Salil Benegal
Salil Benegal
I've been drinking very little red lately. One jawdroppingly good bottle of '04 Levet earlier, and an utterly meh '89 Ch. Gloria that had me grabbing a couple of beers (Three Floyds Gumballhead) after a glass.
On the other hand, there have been some very good whites which have gone well with my recent experiments with Caribbean cooking.
2016 Schloss Lieser Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett
I thought the '14 of this was amazing (and one of the best young Kabinetts I've had in some time) - this is not quite as limpid and delicate as the '14, which also felt like Kabinett. This feels more like Spät in a Kab wrapper, but it's damn good. Classical Mosel apple and citrus fruit, a touch of sponti/yeasty funk, and the bright florality of WS.
2005 Dönnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Spätlese
Last of my bottles. In a great place right now - it's still very rich with lots of ripe orchard fruit and florality, but also showing a lovely maturing smokiness on the nose. There's still plenty of youthful sweetness here and it feels more like an Auslese, but this is a lot of fun to drink now with jerk chicken. Shame there's no more regular (non-auction) Spätlese being made from this site. The '02, '04, and '05 of this were all brilliant, and I am yet to find a bottle of Dellchen GG that provides half of the visceral enjoyment those did.
2009 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese
Great showing. In that zone where the fruit is still as rich and vibrant as it was on release, but it's just added a gear of complexity with maturing smokiness and some lightly creamy notes adding to the still-youthful fruit, florality, and minerality here. It's got plenty of mileage ahead of it, but it's an awesome drink right now.
2008 Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts
Needed a couple of hours to really show its cards, but worth the wait with lots of ripe citrus and pear fruit, chalky minerality, vanilla cream, and a light honeyed note. Seems like there's a touch of botrytis here, but it's very well balanced and focused with bright acids. If I wasn't worried about premox, I'd hold these longer to see how this ages, but I expect I'll open my remaining bottles in the next few months and enjoy it in this stage.
2015 Domaine Roulot Bourgogne Blanc
I love the quality here for a Bourgogne Blanc, though love the price less. It shows the ripeness of the vintage on the palate where the mouthfeel is rather round and plush, though it's well balanced with good acidity. Air brings out more complexity as the fruit takes a step back and the smoky, oaky, and mineral flavours around the fruit become much more intense with air. Starts out pleasant, but it becomes really compelling with a couple of hours of air.
2007 Melusine Grüner Veltliner Lyra
Opened this right after the Roulot, and I'd happily trade every one of my Roulot BBs for more of this. It resembles Meursault more than it does any GV I've had from Alzinger/FX/any of my other Austrian favorites, but it's a remarkable experience right now. Ripe white fruit, minerality, tarter citric and green herbal notes, and richer honeysuckle and faintly waxy elements all come together seamlessly, and the palate presence here is striking - very rich and almost glossy in texture, yet incredibly graceful and light on its feet. I'm down to one bottle now, and torn as to whether to open it now (and hope it's in a similar phase) or wait for more development.
2011 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Steinertal
This is amazing and aging brilliantly. The bold fruit that I recall it having on release is now understated and calm; the minerality and herbal notes are still there and perhaps more prominent than I remember, and now it's showing the beginnings of maturing smoky and more creamy flavours. There's remarkable depth and nuance here, it's a wine that conveys power with barely any sense of weight, and one of the most compelling dry Rieslings I have encountered in some time.
2016 Weingut Keller Scheurebe Kabinett
Brilliant Scheurebe. The grassier/more herbal side of things here; lots of ripe guava, gooseberry, and tart sage and other herbal notes rather than the ripe mango I typically associate with Scheu, but this is fantastic. It's lean and damn near electric on the palate with tremendous acidity, just a touch of sweetness that makes it feel like a Kabinett, and impressive length. I like the Keller GGs a lot, but I'm finding more and more that I get far more pleasure drinking his Scheurebe and Riesling Kabinetts. (The 2016 Pettenthal Kabinett is spectacular.)
On the other hand, there have been some very good whites which have gone well with my recent experiments with Caribbean cooking.
2016 Schloss Lieser Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett
I thought the '14 of this was amazing (and one of the best young Kabinetts I've had in some time) - this is not quite as limpid and delicate as the '14, which also felt like Kabinett. This feels more like Spät in a Kab wrapper, but it's damn good. Classical Mosel apple and citrus fruit, a touch of sponti/yeasty funk, and the bright florality of WS.
2005 Dönnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Spätlese
Last of my bottles. In a great place right now - it's still very rich with lots of ripe orchard fruit and florality, but also showing a lovely maturing smokiness on the nose. There's still plenty of youthful sweetness here and it feels more like an Auslese, but this is a lot of fun to drink now with jerk chicken. Shame there's no more regular (non-auction) Spätlese being made from this site. The '02, '04, and '05 of this were all brilliant, and I am yet to find a bottle of Dellchen GG that provides half of the visceral enjoyment those did.
2009 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese
Great showing. In that zone where the fruit is still as rich and vibrant as it was on release, but it's just added a gear of complexity with maturing smokiness and some lightly creamy notes adding to the still-youthful fruit, florality, and minerality here. It's got plenty of mileage ahead of it, but it's an awesome drink right now.
2008 Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts
Needed a couple of hours to really show its cards, but worth the wait with lots of ripe citrus and pear fruit, chalky minerality, vanilla cream, and a light honeyed note. Seems like there's a touch of botrytis here, but it's very well balanced and focused with bright acids. If I wasn't worried about premox, I'd hold these longer to see how this ages, but I expect I'll open my remaining bottles in the next few months and enjoy it in this stage.
2015 Domaine Roulot Bourgogne Blanc
I love the quality here for a Bourgogne Blanc, though love the price less. It shows the ripeness of the vintage on the palate where the mouthfeel is rather round and plush, though it's well balanced with good acidity. Air brings out more complexity as the fruit takes a step back and the smoky, oaky, and mineral flavours around the fruit become much more intense with air. Starts out pleasant, but it becomes really compelling with a couple of hours of air.
2007 Melusine Grüner Veltliner Lyra
Opened this right after the Roulot, and I'd happily trade every one of my Roulot BBs for more of this. It resembles Meursault more than it does any GV I've had from Alzinger/FX/any of my other Austrian favorites, but it's a remarkable experience right now. Ripe white fruit, minerality, tarter citric and green herbal notes, and richer honeysuckle and faintly waxy elements all come together seamlessly, and the palate presence here is striking - very rich and almost glossy in texture, yet incredibly graceful and light on its feet. I'm down to one bottle now, and torn as to whether to open it now (and hope it's in a similar phase) or wait for more development.
2011 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Steinertal
This is amazing and aging brilliantly. The bold fruit that I recall it having on release is now understated and calm; the minerality and herbal notes are still there and perhaps more prominent than I remember, and now it's showing the beginnings of maturing smoky and more creamy flavours. There's remarkable depth and nuance here, it's a wine that conveys power with barely any sense of weight, and one of the most compelling dry Rieslings I have encountered in some time.
2016 Weingut Keller Scheurebe Kabinett
Brilliant Scheurebe. The grassier/more herbal side of things here; lots of ripe guava, gooseberry, and tart sage and other herbal notes rather than the ripe mango I typically associate with Scheu, but this is fantastic. It's lean and damn near electric on the palate with tremendous acidity, just a touch of sweetness that makes it feel like a Kabinett, and impressive length. I like the Keller GGs a lot, but I'm finding more and more that I get far more pleasure drinking his Scheurebe and Riesling Kabinetts. (The 2016 Pettenthal Kabinett is spectacular.)
