in the USA. Indistinguishable from Champagne, it offers notes of nougat, blossoms, nuts, and a hint of lactic acid. It has a medium body, excellent balance, and is minerally rich with a long finish. 18.8/20 points.
Roederer Cristal should ideally be allowed to age more, but the Roederer 2016 Cristal is already incredibly enjoyable. It has floral and nutty notes, a medium body, excellent balance, and is very minerally rich, dense, long, and precise. Of course, it still has considerable potential. 19/20 points.
2016 is another vintage for sensational Rieslings from Germany. The wines are fresh, vibrant, and youthful. Here we have two archetypal examples:
The Van Volxem 2016 Kanzemer Altenberg Riesling Alte Reben has notes of honey, blossoms, apricot, peach, lime, and slate. With aeration, mango also develops. It has a medium body and is mineral, juicy, and fresh. 18.5/20 points.
The Dönnhoff 2016 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs is initially somewhat vegetal, but with aeration, it develops toasty notes, apricot, and peach. It has a medium body, very good balance, and is mineral, juicy, long, Fresh, and elegant. 19/20 points.
The Au Bon Climat 2014 Hildegard tastes like a Chardonnay, but it contains Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Aligoté. The wine has slightly lactic notes, blossoms, caramel, white nougat, dark toast, butter, and toasty notes. It is full-bodied, rich in glycerin, and dense and mineral. The wine improves with aeration and needs to be decanted. 18.8/20 points.
The Kongsgaard 2016 Chardonnay The Judge has unfortunately become quite expensive, but it is one of the most mineral-driven Chardonnays in California. The wine has floral and yellow plum notes, a full body, and is very dense, very mineral, long, oily, and elegant. 19/20 points, and perhaps a bit more with aging in a few years.
Germany's best Spätburgunder have now reached sensational quality and cost significantly less than equally good Pinot Noirs from Burgundy. This makes them a genuine alternative:
The Rudolf Fürst 2016 Hundsrück Spätburgunder Großes Gewächs has plenty of strawberry and phenolic notes, a full body, very good balance, a long finish, great structure, and is mineral and complex. 19.3/2 points.
The Friedrich Becker 2018 Heydenreich Pinot Noir has a very Burgundian character, with cherry, plaka, a full body, fruit sweetness, great structure, and is dense, long, and opulent. 19.5/20 points.
2016 was a great vintage in Bordeaux, and the wines are now very enjoyable, especially those from the Right Bank. With rising prices for Californian Cabernet Sauvignon, they are a real alternative:
The Château Figeac 2016 St. Emilion Grand Cru Classe has bell pepper and cassis, a full body, and is balanced, dense, and long with plenty of fruit. 18.5/20 points.
The Château Canon 2016 St. Emilion Grand Cru Classe has red fruit and herbal notes, a full body, plenty of fruit, structure, and is dense, long, complex, and elegant. The wine is actually too young and has a lot of potential. 18.5/20 points now, more with age.
The 2010 Jonata La Sangre de Jonata is a sensational Syrah that combines the structure and animal character of the Rhône with the fruit of California. The wine has notes of bacon, blood, and blackberry, a full body, structure, and a long, dense, and complex finish. 19/20 points.
The 2019 Morlet Cabernet Franc Force de la Nature is perfect and one of the best Cabernet Francs in the world. The grapes come from the ToKalon vineyard. The wine has slightly earthy notes that identify it as a Cabernet Franc, but so refined and unobtrusive. The wine has phenolic notes, a full body, perfect structure, tremendous density, a long finish, perfect balance, a touch of fruit sweetness, and is fine and complex. It has 15.8% ABV, which is imperceptible due to its perfect balance. 20/20 points.
