Christian Miller (CMM)
Christian Miller
Since we were just updated on the 2022 vintage for Riesling in Germany and Austria, and I happened to go to the latest Union des Grands Crus road show last week, I figured I'd post some notes too.
This year I had no real game plan and arrived late, so I tasted in a rambling, unsystematic manner, tasted fewer wines and missed taking notes on some.
It was apparently a hot, dry growing season. However, the ground had good water reserves from the previous year, there were relatively few bad heat spikes plus some June rain; so only minor and scattered raisining or over-ripeness. The grapes were small and thick skinned, making careful tannin management important. Quality was pretty even, and winemakers were somewhat surprised it turned out as well as it did.
The wines have plenty of fruit, and I did not encounter any really raisined or pruney fruit. Pyrazines were very low - I encountered just a hint of green leafiness or olivey tone in a couple of wines. Which may be good or bad news, depending on how you like your mid-Loire reds.
The structure of the wines was a bit odd. Most of them had significant tannin, but it ranged from very soft to dry but fine and grainy to a bit harsh and very drying. Also, most had significant fruit on entry and persisting in the finish; but quite a few had a slightly watery or hollow middle, like the fruit became more subdued or thinner. Oak presence was fairly restrained in many wines (or maybe my nose was just having a low oak day). Some wines were surprisingly forward and others very raw and young, almost like tank samples.
All in all, I think I liked the feel and balance of the 2015s and 2016s better. The one spectacular wine I tasted was Lynch Bages, but there were several other really excellent ones, including a classic version of Haut Bailly and well-balanced, complex wines from Malescot and Malarctic, an intriguingly Fourcase Dupré and a really delicious Beauregard.
For those with really nothing to do, here are my notes.
Pessac-Leognan Ch. de Fieuzal - Ripe, plump fruit with real charm, med-full body, dry medium strength tannins. Used more Merlot than usual. **(*)+
Pessac-Leognan Ch. de France- very ripe Cabbish fruit but no raisining or prune notes, med-full body with some real density, significant but soft tannins, decent length. Good but not really Graves or Pessac-like to my palate. 50% CabS/50% Merlot. Voluble owner. **(**?)
Pessac-Leognan Ch. Haut-Bailly- aromatic, already showing some complexity with tabac-floral notes and oak incense; med body, good balance, fine tannins, quite long. One is tempted to say "Burgundian" in style, but this is very true to what I think of as Haut-Bailly's terroir. ***(*)+
Pessac-Leognan Ch. La Louviere Blanc- simple, fresh varietal character with excellent balance, minimal oak. A nice wine, but one can get more interesting SBs at lower prices from many other places. **+
Pessac-Leognan Ch. La Louviere Rouge- simple, very young fruit of moderate ripeness with subdued oak, good balance. Hopefully will develop some complexity, for now hard to read and rather modest. *(**?)
Pessac-Leognan Ch. Malartice-Lagraviere- medium strength aroma with quiet but deep fruit topped with oak, tobacco and earthy notes; medium body with some structure and density, fine tannins and oak are well integrated, long finish. Impressive. **(**)
Pessac Leognan Ch. Smith-Haut-Lafitte- ripe Cabbish fruit + oak, stronger tannic structure than most, decent acidity but the fruit is currently very primary and the middle somewhat hollow. Might fill in with age, but awkward right now, it left me cold. *(**)
St. Emilion Ch. La Tour Figeac- ripe fruit with a pleasant green olive streak in it; med body, soft mild tannin, borderline quaffable, has charm if not depth. 40% Cab Franc. ***(*?)
St. Emilion Ch. Valandraud- ripe fruit with cassis and strawberry notes plus new French oak incense; dense on palate with Napa-like ripe fruit, big soft tannins, slick oak. Good wine in its style, but it's not what I want from Bordeaux. **(*)+
Pomerol Ch. Beauregard- soft, supple, remarkably delicious flavor; hyper-Merlot in character, ripe but not at all cloying, moderate but sufficient acidity and tannin, good length, very charming already. I wonder if it will ever close up, or stay like this. ****
Pomerol Ch. Gazin- nice ripe balanced fruit with some complexity, hinting at the different varieties, with oak in the background; medium body, very fine soft tannins that nonetheless provide some structure. Mostly Merlot. They left the canopy fairly dense this year to protect the grapes from sunburn - something I heard from at least one other vintner. ***(*)
Pomerol Petit Village- ripe strawbish Merlot fruit with some French oak incense, medium body, dry tannin with a fine-grained "sandy" long finish. It's located next to Beauregard, but while Beauregard has a lot of gravel and less clay, Petit-Village has mostly clay, much less gravel. Otherwise very similar in aspect and micro-climate and basically the same vinification, so an interesting little study in soil impact.
