Still very fresh and youthful, barely showing any sign of its age. Lots of fresh pear and citrus flavours with just a faint touch of Chenin wooliness, and a gentle mineral undercurrent beneath. Dry but never austere on the palate with nice richness to the fruit and bright acids beneath.
This is surprisingly dark in colour with a burnished honeyed and botrytised character to the flavours, and a faint oxidative note in the background. There's some ripe Chenin fruit beneath, but the botrytis and oxidative elements are a bit distracting, and this comes across a little awkward and disjointed.
An excellent showing. Very classic Mosel flavours here - lots of red apple, pears, and tarter citrus notes accented with floral and mineral notes, a touch of sponti yeast funk upon opening, and more savoury creamy and other developed notes. There's moderate sweetness here that's nicely balanced by the acidity, and it comes across very light on the palate.
Seems to be at peak, and this is fantastic. A beautiful fragrance that keeps opening up and getting more complex with air - there are layers of green apples and citrus fruits, pine needles, fresh herbal and floral notes, and more savoury smoky and earthy elements all coming together into an amazing scent. The palate shows just a faint trace of sweetness with that powerful '90 acidity dominating, but still feels very fresh and lively.
Lots of bright quince and pear fruit tinged with gentle hay and mineral notes, though it doesn't show quite the same depth and complexity I've found in other young Huet. But there's a remarkable sense of lightness and freshness on the palate here, with an incredibly graceful, polished texture and bright acids that give this amazing vibrancy and focus.
Another great bottle of this. Smoky, savoury, packed with stones, rainwater, and briny flavours around a core of pear and other ripe orchard fruit flavours that still seem very fresh. It's showing more savoury maturity than other bottles I've had in the last few years, but it's still a fantastic drink that leaves me wishing I'd been more patient with my bottles.
This is spectacular. A powerhouse of a Riesling - almost bone dry with incredibly fresh, vibrant pear and lemon fruit at the core, augmented by an array of stony, saline, smoke, and peaty flavours - almost reminiscent of some Islay single malts (minus the spirity notes). There's remarkable power and intensity to the flavours, yet it feels remarkably light and finessed on the palate, never heavy nor austere as I find with so many dry Rieslings. Amazing wine.
Another awesome bottle. Fresher and more lively than my last encounter with this, showing lots of ripe apricot, honey, and more exotic papaya, pineapple, and some green mango flavours that show the Scheurebe signature beneath the apparent botrytis. Really fragrant and still quite fresh and lively on the palate.
What a great showing. This is an absolutely amazing bottle, and a really compelling wine - much moreso than when I last encountered it four years ago. Very dark in colour - almost copper - with an amazing fragrance combining fresh quince and orchard fruit flavours, more sweet and savoury dried fruit notes, and sweeter honeyed and orange marmalade-like elements. It's impossible to fully catalogue the flavours and complexity here, and the palate presence is remarkable - this has amazing intensity of flavour with massive sweetness, yet there's no shortage of acidity to keep it balanced with an immensely long finish.
A fascinating contrast with the '89 Foreau Moelleux Reserve that was poured alongside - this comes across more mature and savoury with burnished, brassy, and brown sugar notes accenting the sweet honey, quince, pineapple, and citrus fruit flavours here, though not showing quite the same intensity of flavour or sheer acidic lift. Still, there's great depth and complexity here and I love how savoury it comes across in contrast to the other sweet wines at the table, with burnished - almost earthy - notes balancing the sweetness of the other flavours.
I have no idea how to describe this wine without using several expletives. This is absolutely unreal. Such a complex array of flavours, ranging from apricots and other tropical fruited flavours to honey, marmalade, and more flamboyant floral and spicy notes, and while it's immensely sweet with palate-staining intensity, it still comes across with remarkable finesse and elegance, with an absurdly long finish that kept resonating long after each sip.
Packed with dense tropical fruit, apricot, and candied citrus flavours, with an overlay of heavy botrytis spice and honeyed notes. This is immensely sweet and powerful, though it's a challenge to have after the ZH Jebsal as it comes across much heavier and a touch more cloying.
1997 François Pinon Vouvray Sec 91 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Still very fresh and youthful, barely showing any sign of its age. Lots of fresh pear and citrus flavours with just a faint touch of Chenin wooliness, and a gentle mineral undercurrent beneath. Dry but never austere on the palate with nice richness to the fruit and bright acids beneath.
