A really lovely, restrained effort from Paso Robles by Jean Hoefliger. Not to say the wine isn't powerful, full-bodied, or richly layered with a tapestry of inky dark black and blue fruit. It is all that, but immense structure and building tannins also cr...
The 2021 BenMarco Malbec was produced with fruit from Los Chacayes in Valle de Uco, fermented destemmed in stainless steel and matured in second use French oak barrels for 11 months. It's floral, spicy, aromatic, showy and expressive with the aromatic flo...
The 2022 Chardonnay Katherine's Vineyard is a very pretty, gracious wine. Light tropical accents, tangerine peel, white pepper and chamomile all grace this airy, lifted Chardonnay. In 2022, winemaker Jill Russell opted for more lots aged in steel and l...
Selbach's 2022 Zeltinger Schlossberg Kabinett offers a pure and finely flinty nose of ripe and lush fruit aromas intertwined with delicate notes of soft, crushed slate. Mouth-filling, round, lush and filigreed on the palate, this is a seductive, saline an...
The 2023 Riesling Heiligenstein comes from core parcels of a Permian sandstone site and was made in stainless steel only. It has a subtle lift, almost with the coniferous notion of old-fashioned Cologne. The nose then verges into citrus peel, fragrant ...
Brundlmayer's 2020 Ried Heiligenstein 1OTW Kamptal Riesling is the only Heiligenstein shown here, so no Lyra and no Alte Reben, which I assume will be released a year later. The nose is very clear and bright in its aromas but still discreet in everything...
The Bründlmayer family owns 12 hectares right in the centre of the Zöbinger Heiligenstein. 10,5 hectares are planted with Riesling, the remainder for experimental purposes with Cabernet (mostly Cabernet Franc). About 20% of the vineyards are trained in the Lyra trellis system. The other Heiligenstein vines are raised by the traditional Guyot method with the berries hanging 50-60 centimeters above the ground. Thinning is done as required to restrict the average yield to 3500-4000 liters per hectare for this classic (Kamptal DAC) Version. Two Reserves from Heiligenstein (Lyra, Alte Reben) are used to be harvested later in the year.