Weingut Bründlmayer tasting with OUWS

Weingut Bründlmayer

New Rooms, Magdalen College
**Archived from 21/04/2004**

Hosted by their excellent representative Thomas Klinger, who flew over from Austria to join us for the event. Thomas yet again provided the Society with an informative and entertaining overview of what are for many wine society members an as yet undiscovered region and producer of some of the world's finest white wines.

Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben 2003
21/04/2004
This old vine (alte reben) Grüner is a typical, spritzig, crisp and acidic wine. Pale and watery in appearance. Still very young - one wonders how this mutates into the beautiful older vintages we tasted. It really is like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. This is certainly still a caterpillar. The plate has a strong mineral streak with some peach notes. Some sweet fruit on the palate and as it warms up the palate becomes thicker. Needs some time. 15/20 now, will improve.

Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben 2002
21/04/2004
Some rich floral notes developing on the nose. Very clean. Quite full, broad flavours, very concentrated on the palate. Big, long, balanced finish. Mineral and broad. Excellent. 17/20.

Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben 2001
21/04/2004
This benefits from 5-10% botrytis affected grapes. The result is subtle and beautiful. A rich nose leads through to an even richer palate. Huge fruit, some sweetness, striking acidity all built around a clear mineral backbone. Great concentration and length. This is a really excellent, remarkable wine with more than a decade of development ahead of it. 18+/20.

Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben 2000
21/04/2004
Smokey nose, could almost wonder if there was a hint of cork taint on this. Others think it is just closing up. Dominated by earthycharacters, quite different to the others tasted so far. Not comparable.
Not scored.

Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben 1996
21/04/2004
1996 was a very cool vintage. Again, the wine exemplifies this in comparison to the others tasted this evening. Slightly musky nose. Layered palate. Quite thick and luscious, surprisingly so compared to
the others. Rich and concentrated but still musky palate. Very good, but very different in style to the previous wines. A hint of botrytis may be involved in this? Not scored.

Grüner Veltliner Loiser Berg Auslese 1983
21/04/2004
Tasted on three occasions now. Without doubt, one of my personal favourite white wines of all time. This looks like a TBA - deep gold/orange glints. The nose is beautiful, with real tertiary characters
- almost like candied fruits. Sweet palate, but wonderfully in context with the wine. Glorious balance. Medium finish, this has also lost the fierce attack of the younger GV wines. Showing full maturity now, but will keep a short while longer. How has GV been so overlooked?! Not scored.

Riesling Kamptsler Terrassen 2003
Pale, watery colour. Absolutely wonderful, young, floral nose - honeysuckle. Very open, very light. This is a summer drinker, to enjoy young as an aperitif or with light salads. 14-15/20.

Riesling Heiligenstein 2002
More concentrated nose than the Kamptaler Terrassen. A little more colour on the palate too. Spritzig. Heavy, scented nose - more complex. Same concentrated mineral character with good length. 15-16/20.

Riesling Heiligenstein Alte Reben 2002
Coming from vines with an average age of 50 years. Pale colour. Tantalisingly closed nose, slightly herby in character at this stage. Lean and austere palate right now - it tastes like the vineyard soil! Very dry and mineral. This needs at least a decade to even begin showing at its best - destined for a very long life. 16/20 now, will improve.

Riesling Heiligenstein Lyra 2002
The nose is a little more open than the Alte Reben. Dry, but actually 7g/L residual sugar - just on the limit of perception. Incredibl mineral palate, but certainly richer. Whereas the Alte Reben is described as tasting like the soil, the Lyra tastes like the fruit! Not scored.

