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Keller 2007 Hubacker Riesling Großes Gewächs and two fine Nebbiolo from Elio Grasso and La Spinetta were tasted this time.
This time we tasted Chateauneuf-du-Pape versus California.
Now it is time for two bottles which we bought at the last online auction.
This was a hedonistic evening with an Auslese RR from Koehler-Ruprecht and a Puligny-Montrachet from Jean-Claude Bachelet.
We tasted a rare bottle Valbuena 5 from the 60s or perhaps older. Wine from Rioja ages extremely well. But also wine from Ribera del Duero, if it is Unico. It this also true for Valbuena?
Winery Reichsrat von Buhl is famous for its sparklings. But you need some patience because they really needs time.
The temperatures are rising and so it is warm enough to produce superb sparkling wines in England. But what about Pinot Noir? What about South Africa?
New vintages in Tuscany, especially 2016, were praised. The Super Tuscans of 2015 did not really convince us. So what about Chianti Classico and Flaccianello? Finally three different Californian reds.
We had to taste some new arrivals in our wine cellars. Since there was fish for dinner, we chose white wines.
Older vintages of Monte Bello were traditional Californian Reds. The new vintages seem to be modern and fruity.
For us the Gloria Ferrer 2007 Carneros Cuvée is the best sparkling of the new world and also most probably the best sparkling outside the Champagne. Sadly the 2007 vintage is not available anymore, so we were very excited when the new vintage 2010 arrived.
One of our subscriptions to mailing lists of Californian wineries is Kistler. And each time the new wines arrive, we are very happy to see that the Chardonnay is not less than 18/20 points.
One sparkling and several white wines started a phantastic evening: a 100% Pinot Meunier Champagne, Burgundies from Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet and a great white from Piedmont of the Timorasso grape.
This very rare bottle was bought by a friend and donated at a dinner. Thanks! It seems that in former times Barolo Chinato was also produced by Giacomo Conterno, but today not anymore.
We cannot affort to buy a Maybach car. But we can affort to buy a Maybach wine although it is not cheap. The Materium is one of the best Cabernets from California.
Four Rieslings from Nahe, Mosel and Rheingau plus Monte Bello Chardonnay resulted in a nice evening. Life is good!
We believe that the Mosel is more suitable for residual sweet wine than for dry wine. In our opinion there are only 5 players who produce really great dry Rieslings: Brohl, Markus Molitor (famous for dry, sweet and also red wines from the Mosel), Von Othegraven and especially Heymann-Löwenstein and Van Volxem. Here we have the best 3 vineyards from Van Volxem: Scharzhofberger Pergentsknopp, Gottesfuss and Kanzemer Altenberg.
Perfect for the dessert we had two fine Mosel sweets with low alcohol (both 7.5%), freshness and a complex sweetness.
Sparklings from the Champagne mature very well. Here we have two examples from Jean Pernet and Paul Bara, one non-vintage and one from 2004.
Various white wines from Germany and Loire were the accompaniment to a pulpo salad.
Dogliani was formerly known as Dolcetto di Dogliani. But many people though that it is a sweet wine. So the name was changed. Now it is time to taste 3 of the best Dogliani.
A great Burgundy must be perfectly balanced and complex. And so is the Ramey 2001 Chardonnay Hudson.
2011 is a forgotten year for German Riesling. It is neither an exceptional nor a bad vintage and so it is not remembered well. Let's see how the vintage really is.
This time we really had mixed stuff: A perfect White Bordeaux from California, a great Barolo 60 years old and a new cuvee from Würtemberg.
Giacomo Borgogno 1952 Barolo Riserva and Gaja 1988 Barbaresco showed again the quality of the Nebbiolo grape.
High-end Cava, long on the lees, from Recaredo against other bubbles from Champagne and Germany.
It all started when we had a monkfish for dinner and wanted to have a perfect match. So we just wanted to have a good Riesling as accompaniment and opened some bottles. Finally we had a extensive Riesling tasting with 8 Riesling and one pirate.
This is again an awesome wine from Jean-Claude Bachelet. We already had the Grand Cru (Various Whites from Rheingau and Burgundy), now it is time for one of his Premier Cru.
Masi, Raka, Bodegas Los Astrales, Dönnhoff and Orin Swift were tasted on this evening.
No matter which region, we wanted to taste some great wines. And we were lucky in our selection.
We tasted some older bottles from Italy (Puglia and Campania), Rioja, Australia and California. Some were over, only one was great.
A Bienvenues Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru and two Rieslings made our evening. In total it were three great wines.
Pinot Noir from Burgundy versus Pinot Noir/Spätburgunder from Germany. And the best Dornfelder. There have been some disappointments, so not all wine made it onto the picture.
We wanted to prove the durability of Cornas with two 2012 red wines from Dumien-Serrette and Vincent Paris.
We were happy to taste such an old wine from Spain: It was made from several vintages between 1905 and 1920 with 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot.
We don't want to spent the money for a Monfortino and with Cascina Francia there is an alternative from Giacomo Conterno which is similar in quality but different in style with more fruit and freshness.
This was the first of Amphora wines from Gravner in Friuli. How is it in a magnum?
This was an amazing long evening. And so were the wines. Four times 19 points or more!
Ths long evening we had an old fine wine from Spain (1948!), a wine with an interessting mix of grape varieties (Roussanne & Viognier), a Muscat from California and a rare Heitz.
1921, 1959, 1971 and 1976 are the great vintages for German Riesling. And 1975 - ofter forgotten but equal in quality. Here we have "Staatsweingüter Eltville / Kloster Eberbach" which is very famous for its old vintages from 40s to 70s.
Torres is one of the historic producers in Spain outside Rioja. It is famous for the Etiqueta Negra. But you can find some other wines in auctions, also white wines. Are this wines perhaps an alternative for the white Rioja which are getting more and more expensive?
Burgundy is difficult, often you don't know what you get. Is this wine over, only still alive or a legend? Let's try it.
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