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Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair
2008
La Romanée
Grand Cru Red 750 ml
Score: 97
Tasted: Jun 11, 2015
Drink: Try from 2023+
 
Tasting note: This is turning out to be even slightly better than I originally thought with its gorgeously complex, elegant, pure and refined nose that feature ample amounts of spice to the cool red currant and plum aromas. The highly sophisticated and silky textured medium-bodied flavors possess an abundance of dry extract that buffers the dense but fine tannins on the balanced and superbly persistent finish that still exhibits a touch of youthful austerity. This really opens on the finish with simply marvelous breadth and overall this is a magnificent wine of class and indisputable grace. Moreover I would enthusiastically nominate this as one of the wines of the vintage.
 

Score: 95/100 - 1cs 6x75 long term in bond 

Producer note: Louis-Michel Liger-Belair told me that 2008 was a "very complicated vintage. The April to June period was reasonably good but July and August were difficult. We began picking on the 27th of September and there was a moderate amount of sorting required. I would estimate our sorting losses at between 5 and 12%, which when coupled with the naturally lower yields of the vintage left us with, on average, 30% less wine than in a normal harvest. This is to say that in 2008 we realized yields of between 19 and 27 hl/ha. Sugars for the grapes that we kept were very good at between 12 and 13%. I did a relatively soft vinification as I reduced the cuvaison by a few days. Extraction though was really no problem as the grapes that we kept had normal skin thicknesses. The new wine had very high levels of malic acid, which definitely has affected the élevage due to the long malos. You had to be very vigilant to make sure that everything was very clean. Normally, we would just add a dose of SO2 but if you're malolactic is still progressing, you risk stopping it. Overall, I really like the vintage as the wines are pure and very transparent." As the scores and comments suggest, the in-bottle '07s have turned out very well, which is to say pretty much consistent with my original expected ranges. (A Becky Wasserman Selection/Le Serbet, www.leserbet.com, Beaune, France; additional distributors include Veritas Imports, www.veritaswine.com, CA & TX, and USA Wine Imports, www.usawineimports.com, NY, NY for "Selection Pas Mal", New York, NY; Justerini & Brooks, www.justerinis.com, UK and Richards Walford & Co., Ltd., www.r-w.co.uk, UK).
Tasting note: As it usually is, the nose is positively kaleidoscopic with a wonderful breadth of red and black fruit aromas, violets and Asian spice nuances that continues onto the rich, full and very stylish medium full flavors blessed with impressive amounts of supporting mid-palate sap that relegate the firm tannic spine to the background for the moment before exploding into a youthfully austere and mouth coating finish that seems to go on and on. This is not an especially big La Romanée but like several of its brethren, it's tightly focused, balanced and carries enormous flavor authority.
 

Prepare to be transported. A positively brilliant nose of violet and rose petal shines against a background of intensely spiced extravagant red and black pinot fruit nuanced by hints of earth and stone and this minerality continues onto the surprisingly supple flavors that convey a remarkable sense of energy and power on the almost unbelievably intense, focused and structured finish that seems to go on and on without end. And the '05 VV has what all truly great burgundies have which is that extra dimension of power without weight as this carries terrific punch and power yet delivers that explosiveness with impeccable class and grace. While I am duly mindful of the many legendary wines this domaine has produced (see the database for all vintages reviewed dating to 1919), the 2005 could very well join the list of the all time greats, there is really that much potential here. Whether it will ultimately transcend the heights achieved by the 1919 or the 1949 (among many others) remains an open question, I have zero doubt that 2005 will be a genuinely great vintage for this wine. Brilliance personified and absolutely a 'wow' wine, in fact, this merits a double 'wow'.