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1997 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Demi-Sec 85 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
This is surprisingly dark in colour with a burnished honeyed and botrytised character to the flavours, and a faint oxidative note in the background. There's some ripe Chenin fruit beneath, but the botrytis and oxidative elements are a bit distracting, and this comes across a little awkward and disjointed.
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1997 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 92 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
An excellent showing. Very classic Mosel flavours here - lots of red apple, pears, and tarter citrus notes accented with floral and mineral notes, a touch of sponti yeast funk upon opening, and more savoury creamy and other developed notes. There's moderate sweetness here that's nicely balanced by the acidity, and it comes across very light on the palate.
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1990 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese 94 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Seems to be at peak, and this is fantastic. A beautiful fragrance that keeps opening up and getting more complex with air - there are layers of green apples and citrus fruits, pine needles, fresh herbal and floral notes, and more savoury smoky and earthy elements all coming together into an amazing scent. The palate shows just a faint trace of sweetness with that powerful '90 acidity dominating, but still feels very fresh and lively.
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2007 Domaine Huet Vouvray Franc de Pied Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Lots of bright quince and pear fruit tinged with gentle hay and mineral notes, though it doesn't show quite the same depth and complexity I've found in other young Huet. But there's a remarkable sense of lightness and freshness on the palate here, with an incredibly graceful, polished texture and bright acids that give this amazing vibrancy and focus.
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2001 Weingut Josef Jamek Riesling Smaragd Klaus 93 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Another great bottle of this. Smoky, savoury, packed with stones, rainwater, and briny flavours around a core of pear and other ripe orchard fruit flavours that still seem very fresh. It's showing more savoury maturity than other bottles I've had in the last few years, but it's still a fantastic drink that leaves me wishing I'd been more patient with my bottles.
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1994 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain 97 Points
France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
This is spectacular. A powerhouse of a Riesling - almost bone dry with incredibly fresh, vibrant pear and lemon fruit at the core, augmented by an array of stony, saline, smoke, and peaty flavours - almost reminiscent of some Islay single malts (minus the spirity notes). There's remarkable power and intensity to the flavours, yet it feels remarkably light and finessed on the palate, never heavy nor austere as I find with so many dry Rieslings. Amazing wine.
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1975 Balbach Niersteiner Bildstock Scheurebe Beerenauslese 92 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
Another awesome bottle. Fresher and more lively than my last encounter with this, showing lots of ripe apricot, honey, and more exotic papaya, pineapple, and some green mango flavours that show the Scheurebe signature beneath the apparent botrytis. Really fragrant and still quite fresh and lively on the palate.
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1989 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Moelleux Réserve 97 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
What a great showing. This is an absolutely amazing bottle, and a really compelling wine - much moreso than when I last encountered it four years ago. Very dark in colour - almost copper - with an amazing fragrance combining fresh quince and orchard fruit flavours, more sweet and savoury dried fruit notes, and sweeter honeyed and orange marmalade-like elements. It's impossible to fully catalogue the flavours and complexity here, and the palate presence is remarkable - this has amazing intensity of flavour with massive sweetness, yet there's no shortage of acidity to keep it balanced with an immensely long finish.
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1990 François Pinon Vouvray Moelleux La Goutte d'Or 94 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
A fascinating contrast with the '89 Foreau Moelleux Reserve that was poured alongside - this comes across more mature and savoury with burnished, brassy, and brown sugar notes accenting the sweet honey, quince, pineapple, and citrus fruit flavours here, though not showing quite the same intensity of flavour or sheer acidic lift. Still, there's great depth and complexity here and I love how savoury it comes across in contrast to the other sweet wines at the table, with burnished - almost earthy - notes balancing the sweetness of the other flavours.
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1994 Zind-Humbrecht Tokay Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal Sélection de Grains Nobles 98 Points
France, Alsace
I have no idea how to describe this wine without using several expletives. This is absolutely unreal. Such a complex array of flavours, ranging from apricots and other tropical fruited flavours to honey, marmalade, and more flamboyant floral and spicy notes, and while it's immensely sweet with palate-staining intensity, it still comes across with remarkable finesse and elegance, with an absurdly long finish that kept resonating long after each sip.
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2001 Schoffit Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos St.-Théobald Sélection de Grains Nobles Larme de Lave 93 Points
France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
Packed with dense tropical fruit, apricot, and candied citrus flavours, with an overlay of heavy botrytis spice and honeyed notes. This is immensely sweet and powerful, though it's a challenge to have after the ZH Jebsal as it comes across much heavier and a touch more cloying.
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