Riesling Heiligenstein Beerenauslese 2000
21/04/2004
Golden. Nose of bitter apricot botrytis. Exotic and floral. Quite amazing palate, not to thick or glycerol. Oak barrel fermentation. Excellent.

d'Arenberg wine tasting at OUWS

d'Arenberg

Represented by Simon Barratt of Bibendum Wine

Tasting held in New College, Oxford

**Archived from Tuesday May 25 2004*

The Hermit Crab Marsanne Viognier 2003 £7

Where's the viognier?! The nose seems totally closed. Not up to the standards of even a basic white Côte du Rhône. High acid, but not in balance with the wine, seems artificial. Good weight of fruit on the midpalate. But at 14.5& alc this really comes through as flabby. For

drinking now, I can't envisage this improving any further. 12-13/20.

The Footbolt Old Vine Shiraz 2001 £8

Very New World in style, but very good at that style. Simple white pepper nose. Quite powerful palate, in a BBQ wine sort of way. Good length. But rather one dimensional, no soul. Not scored.

The Dead Arm Shiraz 2001 £20

The ninth vintage of this increasingly famous and good value wine. Despite the Parker score, this is no Grange! Very open on the nose, black pepper. Full bodied, massive palate. Maybe too youthful, but lacking the great smoky character I associate with great Syrah wines.

Not necessarily the worse for it, depending what you like. But for me it tastes like its £20 - which in the world of fine wine is still very good value for money given the number of wines that taste like £20 and cost £40! Impressive tannic finish. This has clearly got many years of

development ahead of it and will undoubtedly improve further. Now 16 (17?)/20.

Howard Park Riesling 2003

Screwcap sealed. New World Riesling through and through.. Almost without colour. Austere, limey nose. Palate - acidity ++. Very good mid palate. Is there some residual sugar to add weight here? Fine streak of minerality. A good wine. Maybe very good. but not my style. Perhaps worth returning too in a few years when its lost the current limey, acidic vigour of its youth. 14/20.

Howard Park Chardonnay 2002

Screwcap sealed. Formulaic. Heavy oak on the nose. Creamy malolactic palate, tropical. Very good quality. Balanced. But samey. Medium+ finish. 14-15/20.

Leston Shiraz 2001

Quite opaque, only just able to see stem through the tasting sample. New wood still dominates. White spice. Pure, clean fruit. But lacking memorable character? Hot, hot finish. Not scored.

Scotsdale Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Ripe fruits. Technically excellent, ticks all the right boxes. Ripe tannins. Heaps of dark red berries. Nice balance. Able to match with food? Possibly, but not sure - might out face it! A tiny touch of stalkiness afterwards. This is no Bordeaux in style. Moth puckering, powerful finish. Not scored.

Bacchus Grand Cru III Wine Tasting

Bacchus Grand Cru III - The New World 
Oxford University Wine Society
**Archived from Friday 7 May 2004**

d'Arenberg Fortified Shiraz (NV) £15
Jammy, sweet red fruit. A little disappointing? Perhaps only because I thought this was setting out to be a port look-alike, which it clearly is not. Really need to be tasted again on a different night to truly judge, but for now this is too fruit and simplistic for me.

Coriole Lloyd Shiraz 1997
James' bottle, donated to the Bacchus New World tasting. Pink rim, opaque appearance. Mature developed wines. The palate is lighter than I imagined it would be. Difficult to judge when tasted alongside the Orion and Grange '83. The palate is complex yet simple when compared with the latter wines. Lovely mid-palate with a long finish. This is clearly a very good wine, but needs to be tasted away from such esteemed company to do it justice.

Penfolds Grange 1983 £180
Sourced from Oddbins Fine Wine, Little Clarendon Street. Their final bottle. Opaque appearance, staggering when you consider the time in bottle. The rim is showing the age, turning brick red to orange. However, this bottle is clearly not at its best. Despite the enticing nose, it is not as open as I remember. Overly drying tannins, drying fruit. Almost heading like a elderly claret. Compared to bottles previously tasted this one is looking like past history. Shame. Bottle variation? Perhaps to be expected at this age. Or Oddbins' source for this or their own storage not quite up to scratch? Future sample will tell.

