Salil Benegal
Salil Benegal
1995 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia
Well this was a huge disappointment. Surprisingly advanced for a new release GR with pale red fruit, lots of savoury earthy and leathery notes, and a sour austerity/sense of leanness on the palate that never went away with time in the decanter. I'll hope this is just some of that bottle variation I've heard about with LdH, as I have another of this in the cellar.
2006 Henri Bonneau Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins
Started out with a burst of ripe red fruit, but not a whole lot more and we put it in a decanter for a couple of hours. With more air, this transformed to show an array of spice, herbs, earth, leather, and perfumed red fruit, all very ripe and unmistakeably Chateauneuf but with a finesse and delicate touch that makes this very easy to drink.
2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese #2133 and #2134
Opened side by side for contrast. They're both absolutely spectacular wines with an array of ripe fruit, minerality, mature smokiness, herbs, and so much more going on. But the 2133 seemed more generous aromatically and on a wonderful plateau to drink while the 2134 still seemed a bit tight, needing some air to bring out its aromatic depth and gives the impression it's still holding a bit in reserve. The 2134 also feels a bit bigger and more intense, but this is nitpicking - these two are absolutely stellar wines, and a joy to drink.
1997 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Auction
I love the 97 Zilliken lineup and after having spectacular experiences with the regular Rausch Auslese and the (non-auction) GKA a few years ago, I decided to splurge on a half of this. But I find myself enjoying this a bit less than those wines. This is very rich and intensely sweet with lots of tropical fruits, candied limes, mineral, and honeyed notes, almost BA-like in terms of intensity but without the same acid-driven focus and vibrancy that the non-auction GKA and Auslese had.
1993 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Auslese #75
A wow wine from the fragrance alone. That classic Grünhäuser scent of pine cones, forestal/herbal greenness, and an array of fruit ranging from tarter green apple and citrus to riper peachy flavours. It's surprisingly restrained and dry for an Auslese - this feels lighter and less sweet than many modern Spätlese, but it's in an absolutely amazing place right now.
2007 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Kellerberg
This is in an amazing place right now. Such minerality, richness of fruit, more floral and spicy complexity, and power conveyed with a sense of finesse. Glad I have a few more to enjoy while they're on this plateau.
The Last Word
This has probably become my favorite cocktail recently - I've been mixing it with equal parts Monkey 47 gin, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, green Chartreuse, and fresh lime juice. Love the pungency and brightness generally (with any lighter gin), but there's an extra jolt of herbal intensity and complexity with the Monkey 47 in the blend. I love how that and the chartreuse seem to amplify each other.
I've also been experimenting with some variations of this. Subbing mezcal espadín for the gin is probably my favorite for something a little more earthy/savoury, especially when finished with some molé bitters or habanero shrub.
Sotol
I know nothing about this, but one of my favorite bartenders introduced me to the spirit a couple of months ago and I've gotten hooked. Experimenting with two bottles from Flor de Desierto and Casa Dasylirion, and it seems a more funky, wild, and intensely earthy relative of mezcal (minus the smokiness), evocative of the desert in a way that brings JLL's "soil to glass transfer" phrase to mind. Experimented a bit with different blends using lime, either simple syrup or ginger syrup, and occasionally muddling in some rosemary. Either way, this is intriguing and partly responsible for my wine consumption going down a lot lately.
Well this was a huge disappointment. Surprisingly advanced for a new release GR with pale red fruit, lots of savoury earthy and leathery notes, and a sour austerity/sense of leanness on the palate that never went away with time in the decanter. I'll hope this is just some of that bottle variation I've heard about with LdH, as I have another of this in the cellar.
2006 Henri Bonneau Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins
Started out with a burst of ripe red fruit, but not a whole lot more and we put it in a decanter for a couple of hours. With more air, this transformed to show an array of spice, herbs, earth, leather, and perfumed red fruit, all very ripe and unmistakeably Chateauneuf but with a finesse and delicate touch that makes this very easy to drink.
2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese #2133 and #2134
Opened side by side for contrast. They're both absolutely spectacular wines with an array of ripe fruit, minerality, mature smokiness, herbs, and so much more going on. But the 2133 seemed more generous aromatically and on a wonderful plateau to drink while the 2134 still seemed a bit tight, needing some air to bring out its aromatic depth and gives the impression it's still holding a bit in reserve. The 2134 also feels a bit bigger and more intense, but this is nitpicking - these two are absolutely stellar wines, and a joy to drink.
1997 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Auction
I love the 97 Zilliken lineup and after having spectacular experiences with the regular Rausch Auslese and the (non-auction) GKA a few years ago, I decided to splurge on a half of this. But I find myself enjoying this a bit less than those wines. This is very rich and intensely sweet with lots of tropical fruits, candied limes, mineral, and honeyed notes, almost BA-like in terms of intensity but without the same acid-driven focus and vibrancy that the non-auction GKA and Auslese had.
1993 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Auslese #75
A wow wine from the fragrance alone. That classic Grünhäuser scent of pine cones, forestal/herbal greenness, and an array of fruit ranging from tarter green apple and citrus to riper peachy flavours. It's surprisingly restrained and dry for an Auslese - this feels lighter and less sweet than many modern Spätlese, but it's in an absolutely amazing place right now.
2007 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Kellerberg
This is in an amazing place right now. Such minerality, richness of fruit, more floral and spicy complexity, and power conveyed with a sense of finesse. Glad I have a few more to enjoy while they're on this plateau.
The Last Word
This has probably become my favorite cocktail recently - I've been mixing it with equal parts Monkey 47 gin, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, green Chartreuse, and fresh lime juice. Love the pungency and brightness generally (with any lighter gin), but there's an extra jolt of herbal intensity and complexity with the Monkey 47 in the blend. I love how that and the chartreuse seem to amplify each other.
I've also been experimenting with some variations of this. Subbing mezcal espadín for the gin is probably my favorite for something a little more earthy/savoury, especially when finished with some molé bitters or habanero shrub.
Sotol
I know nothing about this, but one of my favorite bartenders introduced me to the spirit a couple of months ago and I've gotten hooked. Experimenting with two bottles from Flor de Desierto and Casa Dasylirion, and it seems a more funky, wild, and intensely earthy relative of mezcal (minus the smokiness), evocative of the desert in a way that brings JLL's "soil to glass transfer" phrase to mind. Experimented a bit with different blends using lime, either simple syrup or ginger syrup, and occasionally muddling in some rosemary. Either way, this is intriguing and partly responsible for my wine consumption going down a lot lately.
