Nikolaihof, Huet, Ramonet, Lafarge, Produttori & Pepe, oh my!

M

Mike Klein

Mike Klein
Had a nice celebratory dinner on Friday and wanted to report on some old favorites and a few new ones:

'90 Nikolaihof Riesling Vinothek: About five years ago this was so shy, coiled and mineral. No longer - at least not this bottle. Completely unfurled - deeper, richer, honeyed - but still such drive. Stunning, really.

'01 Ramonet Batard: Very nice but not as good as my last bottle. Everything is there but something was just a little off kilter with this particular bottle. Acids in this are great despite the '01 birthday. Not too much Ramonet mint - which is a plus for me. This can be so killer but not quite up to that level this time.

'85 Huet Le Mont Demi: One of the new releases that Crush offered over the summer. Fantastic, but really mineral and lithe. Quiet wine, in a good way. Again, incredible length with fresh herbs, stone fruit but no waxy/wooly exotic notes. Who put riesling in my Vouvray? Whatever - good stuff.

'89 Lafarge Ducs: I intellectually get the fact that this isn't great Volnay - and I just don't care. This just tastes so damn good. Yes, it is a little blocky and chunky to be correct, and missing a little mineral lift - at least in my experience. But it is showy without being over the top and finishes so long. Balanced too. My last bottle - bummer.

'70 Produttori Barbaresco: Very generously donated by my cousin Ben. Fantastic wine. Ben should post here so I will encourage him to fill in the blanks.

'78 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano: Entirely, completely civilized - which came as an big shock to me given that the '77 was a delicious mess of sweaty, not entirely clean and rustic wine (in the best sense). Even the tannic structure on this '78 was rounded and largely resolved. This was a better wine by any reasonably objective measure, but I might have liked the '77 a bit more. But that's just me and I'm nuts.
 
Salil opened a bottle of that '85 Le Mont Demi-Sec for Thanksgiving. It was also very quiet with little Chenin character. Perhaps still closed up after 25 years?
 
It was very tight, but towards the end of the bottle (after it had been open an hour+) it was much more pleasant. I'll keep my hands off my others for some time.
 
My guess is the Huet will always be a bit of a "quiet" wine but it was probably shipped recently and might just be a little out of sorts. Like Salil, I think I will re-visit in a couple of years. But again, you'll get no complaints from me as I really enjoyed it.
 
originally posted by Mike Klein:

'90 Nikolaihof Riesling Vinothek: About five years ago this was so shy, coiled and mineral. No longer - at least not this bottle. Completely unfurled - deeper, richer, honeyed - but still such drive. Stunning, really.
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Is this their top-end bottling? I've seen this stuff on several lists at outrageous prices from old vintages...just curious.

Also, does anyone know why he doesn't label with the Wachau proprietary ripeness levels?
 
I don't immediately recall the exact reason, but I think Nikolaihof's Steiner Hund is not even in the Wachau proper, and so cannot be labeled as Smaragd. If I recall correctly, some of their other wines have been labeled federspiel or smaragd.
 
Bottle was from Chambers, arrived in perfect shape. Gorgeous color -- opaque, smoky, rose red. Nose was a little musty on opening, but you could smell the character of the fruit underneath right away. After 45-60 mins in the glass, it began to open up. Warm raspberry fruit with some tobacco and tea leaves. Finish was a little soft, but didn't take away too much. Great wine.
 
originally posted by David M. Bueker:
I don't immediately recall the exact reason, but I think Nikolaihof's Steiner Hund is not even in the Wachau proper, and so cannot be labeled as Smaragd. If I recall correctly, some of their other wines have been labeled federspiel or smaragd.
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Yup, Steiner Hund is in the Kremstal - I've seen those only labelled 'Reserve' or 'Sptlese', whereas his other bottlings get the Wachau labels.
 
originally posted by Morgan Harris:
originally posted by Mike Klein:

'90 Nikolaihof Riesling Vinothek: About five years ago this was so shy, coiled and mineral. No longer - at least not this bottle. Completely unfurled - deeper, richer, honeyed - but still such drive. Stunning, really.
Click to expand...

Is this their top-end bottling? I've seen this stuff on several lists at outrageous prices from old vintages...just curious.

Also, does anyone know why he doesn't label with the Wachau proprietary ripeness levels?
Click to expand...

To my knowledge, the Vinothek wines are held back at the estate for a good decade or so before release. I seem to recall this particular wine may have been aged in big demi johns or similar prior to bottling - but don't quote me on that. I'm not sure if the estate considers the Vinothek wines the "top end" or simply a late release of any particularly strong wines in any given vintage. I think I paid about $65 each for these when they came out so at least the price didn't indicate that this was anything other than a late release Steiner Hund.
 
The search function would probably help, but in brief the Vinothek bottlings are usually from a single fuder, left in wood for 10+ years until they think they're done.

IIRC the 1990 was bottled in ca. 2003.
 
originally posted by Mike Klein:

'90 Nikolaihof Riesling Vinothek: About five years ago this was so shy, coiled and mineral. No longer - at least not this bottle. Completely unfurled - deeper, richer, honeyed - but still such drive. Stunning, really.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. Haven't had one for a couple of years, but my last bottle was exactly as you described your earlier experience. I was able to coax beauty out of it, but it wasn't readily apparent at first.

originally posted by Mike Klein:
'78 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano: Entirely, completely civilized - which came as an big shock to me given that the '77 was a delicious mess of sweaty, not entirely clean and rustic wine (in the best sense). Even the tannic structure on this '78 was rounded and largely resolved. This was a better wine by any reasonably objective measure, but I might have liked the '77 a bit more. But that's just me and I'm nuts.
Click to expand...

Did you get the '77 for Chambers? I had one awhile ago that was pretty civilized but not terribly interesting. I should try another.
 
Cliff - yes, mine came from Chambers around the time they offered the Pepe vertical a few years ago. From my better experience with Pepe's more recent releases, there is a fair bit of bottle variation - which is OK with me. Keeps things interesting.
 
85s from Huet haven't changed that much in 15 years. I think they will drink well *only* at maturity, when complexity kicks in and fills in a certain void in midpalate, which is sure to happen - the wines typically have a fantastic aromatic profile and a long promising finish. SFJoe and I tasted LHL Sec at the domaine a couple of years ago, and it was just thinking about coming around.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
The search function would probably help, but in brief the Vinothek bottlings are usually from a single fuder, left in wood for 10+ years until they think they're done.

IIRC the 1990 was bottled in ca. 2003.
Click to expand...

Yep. Terry brought in the 1990 in 2004 (along with the new releases from the 2003 vintage).
 
funnily enough, ever since the 1990 vinothek arrived, i always found it to be marked by the long elevage. a persistent note of old wood always spoiled the wine for me, every time i had it, and i was certain it was never going to go away. i had marked it down as "avoid," 'specially as everyone i knew seemed to love it.

a couple of weeks ago the people's plutocrat managed to open a bottle before i could intervene, and what do i find but that the old wood thing has totally gone away. wtf? so much for certainty.*

so while i'm still not the biggest fan of the style*, i finally can see why other people get excited about this.

* though what do i know?

fb.
 
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