Rating

93+

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2017 - 2030

Reviewed by

 Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Issue Date

31st Oct 2017

Source

233, The Wine Advocate

Bottled in July 2017, Dominus’ more approachable, less tannic sister wine, Napanook, is a blend this year of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Napanook Proprietary Red Wine is redolent of crème de cassis, potpourri, plum preserves and violets with hints of dark chocolate, menthol, licorice and charcoal. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is densely packed with black fruit preserves and earthy layers, supported by firm, ripe, fine-grained tannins and finishing with great length.

Rating

91

Release Price

$75

Drink Date

2015 - 2035

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

30th Oct 2015

Source

221, The Wine Advocate

The Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, is a strong effort from Joseph Phelps and possibly could turn out to be one of the best generic Napa bottlings they have made in many a year. There are 23,000 cases of this wine, which is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and the rest Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, almost all of it coming from their estate vineyards. The wine saw about 45% new oak (55% French, 45% American) and is opaque purple in color, with a classic Cabernet expression of tobacco leaf, blackcurrants, licorice and Christmas fruitcake. It is full-bodied, dense, opulent and concentrated, especially for the introductory Cabernet Sauvignon in the Joseph Phelps stable. No doubt, the fruit coming from 100% estate vineyards has certainly added quality to this offering. This should drink well for up to 20 or more years.

Rating

(89 - 91)

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

NA

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

31st Oct 2013

Source

209, The Wine Advocate

Not surprisingly, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is a deeper, richer, fuller effort with a more saturated ruby/purple color as well as lots of creme de cassis, smoke, forest floor, incense and background wood. Medium to full-bodied and rich in fruit with low acidity and extremely sweet tannin, this will be a crowd-pleasing, delicious Cabernet Sauvignon to drink early on or cellar for 10-15+ years. All of Joseph Phelps’ Sonoma Coast Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs will be included in the Sonoma report in the December, 2013 issue. One of the visionaries in California’s Rhone Ranger movement that began a quarter of a century ago, Phelps continues to focus on their Syrah program. I have mixed emotions about that because they made some wonderful wines from some other Rhone varietals in the past under the terminated Mistral label. On the www.erobertparker.com website, I will be posting one of the most historical vertical tastings I have ever done, that of Joseph Phelps’ proprietary red Bordeaux blend called Insignia, which was one of California’s first proprietary red Meritage wines launched in 1974. While visiting this winery in early September, I had the privilege of tasting every vintage from 1974 to 2012. This has always been a remarkable wine and sadly I am old enough to remember the 1974, to which I gave a great rating, but then suggested it be drunk within 10-12 years. I never thought it would last. Of course, it turned out to be one of the great mature wines of the vertical tasting, but more on that on the web site. The five vintages of Insignia which consumers should be keeping an eye on are 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Here are my notes on those wines which are either on the market or soon will be. By the way, the production of Insignia over the last 15-20 years has ranged from a low of 10,000-12,000 cases to a whopping 20,000 cases, often with the highest production levels in some of the greatest years. There are usually around 750 to 1,300 cases of the Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard. Usually 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, it is fashioned from the red soils of the Oakville hillsides (a spectacular sight as you drive south on the Silverado Trail). 

Rating

94+

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2019 - 2037

Reviewed by

 William Kelley

Issue Date

30th Apr 2019

Source

Issue 242 End of April 2019, The Wine Advocate

From a bottle disgorged in March 2017, Bollinger's 2007 La Grande Année is showing brilliantly, offering up a superb bouquet of lemon oil, confit citrus, almond paste, iodine, walnut oil and freshly baked bread. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, broad-shouldered and powerful in this frequently rather slender vintage, with excellent concentration, a deep and tightly wound core and a precise, chalky finish.

