Tasted a bunch of wines from the famed estate of Dr. Burklin Wolf in the Pfalz the other day. All wines just re-released from their cellars and there were some doozies in there for sure. A range of Premier Cru and Grand Cru sites, along with a range of dry to sweet. Some great stuff. Onto the notes.
The 2007 Estate Riesling was nice enough. Nose of Pfalz peach, menthol and some mineral. Pretty ripe. Lovely, pleasant wine, with good acids and nice richness on the finish but my thoughts lay with all the older bottles in front of me.
The 1998 Ruppertsberger Hoehburg "PC" was a lovely wine. Almost brilliant, but not quite there. Maybe with some age as 1998 is a killer vintage in the Pfalz. Real mineral, subtle nose. Very perfumed. Floral, musky, just lovely. Wonderful inner mouth action going on with rich concentrated tiny fruits and lovely purity. Nice cling and length. Lovely lovely wine, but more was to come.
Next up was the 1998 Wachenheimer Rechbachel which is also another Premier Cru site as was the above Ruppertsberger Hoehburg. I tasted and carried this wine years ago back in 2002 and have not tasted it since so I was excited. Lovely, spicey, mineral and high-toned nose. Perfumed as all the Burklin Wolf wines can be. The palate is nimble and mineral with lava?, my notes are a little off as it was dark. Slight bitterness but very ripe in that classic '98 way with wonderful, clarifying acids. Very pure wine but the bitterness never went away and I liked it an iota less than the Ruppertsberger Hoehburg.
Up next was the 1997 Gaisbohl which is from a the first Grand Cru site of the tasting. Outrageously complex nose with many different mineral tones. Just unreal aromas. Real lift. Palate had excellent purity and was so elegant it was like a cloud of Riesing on the palate. Touch short on the finish is my only complaint.
Next was the 1979 Wachenheimer Gerumpel Kabinett which belies its age. This was stunning for how fresh and lively it was for being 31 years old. A rich nose, but not too complex as the previous wines, but high-toned and very aromatic. Real deep nose. One of those noses that could transform into a tangible object if you were in some futuristic Inception-like movie. The palate was much more complex than the nose. The nose had more of a presence and the palate brought the complexity. Rich, apricots, tangerines, marmalade, spice, minerals. So balanced. So pure. Stunning old Kabinett.
Next was an interesting wine. It was called the 1997 Gaisbohl "R" which had Auslese level RS. That is what the R indicates. Mineral, perfumed and floral nose. Very subtle. Real amazing nose, more in the cerebral camp than the hedonistic one. Great crunchy fruit on the palate with ripe, pure fruit ad tons of pity stone fruits on the palate. A long finish that, alas, turned a touch bitter. Something about these '97's just seems incomplete.
The final wine was a 1998 Muskateller Auslese which proves why you should not really age Muskateller. Kind of monotonous, gloppy wine with zero finesse. Kind of juicy. Eh.
The 2007 Estate Riesling was nice enough. Nose of Pfalz peach, menthol and some mineral. Pretty ripe. Lovely, pleasant wine, with good acids and nice richness on the finish but my thoughts lay with all the older bottles in front of me.
The 1998 Ruppertsberger Hoehburg "PC" was a lovely wine. Almost brilliant, but not quite there. Maybe with some age as 1998 is a killer vintage in the Pfalz. Real mineral, subtle nose. Very perfumed. Floral, musky, just lovely. Wonderful inner mouth action going on with rich concentrated tiny fruits and lovely purity. Nice cling and length. Lovely lovely wine, but more was to come.
Next up was the 1998 Wachenheimer Rechbachel which is also another Premier Cru site as was the above Ruppertsberger Hoehburg. I tasted and carried this wine years ago back in 2002 and have not tasted it since so I was excited. Lovely, spicey, mineral and high-toned nose. Perfumed as all the Burklin Wolf wines can be. The palate is nimble and mineral with lava?, my notes are a little off as it was dark. Slight bitterness but very ripe in that classic '98 way with wonderful, clarifying acids. Very pure wine but the bitterness never went away and I liked it an iota less than the Ruppertsberger Hoehburg.
Up next was the 1997 Gaisbohl which is from a the first Grand Cru site of the tasting. Outrageously complex nose with many different mineral tones. Just unreal aromas. Real lift. Palate had excellent purity and was so elegant it was like a cloud of Riesing on the palate. Touch short on the finish is my only complaint.
Next was the 1979 Wachenheimer Gerumpel Kabinett which belies its age. This was stunning for how fresh and lively it was for being 31 years old. A rich nose, but not too complex as the previous wines, but high-toned and very aromatic. Real deep nose. One of those noses that could transform into a tangible object if you were in some futuristic Inception-like movie. The palate was much more complex than the nose. The nose had more of a presence and the palate brought the complexity. Rich, apricots, tangerines, marmalade, spice, minerals. So balanced. So pure. Stunning old Kabinett.
Next was an interesting wine. It was called the 1997 Gaisbohl "R" which had Auslese level RS. That is what the R indicates. Mineral, perfumed and floral nose. Very subtle. Real amazing nose, more in the cerebral camp than the hedonistic one. Great crunchy fruit on the palate with ripe, pure fruit ad tons of pity stone fruits on the palate. A long finish that, alas, turned a touch bitter. Something about these '97's just seems incomplete.
The final wine was a 1998 Muskateller Auslese which proves why you should not really age Muskateller. Kind of monotonous, gloppy wine with zero finesse. Kind of juicy. Eh.