The white wines are from California, Rhone and Mosel. We brought the Nebbiolos back from our Piedmont short trip.
The Kistler 2010 Carneros Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard shows again the durability of Californian Chardonnay. The wine is fresh, dense, precise and spicy with blossoms, butter and white chocolate with aeration. It has full-body, a bit of tannin and a long finish. 18.8/20 points.
This wine is the exact opposite of the Kistler: We are surprised and disappointed how ripe the Jean-Louis Chave 2012 Hermitage Blanc already is. Although you can notice the high quality with full-body, phenolic, mineral and a long finish, the wine already has egg prick and some notes of oxidation. It has blossoms, butter and raspberry but lacks a bit of structure and density. Although the Wine Advocate says it will hold for two decades (-2035), we don't think so. You should drink the wine now. 18/20 points.
The Molitor 2015 Ürzinger Würzgarten Auslese*** trocken (white cap) is a sensational wine. It starts with blossoms and vanilla and gets herbs, apricot and liquorice with time. With full-body, phenolic, freshness, a long finish, density, perfect balance, mineral, it gets better and better with aeration. It is young now and has a lot of potential. Now 19/20 points and most probably a higher rating with more maturity.
If you are in Barolo and you go from the castle to the marketplace, there is a little wineshop of the winery Francesco Boschis on the left side which is often overlooked. This winery makes traditional Barolos but in years like 2016 they are also elegant. The Francesco Boschis 2016 Barolo Cannubi has dried rose petals, moss, undergrowth and tar. The wine has full-body and a lot of polished tannin and for a Nebbiolo it is elegant and almost feminine. Smaller and lesser-known wineries also benefit from the 2016 vintage, os you don't need the big names. 18.3/20 points.
Tasted blindly, this could also be a Barolo: The Bruno Rocca 2018 Barbaresco Rabaja has full-body, structure, power and a lot of very fine tannins. The wine is fruity with raspberry and red currant, elegant, precise, complex and has a long finish. Although it can be drunk now, it has potential for many years to come. 19/20 points.