There are plenty of projects afoot at Bollinger, as chef des caves Gilles Descotes explained to me during my early April visit—my first in some years to this important Aÿ-based domaine. One of the most important changes is that Bollinger has entirely abandoned the use of herbicides for four years now, an initiative that began with the impulse to rehabilitate their famed red wine monopole, La Côte aux Enfants, and which was gradually rolled out across all their holdings. Their facilities have expanded too, to make space for more barrels to insure a sufficiently abundant supply of wood-fermented base wine from the Special Cuvée in years when Grande Année is also produced. And the still red Coteaux Champennois from La Côte aux Enfants is returning to the range, from 2015 vinified separately from the red wines destined to rosé production, with some whole clusters added to the cuves. Descotes also has been working to better manage Bollinger's gently oxidative style, and while fermentation and maturation in old wood still lends Bollinger its strong and distinctive style, oxygen inputs at other stages in the winemaking process are more carefully controlled, resulting in more consistency and structural tension—a trend exemplified by the brilliant 2008 Grande Année (97+), which I reviewed last month. There's so much more to say about this house, but much of that can wait for an in-depth article in a future issue. For the time being, it's sufficient to note that all these recent releases come warmly recommended.

(43% chardonnay, 42% pinot noir, 15% pinot meunier). A discreet, even restrained nose is comprised by notes of petrol, yeast, Meyer lemon, apple and a lovely floral hint. The rounded, delicious and caressing flavors are shaped by a relatively soft (though not flabby) mousse before culminating in a clean, vibrant and moderately dry finale. I like the delivery though this could use just a bit more complexity which could develop if this was given a few more years of cellar time. 91/2020+

Score: 91 Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (65), January 2017

Rating

94

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2016 - 2024

Reviewed by

 Stephan Reinhardt

Issue Date

30th Jun 2016

Source

225, The Wine Advocate

From an excellent vintage, especially for Pinot Noir, Gosset's golden-yellow 2006 Grand Millésime Brut (which blends 56% Pinot Noir with 44% Chardonnay and was disgorged after eight years on the lees) displays a deep, rich and fresh, very mineral bouquet. This is followed by a full-bodied, very complex and persistent palate with purity, finesse and great expression. This is a mouthful of a straightforward, well-structured and refreshing millésime with a long and pure, salty and stringent finish. This 2006 combines richness with purity, elegance with complexity, and finesse with a serious expression and length. A great Champagne indeed.

Rating

94

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2017 - 2035

Reviewed by

 Joe Czerwinski

Issue Date

31st Oct 2017

Source

233, The Wine Advocate

The flagship wine, the 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape, is a blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah and 5% other permitted varieties. It features delicate floral scents and ample cherry and licorice aromas. Somehow, it manages to be full-bodied and almost creamy in texture but without much weight, then it ends powerfully, with a flourish of rich Mexican chocolate on the long, silky finish. It should drink well for up to 20 years.

Rating

89+

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2016 - 2023

Reviewed by

Jeb Dunnuck

Issue Date

28th Oct 2016

Source

227, The Wine Advocate

One of the finer, more elegant and classy examples of the cuvée I can remember, the 2015 Télégramme Châteauneuf du Pape is more a mini Vieux Telegraphe at this point than the more fruit-forward Télégramme examples of the past. Framboise, currants, dried earth and garrigue all emerge from this medium-bodied, elegant and finesse-driven wine that’s ideal for drinking while you wait on the top cuvée.

Rating

95

Release Price

$175

Drink Date

2019 - 2035

Reviewed by

 Luis Gutiérrez

Issue Date

28th Jun 2019

Source

Issue 243 End of June 2019, The Wine Advocate

I tasted the 2005 Gran Reserva 890 again, and I liked it better this time than in my previous review, even if I normally like the Gran Reserva 904 better than this bottling, as I find it better balanced. I tend to feel less energy in this wine, as it spends a very long time in barrel, six years in this case. 2005 was an excellent vintage, and they implemented some improvements in the harvest, introducing 350-kilo boxes and refrigerated transport to the winery, which they think provides better grapes and potentially better quality of the wines. The palate is medium-bodied, the tannins have mostly melted, and it has lively acidity that lift the wine up. This is a very classical and polished Rioja. 57,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2012.