**(*)+
Listrac Medoc Ch. Fourcas Dupré- impressive strong aroma of cassis-berry with a Pauillac-like "smoked iron" note (at least that's what I call it); background oak; structured, medium-full body, very long with some complexity already, impressive. It underwent an unusual blend of fermentation and aging with 15% in amphora, about 30% each in new and older barriques, the rest in concrete if I understood correctly. ***(*)
Listrac Medoc Ch. Fourcas Hosten- moderate aroma with young fruit, light oak; medium body, lively berry fruit like a ripe year Saumur-Champigny, medium weight but very dry tannins clamp down in finish. **(*?)
Moulis-en-Medoc Ch. Chasse-Spleen- delicious upfront ripe plush dense fruit, yet with fairly traditional Bordeaux structure, medium-full body. 39% Merlot. ***(*)
Haut Medoc Ch. De Camensac- aromatic, with a Cabbish nose with a green pepper tone; ripe fruit, moderate dry tannin, verging on quaffable. ***
Haut Medoc Ch. Citran- restrained aroma, rather closed; med body with dry woody tannins and thin fruit in the middle make for a rather pinched Citran in this vintage. A disappointment from what is often a good value Bordeaux. *(**?)
Margaux Ch. Malescot Saint-Exupéry- fine aroma with oak and floral-tinged fruit mixed; medium body, fine light dry tannin, excellent balance, evenly flavored throughout, an elegant wine. ***(*)
St. Julien Ch. Leoville Barton- very very young, with vigorous chunky red fruit with a mineral tone, good balance, long but totally undeveloped, almost like a tank sample. *(***?)
St. Julien Ch. Langoa Barton- similar to Leoville Barton but with slightly greener and livelier fruit. **(*)+
Pauillac Ch. Lynch Bages - a bit reticent, but a deep complex aroma of cassis and loganberry pate de fruit, plus that heated iron/smoke tone that I associated with Pauillac and heavy toast but not heavy-handed oak; medium-full body, very dense palate with real grip, lots of soft fine-grained tannin, very long. Exceptional quality, seems like a classic Lynch-Bages in the making. **(***)
Pauillac Ch. Pichon Baron- very young "boiled fruit jelly" aroma with moderate oak; dense fruit on palate but not heavy. Another very immature wine. *(***?)
St. Estephe Ch. Phélan Ségur- moderately smoky oak and a complex autumnal tone to the young fruit in the nose; structured, medium body, fine long slightly austere woody tannin. 50% new oak for 18 months and it shows, but the wine may have the stuffing to integrate it. Quite St. Estephish to my palate. **(**?)
By the time I got to the sweet wine table, alas most were packed up, so only one TN there:
Sauternes Ch. Doisy-Védrines- super ripe lush aroma and flavor, with botrytis but less honeycomb and more fresh honey and apricot; low acid, lush, full-bodied; delicious but a bit heavy. ***/****
This year I had no real game plan and arrived late, so I tasted in a rambling, unsystematic manner, tasted fewer wines and missed taking notes on some.
It was apparently a hot, dry growing season. However, the ground had good water reserves from the previous year, there were relatively few bad heat spikes plus some June rain; so only minor and scattered raisining or over-ripeness. The grapes were small and thick skinned, making careful tannin management important. Quality was pretty even, and winemakers were somewhat surprised it turned out as well as it did.
The wines have plenty of fruit, and I did not encounter any really raisined or pruney fruit. Pyrazines were very low - I encountered just a hint of green leafiness or olivey tone in a couple of wines. Which may be good or bad news, depending on how you like your mid-Loire reds.
The structure of the wines was a bit odd. Most of them had significant tannin, but it ranged from very soft to dry but fine and grainy to a bit harsh and very drying. Also, most had significant fruit on entry and persisting in the finish; but quite a few had a slightly watery or hollow middle, like the fruit became more subdued or thinner. Oak presence was fairly restrained in many wines (or maybe my nose was just having a low oak day). Some wines were surprisingly forward and others very raw and young, almost like tank samples.
All in all, I think I liked the feel and balance of the 2015s and 2016s better. The one spectacular wine I tasted was Lynch Bages, but there were several other really excellent ones, including a classic version of Haut Bailly and well-balanced, complex wines from Malescot and Malarctic, an intriguingly Fourcase Dupré and a really delicious Beauregard.
For those with really nothing to do, here are my notes.
Pessac-Leognan Ch. de Fieuzal - Ripe, plump fruit with real charm, med-full body, dry medium strength tannins. Used more Merlot than usual. **(*)+
Pessac-Leognan Ch. de France- very ripe Cabbish fruit but no raisining or prune notes, med-full body with some real density, significant but soft tannins, decent length. Good but not really Graves or Pessac-like to my palate. 50% CabS/50% Merlot. Voluble owner. **(**?)
Pessac-Leognan Ch. Haut-Bailly- aromatic, already showing some complexity with tabac-floral notes and oak incense; med body, good balance, fine tannins, quite long. One is tempted to say "Burgundian" in style, but this is very true to what I think of as Haut-Bailly's terroir. ***(*)+
Pessac-Leognan Ch. La Louviere Blanc- simple, fresh varietal character with excellent balance, minimal oak. A nice wine, but one can get more interesting SBs at lower prices from many other places. **+
Pessac-Leognan Ch. La Louviere Rouge- simple, very young fruit of moderate ripeness with subdued oak, good balance. Hopefully will develop some complexity, for now hard to read and rather modest. *(**?)