Renwood Jack Rabbit Flate Zinfandel 1999
Disappointing. The nose is not as beautifully open as with many great Zin's. Way too hot on the palate at 15%. It doesn't have the body to carry this off. Seemingly little varietal character. For the price, average quality. 13/20.

Sean Thackery's Orion 2000 £60
Double decanted an hour before tasting. Woosh. This is remarkable. Outstanding! Remarkably concentrated. But could you drink more than a glass? This is clearly a wine that would stand out a mile in blind tastings and must rake in the prizes. Yet with the pure fruit balance I think I could tolerate more than a glass - in a few years time. Right now this would certainly outface almost any food combination. The nose is like Lenor and the palate ripe blueberries. Huge liquorice red fruits.. Fine tannins, good acidity - this is assured a long life of well over a decade. I would be very interested to follow its development. Remarkable wine and I would say reasonably priced. 17-18/20.

De Torren Fusion IV 2001 £23
Double decanted an hour before tasting. Amazing Bordeaux in style, yet so much better than most Bordeaux, Certainly at this price. Opaque. Cedar wood ++. Very open. Nicely balanced palate with a smooth finish. The tannins are ripe and powerful. This is certainly well balanced enough to complement some Pauillac lamb perfectly! Drinking well now, it will not go the cellar distance of a comparable Bordeaux. 15+/20.

Esk Valley Terraces 2000 £68
Double decanted an hour before tasting. This is again a difficult wine to judge amongst its peers this evening. Despite an extra year in the bottle it seems younger than the De Torren and is still very tight knit. The two wines are on different plateaus. The rim is pink the nose more closed, mainly subtle wood at this stage. The palate is similar. This is certainly a wine not giving much up today and needs several years further bottle ageing to show at its best. But is it worth £75? I think a comparable Bordeaux would give this a run for its money, so probably not.

Wither Hills Pinot Noir 2002 £14
Typical New World Pinot noir in style. A little on the thin side? Tannic ++. Hot ++. Does not have the body to carry the alcohol. Good length. 14/20.

Mesh Riesling 2002 £15
A 'Mesh' of producers Jeffrey Grossett and Yalumba have produced this new wine. Not as pure at Grosset's styles, with a subtle difference in style and character. Steely and fine. mineral finish. Very good. 14-15/20. Will improve with age.

Simonsig tasting at OUWS

Simonsig Wine Tasting
**Archived from 14/10/03**

Sparkling wine
Darker, nutty character. Fine mouse, really interesting honeyed fruit.
Very full flavour, better warmer. Almost woody character. Excellent,
better than many Champagnes. The best New World sparkling wine I've
tasted. Does it have the acidity to last? 16/20.

Chenin Blanc 2003
Very crisp, dry nose. Fresh grass - rather Sauvignon Blanc in character
on the nose. Full bodied palate, very high glycerol and perhaps a little
too fat here. 14% alcohol carried very well but leads through to a hot
finish. Very good - 14/20.

Sauvignon
No.

Chardonnay 2001
Heavily toasted oak nose. Clearly fermented in oak too. Palate dominated
by oak, but there's a mineral edge behind this. Hot finish. Good, but
too generic oak Chardonnay. 13/20.

Pinotage 2000
Spicy, characteristic Pinotage nose. Very open, creosote hints. Palate
surprisingly tannic, full bodied. Very good example. 14/20, will improve
with bottle age. Right now a perfect BBQ wine.

Cabernet/Shiraz blend 2002
Quite stereotypically New World, mint and fruit, blackberry driven nose.
Smooth palate, fine tannins but not yet integrated. Good potential. 13/20.

Shiraz 2000
Very open, classic New World shiraz nose with American oak influence.
Powerful palate. Good, lingering finish. 15/20.

Merindol 1997(!)
Would never guess '97.

Dr. Loosen Wine Tasting

JL WOLF, WACHENHEIM, PFALZ

**Archived tasting note from June 2004**

Villa Wolf Pinot Gris 2002
Wachenheim Riesling 2002 'Village'
Wachenheimer Belz Riesling 2001 'Premier Cru'

Ernie Loosen's comment: "DRINK YOURSELF SOBER!" with these wines.