Rating

95

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2018 - 2035

Reviewed by

 Monica Larner

Issue Date

31st May 2017

Source

Interim End of May 2017, The Wine Advocate

A blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, the 2007 Alzero is an Amarone-inspired red blend. The two Cabernet varieties undergo a three-month appassimento process and the Merlot is added at the last minute before bottling. This last grape adds a very evident layer of cherry sweetness and softness that goes a long way in defining this wine. Alzero has been in production since 1983 and no vintage has ever been skipped. This is a dark and brooding expression with a playful mix of sweet fruit intensity and dark tannic background shading.

95

The excellent 2012 Saffredi is one of the best wines I have tasted from Fattoria le Pupille. This is an exuberant and expressive blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and a smaller part Petit Verdot from the gorgeous hills of Maremma near Grosseto, Tuscany. The wine is rich and penetrating with a stunning sense of balance and inner poise. Dark cherry, blackberry, spice, leather, tobacco and grilled herb flow freely from the bouquet. The wine is softly textured with full body appeal. This fabulous Saffredi should age forward ten years or more. The Cabernet component of the wine shows perfect ripeness. (Monica Larner)

Rating

95

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2013 - 2033

Reviewed by

Jeb Dunnuck

Issue Date

30th Dec 2013

Source

210, The Wine Advocate

Also brilliant, the 2011 Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes Blanc (100% Marsanne aged in 60% new and 40% 2-year-old barrels) offers up knee weakening notes of orange blossom, honey, buttered tropical fruits and crushed stone-like minerality. This flows to a full-bodied, decadently rich and layered palate that has crystalline-like purity and a knockout finish. Count me impressed and this classic Hermitage Blanc will offer up over two decades of prime drinking. Run by Jacques Grange and Claire Darnaud, Delas, which is owned by the Louis Roederer-Deutz Champagne firm, is producing no nonsense, extremely high quality efforts that are near the top of each of their respective appellations. I was consistently impressed by the wines, and they stood out in all of the larger tastings that I was able to do. In addition, I was able to taste the wines again at the domain, and again once back in the states. These are serious efforts worthy of attention. As to the Hermitages, they produce two, a standard Domaine des Tourettes, and in top vintages, the Les Bessards. In addition to the top-flight Cote Rotie and Hermitage releases, this estate produces a bevy of high quality efforts from Cornas and Saint Joseph.

Rating

97

Release Price

$275

Drink Date

NA

Reviewed by

David Schildknecht

Issue Date

27th Feb 2010

Source

187, The Wine Advocate

"It's a Kabinett and Spatlese vintage, and there don't have to be Auslesen, besides which the world has enough Auslesen right now from recent years in which what used to be special has become routine," says Donnhoff by way of introducing the 2008 Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Eiswein A.P. #21. "But we left just a few bunches hanging in the Brucke, he continues, because they were in such stable health. It got to be December and I though oh dear! I'd promised the family I would not spoil the holidays." Finally, on the 30th of December, conditions were perfect for Eiswein. Scents of radish, lemon zest, and apricot preserves along with an ominously smoky prickle in the nose usher in a palate of Eszencia-like viscosity, apricot nectar concentration, delicacy (at only 7% alcohol) and complete absence of superficial sweetness. This finishes with piercing intensity and dazzling complexity, adding black tea; sea salt; ginger; seedy, tart red raspberry; and honey to the apricot jam and lemon. it's like a razor-sharp saber slathered in oily, ambrosial jelly and suspended in mid air. Few if any Eiswein of the vintage approach this for intricacy, refinement, or classic Eiswein character. I expect whatever portion of its 300 liters that is not drunk sooner to astound for at least two and perhaps three decades. It was back to the roots this year, announced a beaming Helmut Donnhoff when I arrived to taste his 2008s. He harvested in the last week of October and first half of November during which time he characterized the weather as cool and stable. I can guarantee you, he added, that we didn't for a single day have muddy boots.