Pessac-Leognan Ch. Malartice-Lagraviere- medium strength aroma with quiet but deep fruit topped with oak, tobacco and earthy notes; medium body with some structure and density, fine tannins and oak are well integrated, long finish. Impressive. **(**)
Pessac Leognan Ch. Smith-Haut-Lafitte- ripe Cabbish fruit + oak, stronger tannic structure than most, decent acidity but the fruit is currently very primary and the middle somewhat hollow. Might fill in with age, but awkward right now, it left me cold. *(**)
St. Emilion Ch. La Tour Figeac- ripe fruit with a pleasant green olive streak in it; med body, soft mild tannin, borderline quaffable, has charm if not depth. 40% Cab Franc. ***(*?)
St. Emilion Ch. Valandraud- ripe fruit with cassis and strawberry notes plus new French oak incense; dense on palate with Napa-like ripe fruit, big soft tannins, slick oak. Good wine in its style, but it's not what I want from Bordeaux. **(*)+
Pomerol Ch. Beauregard- soft, supple, remarkably delicious flavor; hyper-Merlot in character, ripe but not at all cloying, moderate but sufficient acidity and tannin, good length, very charming already. I wonder if it will ever close up, or stay like this. ****
Pomerol Ch. Gazin- nice ripe balanced fruit with some complexity, hinting at the different varieties, with oak in the background; medium body, very fine soft tannins that nonetheless provide some structure. Mostly Merlot. They left the canopy fairly dense this year to protect the grapes from sunburn - something I heard from at least one other vintner. ***(*)
Pomerol Petit Village- ripe strawbish Merlot fruit with some French oak incense, medium body, dry tannin with a fine-grained "sandy" long finish. It's located next to Beauregard, but while Beauregard has a lot of gravel and less clay, Petit-Village has mostly clay, much less gravel. Otherwise very similar in aspect and micro-climate and basically the same vinification, so an interesting little study in soil impact.
**(*)+
Listrac Medoc Ch. Fourcas Dupré- impressive strong aroma of cassis-berry with a Pauillac-like "smoked iron" note (at least that's what I call it); background oak; structured, medium-full body, very long with some complexity already, impressive. It underwent an unusual blend of fermentation and aging with 15% in amphora, about 30% each in new and older barriques, the rest in concrete if I understood correctly. ***(*)
Listrac Medoc Ch. Fourcas Hosten- moderate aroma with young fruit, light oak; medium body, lively berry fruit like a ripe year Saumur-Champigny, medium weight but very dry tannins clamp down in finish. **(*?)
Moulis-en-Medoc Ch. Chasse-Spleen- delicious upfront ripe plush dense fruit, yet with fairly traditional Bordeaux structure, medium-full body. 39% Merlot. ***(*)
Haut Medoc Ch. De Camensac- aromatic, with a Cabbish nose with a green pepper tone; ripe fruit, moderate dry tannin, verging on quaffable. ***
Haut Medoc Ch. Citran- restrained aroma, rather closed; med body with dry woody tannins and thin fruit in the middle make for a rather pinched Citran in this vintage. A disappointment from what is often a good value Bordeaux. *(**?)
Margaux Ch. Malescot Saint-Exupéry- fine aroma with oak and floral-tinged fruit mixed; medium body, fine light dry tannin, excellent balance, evenly flavored throughout, an elegant wine. ***(*)
St. Julien Ch. Leoville Barton- very very young, with vigorous chunky red fruit with a mineral tone, good balance, long but totally undeveloped, almost like a tank sample. *(***?)
St. Julien Ch. Langoa Barton- similar to Leoville Barton but with slightly greener and livelier fruit. **(*)+
Pauillac Ch. Lynch Bages - a bit reticent, but a deep complex aroma of cassis and loganberry pate de fruit, plus that heated iron/smoke tone that I associated with Pauillac and heavy toast but not heavy-handed oak; medium-full body, very dense palate with real grip, lots of soft fine-grained tannin, very long. Exceptional quality, seems like a classic Lynch-Bages in the making. **(***)
Pauillac Ch. Pichon Baron- very young "boiled fruit jelly" aroma with moderate oak; dense fruit on palate but not heavy. Another very immature wine. *(***?)
St. Estephe Ch. Phélan Ségur- moderately smoky oak and a complex autumnal tone to the young fruit in the nose; structured, medium body, fine long slightly austere woody tannin. 50% new oak for 18 months and it shows, but the wine may have the stuffing to integrate it. Quite St. Estephish to my palate. **(**?)
By the time I got to the sweet wine table, alas most were packed up, so only one TN there:
Sauternes Ch. Doisy-Védrines- super ripe lush aroma and flavor, with botrytis but less honeycomb and more fresh honey and apricot; low acid, lush, full-bodied; delicious but a bit heavy. ***/****