Pechstein Riesling 2001 'Grand Cru'
Light yellow. Flinty, herby nose. Mineral. Dry, good acidity in balance with the wine. Weighty fruit on palate. Lemon notes, some melon. Showing well now, but needs years to open up. Amazing balance of balanced power - tremendous power on palate. Very long mineral finish. 17/20


DR. LOOSEN, BERNKASTEL, MOSEL

Dr 'L' Riesling QbA 2002. Silver in both IWC and IW&SC this year.
Almost water colour. Nose more simple - flinty, grassy. Crystal clear palate. Crisp acidity. Floral, melon notes. Very clean. Mineral, medium finish. 15/20.

Dr Loosen Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Kabinett 2002
Light yellow. Nose a little closed. Mineral, grass again. Peach. Palate - good weight of fruit. Beautifully balanced. Palate - a lighter almost ethereal weight of mineral concentration. Excellent. Long graceful finish 17/20. Pronounce: Lie!

Dr Loosen Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett 2002
Very pale straw yellow. Closed, light, spicy nose. Full fruit palate, off dry. Too young to show at its best. Spicy palate, hotter alcohol. Full fruit. Needs time. 14/20 + with age.

Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenhur Riesling Spatlese 2002
Clear colour. Earthy, more herby nose. Off dry more residual sugar. More concentrated palate, mineral. Good weight of round fruit. 15/20 + with age.

Dr Loosen Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese 1988
Dark yellow. Nose not so open. Oily aroma, not quite classic petrol. Forrest floor! Off dry. 16/20. Treppchen = small stairs. Try with venison or game!

Dr Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese Gold Kap 2002
Light, pale yellow. Very little colour. Nose - very little aroma, slight botrytis. Sweet, concentrated palate. Way too young to attempt to score but currently 16/20.

Castello Banfi Tasting Notes

Castello Banfi
OUWS tasting 22.11.2004

www.castellobanfi.com/

Montalcino - hill of oaks
Can be Brunello & Rosso.
Rosso = 100% Sangiovese. The baby of the two. Minimum aging 1 yr. Same
vineyards can produce Brunello, just have to decide & declare which.
Brunello has to be aged 4 yrs, min 2 in barrel. 120 producers in B de M.
Sangiovese is like Pinot Noir. Difficult to produce.

"Italian's make the rules & then don't want them any more!"

Rosso di Montalcino 2002
Cherry red and bright. Very open nose, big vibrant red fruits - cherry, liquorice & herbs. Not overwhelming, well balanced. Moderate, ripe tannin giving good grip. Fresh acidity. Medium finish. Very good. 15.5/20.

Centine 2002
Sangiovese 60%, Merlot 20% & Cab Sav 20%. More closed. Darker & more concentrated. Tannin more to the fore with mouth puckering grip. Hard wine, in that its not currently giving much up. Good. Needs a hearty plain stew to accompany it. 15/20.

Brunello di Montalcino 1999
Five years old and really tight structure still. Deep red, showing some age on the rim. Nose is reticent, more woody & savoury in character. Some creamy vanilla still. Palate - the tannin! Huge mouth puckering grip. Very ripe, red fruit core behind this, clearly coming through.
Violets? More spicy, chocolate, coffee & leather. Long finish, bitter cherry? Dominating tannin. This is not an obvious wine, it requires studying in the glass. Needs another 10 years. Also needs decanting! Opens up with time in the glass. Very good/excellent. 16.5/20. Will improve.

Brunello di Montalcino - Poggio Alle Mura 1998
Leather, reticent dark spice and cherry on nose. Incredibly fine tannins, really gripping & puckering. Full bodied, striking & 15 years too early! Very difficult to judge future direction, however this is clearly for the long-haul. 16/20

Summus 2000
Quite opaque by comparison to the others. Much rounder mid-palate. 16/20.