Rating

97

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

NA

Reviewed by

David Schildknecht

Issue Date

31st Oct 2009

Source

185, The Wine Advocate

The 2007 Oberhaueser Brucke Riesling Auslese A.P. #38 - which was auctioned - represents the traditional feinste Auslese. Over-ripe pear, quince, and intriguing - perhaps in part orchid-like - floral perfume fill the nose, accompanied by a nose-tweaking pungency of botrytis spice, and the palate is saturated with liqueur-like essences of orchard fruits and liquid gardenia and lily. This rich amalgam displays incredible finishing penetration, with coiled springs of bright citrus releasing to produce a shower of minerals and cinders; a scintillating interplay with the wine's fruits and flowers; and an uncanny sense of sheer lift. Expect at least three decades of drama. While Donnhoff returned to his usual humility in characterizing the latest vintage - following an atypically unabashed outbreak of enthusiasm in describing his indeed amazing collection of 2006s - it is clear that the 2007s delight him in a similar way, as outstanding representations of their respective sites at Spatlese ripeness. (Note, incidentally, that the Pradikat has been removed from any dry wines here, in keeping with a new convention of the Nahe branch of the VDP growers- association.) -Within that range of ripeness,- he submits, -one best-recognizes the site. Here you have nothing exaggerated, but instead a normal harvest, meaning a documentation of the vineyards, each a different face on the landscape. They all went to the same school and had the same opportunities- he adds, gesturing to the long row of Spatlesen on the tasting table, and alluding to his own role as well as the vintage-s. -It was a bit intimidating this year at harvest,- he added, -because when the grapes are perfect, you can only make mistakes.- I had the rare fortune to taste this collection twice, and like so many 2007s (a comment that even more growers made about their 2008s) the wines were much more impressive in September than in Spring. A 2007 Hermannshohle Trockenbeerenauslese, by the way, is still trying to become wine after two years.

Rating

91

Release Price

$64

Drink Date

2012 - 2037

Reviewed by

David Schildknecht

Issue Date

26th Apr 2012

Source

200, The Wine Advocate

Mint and fennel in the nose of Loosen’s 2010 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese make for a metaphorically cooling impression that belies the wine’s high ripeness and botrytis component as well as standing in stark contrast to the estate’s other two (“regular”) Auslesen from this vintage. This comes to the palate with a sheer juiciness and bright citricity that also set it apart from its immediate siblings, lusciously suggesting strawberry preserves mingled with lemon and herbs as well as a welcome, savory salinity. What’s more, there is a sense of wet stone that helps set-off the fruit-herb melange in a lingering finish. This ought to show well for at least a quarter century. Cellarmaster Bernhard Schug offers an unadorned impression of the travails of 2010, in which he extensively double-salt de-acidified his musts. “This was especially necessary for the dry wines,” he points out, adding “I’m frankly surprised that those turned out as well as they did. The most stressful aspect of the harvest is that we waited for gradual diminution of acids and additional ripeness in flavor until we couldn’t wait any longer, and then it was a real rush to pick. It was an agitated, tension-filled autumn, and that is the way the wines turned out, too. We could have de-acidified another gram or so and ended up with an acid profile like that of 2009, but this would have been a mistake and have sacrificed the individuality of the vintage.” While Erni Loosen remains a staunch defender of residually sweet, delicate Mosel Kabinett as a category, his 2010s unfortunately underscore the challenges to achieving consistent success with this genre in an era when even in this, the rainiest growing season in nearly a quarter century, must weights galloped. It was with joy and relief that I began tasting the series of residually sweet Spatlesen from this collection, because what went before – with three exceptions – was frankly disappointing. Loosen has elected to henceforth accentuate the difference between Spatlese and Auslese by incorporating in the latter category, as Schug puts it, “more botrytis than we would have had in an Auslese three years ago.” (For the 2010s, that meant around one-third of the fruit.) The corollary of this – which has the desired result of simplifying the portfolio – is that with the exception of Pralat there is not, and will likely also not be in future, any gold capsule Auslese. Interestingly – though this can certainly be a matter of caprice and luck – only one of the wines in this year’s collection displayed any “Mosel stink” from fermentative residues or reductive reaction with the dose of sulfur applied at bottling, even though this phenomenon can often be a short-term annoyance with the odd Loosen bottling and was encountered quite often in other Mosel collections of the 2010 vintage. (If I could explain the phenomenon in question more adequately chemically, I would be only too glad to publish that explanation; but extended correspondence with scientific specialists has thus-far proved far from decisive.)

