2001 Weingart Riesling Spatlese Schloss Furstenberg (Germany) – Riesling grape
Sporting 72 grams of residual sugar, Weingart’s 2001 Riesling Spatlese Schloss Furstenberg has a verbena and pear-scented nose. This medium-bodied wine is lush, velvety-textured, concentrated, and immensely long in the finish. From the initial attack, it broadens on the palate, enveloping the taster’s palate with candied pears and apples as well as red currants, raspberries, and spices. It is a hugely flavorful offering with exquisite richness, intensity, and depth. Rated 93 The Wine Advocate
2008 Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (Australia) – Blend of Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon grapes
The nose is actually quite subdued – its going to need some patience to show the real herbaceous delineation that I find a memorable characteristic in this wine (and I really like). That nose is incessantly pure and bounding with freshness. The palate follows with tight citrussy fruit & very dry, fierce acidity. It makes the palate very fresh, but its not for someone looking for subtlety. I can still taste it, burning on the way down. So this is a very dry, intense, tight and powerful white that is dominated by grapefruity acidity, with hidden delights still to come. I’d suggest abandoning the normal rules with this wine and stick it away for a good 6 months. I can see this good wine being damn good with time. ozwinereview.com
2007 Francois Mikulski Aligoté Bourgogne (France) – Aligoté grape
“This is crisp Aligoté with a serious pedigree – old vines celebrating their 80th birthday this year…It has a touch of the body and flesh of a Chardonnay, yet it’s much more forceful, with a mineral-driven, high-toned “zing” that recalls a razor-sharp Chablis or the crackle of a good Sauvignon Blanc. A good Aligoté can deliver a lemon-and-ocean flavor profile not unlike a good Muscadet, though the framework is bigger, with more push.” Crush Wine & Spirits (CWS)
2009 Alasia Brachetto d’Acqui (Italy) – Brachetto grape
Vibrant ruby in color, this shows aromas of raspberry sorbet with rose perfumed hints. Appealing off-dry palate with crunchy sweet and tart raspberry fruit, mouthwatering acidity and a juicy spritzy finish. vinesonpine.com
2008 Domaine des Hauts de Sanziers Saumur (France) – Chenin Blanc grape
The tank-rendered white 2008 Saumur displays a deep gold color, intensity of aroma, and phenolic grip that point to the two full days of pre-fermentative skin contact administered to the grapes. Pineapple, white peach, lemon, and mandarin are joined by black and red berry suggestions that put me in mind of a Nahe Riesling, although there is no mistaking the combination of sheer palate density with bright acidity on display here with any grape other than Chenin Blanc. Smoky, chalky, peach fuzz, peach pit, and citrus zest accents add to the impressively pungent, genuinely gripping finish. This uncompromisingly, blazingly intense exemplar of a huge, generally mediocre appellation is among the growing evidence that white wines of Saumur are in fact capable of distinction. This should be worth following for at least 18-24 months, and perhaps will acquire some refinement and textural polish although many tasters might not think that desirable! Rated 90 The Wine Advocate