Chianti + Super-Tuscans

A fascinating tasting at Le Cantine di Greve in Greve. Over 100 wines on tasting, so this is really just a tiny (but well chosen!) selection. In summary, the whites were largely good despite the heavy emphasis on red wines in this corner of the vinous world. However, it's one thing tasting them in the heat of Chianti and another trying to drink them in a less favourable climate. I think something would be lost in translation taking them back to a rainy English summer.

For the reds, this was a really fascinating exploration of styles. What is clear is that modern-day Chianti has several and what you're going to get in the bottle really depends on knowing the estate's style (and in some cases even knowing the style of their different bottlings). There is a clear 'international' style (dare I say mass appeal) from some wineries, others stick to the classic Chianti Classico flavours, although perhaps using modern wine making methods to accentuate this to

varying degrees.

The 'Super-Tuscans' are distinctly more hit-and-miss on the basis of the few tasted here. Research and care are required in this department before spending what will be a sizeable chunk of money on a bottle. Buyer beware.

Whites…

Cappela Saint Andrea 2010 (San Gimignano DOC, Tuscany, Italy)

White Vernaccia grape. Light colour with open, fresh, light floral nose

of summer blossoms. Palate notably high in acidity. Thirst quenching in

the heat. Quite powerful, surprising given the lightness of colour and

on the nose. High-end alcohol. Very dry, slightly nutty, with persistent

finish. Very good – although whether that would translate back home to a

cool, wet English summer day is another matter. Drink now. 16/20.

Annita – 'Il Rio' Chardonnay / Pinto Nero 2009 (IGT Toscano)

Deep yellow-gold colour. Rich nose of toasted oak. Rich plate pretty

much also only consisting of toasted oak. In a blind tasting I might

place this as over-cooked, over-done Burgundian, or more likely

Australian or Californian. International Chardonnay in style. Probably

needs a little more time. 15+/20 if you like that sort of thing. Not for

me and not sure that wood will ever integrate.

Morabianca - Falanghina 2011 (Irpinia)

Pale yellow. Open nose with clean, fresh fruit and the typical

interesting Falanghina nuttiness. Refreshing. Medium finish. Blossom and

white fruits, balancing acidity. Drink now. Very good example of this

really nice grape. I would recommend those who haven't tried it before

get a bottle. 16/20.

Reds…

Vicchiomaggio 'Augustina Petri' Chianto Classico Reserva 2008

Comes across as really ripe and interesting, but not entirely classic

for Chianti Classico? Red berries, sour cherry, really strong fruit in

the middle of this and very smooth – moderate, ripe tannins. Appealing

glass of wine, but not a traditionalist. Will keep short-medium term,

but I'm guessing this is made to be enjoyed right now by a North

American palate (sweeping generalisation for which I apologise). 16/20.

Castillo di Querceto – Chiani Classico Reserva 2008

Light rim and medium deep core leads you to under-estimate the power

that greets you on the nose with this. Very open, classic, complex, even

a little high-toned and mature in character. The palate similarly does

not disappoint. Fine grained tannins dominate over a rich almost bitter

light fruit core. A little hot, and could be higher in acidity, but this

is good nonetheless and very much appeals to my style, but is rather

'old-school'. I mark it down a touch for not being fuller in the

mid-palate. Needs some rich local meat dish or stew and will doubtless

keep in the medium term. 16+/20. Interestingly, after I'd tasted this I

found that the wines from this estate have twice featured in 'Wine

Spectators' top-100 list. Deservingly so, if this is anything to judge by.

Castello di Ama Chianti Classico 2008

Difficult to 'step-down' to taste this non-reserva, so perhaps not doing

it justice. Nonetheless it is evidently a less concentrated offering.

Quirky high-toned nose, a little green. Palate is a little thin, not at

all challenging. Everyday Chianti. Drink now. 15.5/20.

San Felice – Poggio Rossa Chianti Classico Reserva 2007

Not too far away in style from the Castillo di Querceto Reserva.