Rating

99

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2018 - 2040

Reviewed by

 Monica Larner

Issue Date

29th Mar 2018

Source

Interim End of March 2018, The Wine Advocate

One of the unforgettable standouts in this historic retrospective, the 2007 Le Pergole Torte is an astonishing achievement. The wine offers soaring intensity and an enduring sense of balance and power. It has also entered a stunning phase in its lifeline, yet it still possesses that inner energy and youthfulness that ensures an even longer aging trajectory ahead. The bouquet is singular both in terms of its varietal purity and its aromatic reach. In many respects, this wine comes closest to the legendary 1990 Le Pergole Torte Riserva, an edition made only once in Montevertine's history. Indeed, this wine may have an upper leg on that wine given that inner youthfulness I mentioned above. The bouquet emits dark fruit and hints of exotic spice. The mouthfeel shows beautiful texture, fiber and even smoothness.

The 2003 Essencia has a fabulous bouquet with profound scents of lemon curd, frangipane, apple crumble, dandelion, wild mushroom and a slight adhesive note. The palate is extraordinarily pure with perfect acidity. It is perfectly focused with a crescendo of honey, quince, and Seville orange marmalade with lemon peel. This is out of this world.

Score: 98 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (210), December 2013

The 2005 Mount Edelstone is a 100% Shiraz cuvee sourced from a vineyard planted in 1912. Yields are a meager 0.3 to 0.5 tons of fruit per acre. In combination with a near ideal growing season, this has resulted in a great edition of Mount Edelstone, one of South Australia’s iconic wines. Purple-colored, the nose gives up notes of mocha, chocolate, smoked meat, pepper, leather, blueberry, and blackberry. Elegant, already complex, layered, and thoroughly satisfying, this superb Shiraz has enough baby fat to be enjoyed now but will amply reward 5-7 years of cellaring. It will drink beautifully through 2025.

Even inkier in color than the 2010, the 2009 Ermitage le Meal is as good as Hermitage gets. Locked and loaded with phenomenal notes of jammy black raspberries, creme de cassis, crushed violets, smoked earth and spice, it's thick and unctuous on the palate, with incredible density, a huge mid-palate and a layered, multi-dimensional, seamless, elegant texture that just keeps you coming back and begging for another sip. More hedonistic and voluptuous than the 2010, it should still evolve for just as long, yet have even a broader drink window.

Score: 100 Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate, September 2015

Rating:

92

Price ($)

NA

Drink Date

2005 - 2025

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

26th Jun 2000

Source

129, The Wine Advocate

This was the first vintage in the vertical tasting of La Chapelle that is beginning to reveal considerable secondary nuances and color development. Opaque purple/garnet with a touch of amber at the edge, this sexy, rich effort is more pleasurable aromatically than on the palate. However, it possesses multiple dimensions as well as abundant aromas of cedar, damp forest, spice box, and Asian spices. The soaring bouquet suggested the wine was more mature in flavor than it turned out to be. The wine is dense, with a firm, noticeably tannic edge, full body, and concentrated, powerful flavors. It is a classy, understated La Chapelle that requires another 5-6 years of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025

Rating

94

Release Price

$300

Drink Date

2016 - 2045

Reviewed by

 Mark Squires

Issue Date

31st Dec 2015

Source

222, The Wine Advocate

The 1966 Single Harvest Tawny Port (i.e., a Colheita) is a traditional blend, aged in French and American oak. It comes in at 183 grams per liter of residual sugar. Surprisingly rich and fresh, this seems younger than its age. The complexity here is not quite as great as with some and the nuances of molasses and the like are controlled. On the other side of the coin, it has a rather sensual texture, finishing with a sugary burst. Underneath is the expected acidity and a bit of pop. Overall, it is rather seductive and quite delicious. Note that this will be released in January 2016, part of Taylor's old Colheita releases.

Rating

96

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2022 - 2045

Reviewed by

 Monica Larner

Issue Date

28th Jun 2019

Source

Issue 243 End of June 2019, The Wine Advocate

I tasted this wine over two sittings, one at the winery and one at my home office a few weeks later. Although I can't claim any extraordinary differences between the two sessions, I noticed a few minimal shifts that are essential to understanding the wine's future aging ability. The 2016 Barbaresco starts off slow at first, showing a small margin of aromatic evolution in the glass. But come back two hours later, and you can almost hear the soft sounds of the symphony playing just below the surface. The 2016 vintage is characterized by the solid intensity and firmness of its aromas, which transcend fruit and veer toward balsamic herb, licorice, tar and smoke instead. The tannins offer a moment of sweetness and softness, before you are aware of their undeniable firmness. In all, there is a certain glossiness or satiny quality to the mouthfeel that underlines the wine's carefully crafted integration. I would describe this as a classic and also a somewhat austere Barbaresco that fully deserves extra cellar time to stretch those tight muscles and grow in volume. This wine will award those who wait.

NEW RELEASE 18.07.2019

2016 is among the best vintages popping up in this century and it has all the potential to be a must-have for Barbaresco lovers.

Climate and harvest

The winter has been mild, with low level of rainfall during the months of January and February. Starting from the end of February 2016 the temperatures finally dropped and stayed low until the end of March. This late winter led to a delay of about 10 days in the bud breaking. The spring has been rainy and mild. During the summer, the temperature growing trend has been steady without any particular heat picks. There has only been a couple of hot weeks in July, with temperatures hovering above the 30° C but never exceeding the 35°C. In particular, the climate trend has been determined by remarkable temperature variations between days and nights during the last part of the growing season.

Tasting notes

Barbaresco 2016 reminds us of 2004 for its elegance and finesse although more powerful. In terms of structure, it is closer to 2001 vintage and with more refined tannins. It is extremely elegant on the nose, a mix of dried flowers. The wine has a good structure mainly thanks to the long and beautiful season; intensity of flavors thanks to the important temperature shifts and the cold harvest time; harmony thanks to the steady and moderate growing seasons.

It is a vintage suitable for a very long aging. It is deep, seriously structured and compact but also very fine and gracious with a rich and complex bouquet, juicy and sweet tannins, and a well-controlled mouthfeel.

Vineyards

14 vineyards situated in the municipality of Barbaresco. The land, at a height between 250 and 330 m above the sea level, covers a surface of 21.4 hectares. The plants are 40 years old on average.

Rating

96+

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2017 - 2038

Reviewed by

 Monica Larner

Issue Date

26th Jun 2014

Source

213, The Wine Advocate

The 2010 Barolo is a singularly elegant expression that benefits from extremely long maceration time (up to 54 days) and a non-interventionists’ winemaking philosophy. The wine is superb in its elegance and finesse that caresses the palate in the most delicate and ethereal manner imaginable. Small fruit tones are enhanced by ash, crushed mineral, licorice and dried mint. Because of changes in how Barolo can be labeled, the wine no longer carries the names of the four single-vineyards that make up the traditional blend for this wine (Canubbi, San Lorenzo, Rue and Rocche di La Morra). Instead, this historic wine is now labeled straightforward “Barolo.” Drink: 2017-2038.