Slightly deeper in colour, with a very open nose similarly traditional

in style but notably more brutish and powerful. Rich sour cherry notes.

Palate is more tannic, even a little rasping with plenty more grip than

any of the previous reds tasted. Really broad and strong classic palate

with nice acidity. Needs strong red meat, old cheese, or preferably

another 5-10 years. Would be interested to see what it turns into then

as it's probably a little too young to enjoy fully currently. 16-17/20.

Shame about the overly modern label.

Fonterutoli Chianti Classico 2009

Very warm, inviting, open nose. Rich and ripe character a touch more

modern but not in any way to its disadvantage. Lovely, big, rich, ripe

sour cherry palate. Good acidity. Impressive. Will doubtless keep but

would be very enjoyable now. Again, needs some big red meat to

accompany. This 'normale' Chianti Classico is a step ahead of many

reservas – and so it should be at twice the price. Another previous

'Wine Spectator' Top-100 in the past. 16-17/20.

Isole e Olena Chianti Classico 2009

Quite light in colour and an atypical, unique nose of smoked woods and

exotic spices which leaps out of the glass - fascinating. Similar

flavours on the palate, out of place with the lightness of the wine's

colour – you don't expect this much in it. Really fine and elegant in

style. Very clean and delineated, like some sort of Italian vinous

equivalent of an ethereal Pinot Noir. Good balance and acidity. Long

finish. Not a blockbuster style, more something to savour and

contemplate. It will not be to everyone's tastes. An excellent

'normale', as one should expect from this famous estate. 16-17/20.

Poggio Scalette – Il Carbonaione 2009 (IGT, Toscana)

Pure Sangiovese super-Tuscan. Notably darker, pretty much opaque core.

Phenomenal powerful cherry liquor nose but currently still dominated by

oak barrel. Magnificent rich and balanced palate with immense weight of

pure primary fuit and ripe but unobtrusive tannic backbone. Well

structured but so young. Currently doesn't seem much like a Chianti.

Come back in at least a decade. 17+/20, may well beat that as it develops.

Antinori Tignanello 2009

Not the supercharged fruit barrel that is the 'Il Carbonaione' tasted

immediately before, this is much more elegant and refined and all the

more approachable for it. High-toned and elegant in a vaguely similar

way to the Isole e Olena. The nose is open and conveys the lightly

toasted wood and fine spices. The palate shows some lovely balance,

medium to full and not at all overpowering. I would image this will age

and develop very gracefully over the years to come. A subtle but

powerful wine with very good length. 17/20.

Marchese Frescobaldi 'Luce' 2007 (IGT, Toscana)

Sangiovese (45%)-Merlot (55%) blend. Nose is open and similarly elegant

and quite restrained. Palate does not match this, in that it is

noticeably more powerful and unfortunately far to 'hot' with alcohol.

This really spoils it for me, the potentially delicate flavours being

completely overwhelmed. Underneath there is a refined wine trying to

escape. It doesn't get very far due to the 15% alcohol on label. Shame.

I wouldn't pick this out to taste / drink again in future.

Col d'Orcia – Brunello di Matalcino 2007

Light in colour with enticing open high-toned nose of exotic spice and

burnt wood. Palate is clearly tannic-dominated with a hard edge to it.

Clear stylistic difference to the Chianti. Good balance. Needs rich red

meats or old cheeses, or 10-years. Lovely wine in a classic Brunello

mould. 16+/20.

Sweet wines…

Castello de Paneretta Vin Santo 2004

Lightly oxidised and almost a little sherry-like. Oily, rich,

caramelised. Sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. Balanced out by the body

and richness of the palate. A little too old and too traditional for me,

but one to savour.

Capanna – Moscadella di Montelciano 2009

Explosive Moscadelle aromas jump out at you. Oily and rich, low acidity,

very sweet. Blossom fruit and honey. Could be sipped by itself. Long

finish. Lovely stuff. Not for keeping.