Rating

98

Release Price

$420

Drink Date

2027 - 2047

Reviewed by

Antonio Galloni

Issue Date

27th Feb 2010

Source

187, The Wine Advocate

The 2007 Langhe Sori San Lorenzo is perhaps the most massive, virile wine in this lineup, and accordingly it will require the most time. Tannic and austere at the outset, the wine gradually opens to reveal staggering richness and depth in its dark fruit. The wine turns more elegant in the glass, revealing a myriad of black fruit, tar, licorice, spices and scorched earth in a dazzling display of class and elegance. This is one for the ages. Anticipated maturity: 2027-2047. My most recent visit to Gaja was quite an experience, as I tasted all of the estate’s 1989s, 1990s and 2007s. The 1989s and 1990s are reviewed in this issue’s What About Now feature. Angelo Gaja, always loquacious on a wide range of subjects, says virtually nothing about his wines, an approach I have increasingly come to appreciate in an era where so many producers are constantly in pitch mode. Then again, Gaja doesn’t really need to say anything, the wines speak for themselves. I tasted the 2007s at the winery in November 2009 and then again in New York in January 2010. Both times they were spectacular. Stylistically the 2007s remind me of the 1997s in terms of their opulence. Gaja’s wines are often immensely appealing when young – which is certainly the case with the 2007s – but then close down in bottle for a number of years, sometimes many years. My impression is that the Costa Russi and Conteisa are the most likely of these 2007s to offer the widest drinking windows throughout their lives with a minimum of cellaring. Fermentation and malolactic fermentation take place in steel. The wines then spend approximately one year in French oak and a second year in cask prior to being bottled. As has been the case for a number of years now, Gaja’s Langhe wines incorporate a small percentage of Barbera. On a final note, it’s great to see Gaja’s daughters Gaia and Rossana increasingly involved in the winery. They, and their younger brother Giovanni, have big shoes to fill, but couldn’t have asked for better teachers than Angelo and Lucia Gaja. 

Rating

95

Release Price

$54

Drink Date

NA

Reviewed by

David Schildknecht

Issue Date

31st Oct 2009

Source

185, The Wine Advocate

I'm tempted to assert that with his second rendition of this parcel (half of which gave its first crop) - namely his 2007 Kreuzncher Krotenpfuhl Riesling Spatlese - Donnhoff has hit a towering home run, except that the metaphor seems wrong for a wine that is really quite delicate and subtle. But what complexity and sheer sensual allure this has! Peony, lily, tangerine, blood orange, mint, and quince in the nose lead to a richly-textured, palpably high-extract, yet buoyant and refreshing palate performance, with a sneaky appearance of honeyed botrytis. And talk about salinity, savor, and animality in wine: you'll know what they are when you taste this. A finish can afford to be understated if it never seems to end. Absent a track record, it's still hard to imagine this rewarding fewer than two decades in the cellar, although like Donnhoff's Kirschheck, one certainly wants to savor some of it young. While Donnhoff returned to his usual humility in characterizing the latest vintage - following an atypically unabashed outbreak of enthusiasm in describing his indeed amazing collection of 2006s - it is clear that the 2007s delight him in a similar way, as outstanding representations of their respective sites at Spatlese ripeness. (Note, incidentally, that the Pradikat has been removed from any dry wines here, in keeping with a new convention of the Nahe branch of the VDP growers- association.) -Within that range of ripeness,- he submits, -one best-recognizes the site. Here you have nothing exaggerated, but instead a normal harvest, meaning a documentation of the vineyards, each a different face on the landscape. They all went to the same school and had the same opportunities- he adds, gesturing to the long row of Spatlesen on the tasting table, and alluding to his own role as well as the vintage-s. -It was a bit intimidating this year at harvest,- he added, -because when the grapes are perfect, you can only make mistakes.- I had the rare fortune to taste this collection twice, and like so many 2007s (a comment that even more growers made about their 2008s) the wines were much more impressive in September than in Spring. A 2007 Hermannshohle Trockenbeerenauslese, by the way, is still trying to become wine after two years.