Weekly Tasting Report (Aug 23-30, 2020): Australia, Austria, France, Italy, South Africa, USA
James especially enjoyed two wines from the Gaja family this week, while Nick Stock was impressed with the Yarra Valley offerings from Giant Steps.
Of the 312 wines we tasted in the past week, it was the Gaja family’s Barbaresco and Brunello wines that really impressed James, while I found many highlights among the latest outstanding releases from Australia’s Giant Steps, the Yarra Valley producer that was recently acquired by US-based Jackson Family Wines.
The week was full of so many styles that caught our attention though. James is deep into an Austrian tasting and this week the Gritsch Riesling Wachau Ried 1000-Eimerberg Smaragd 2018 was best placed within that country, rated 95 points and described as having “Such lengthy flavors. It really cascades down the palate,” by James.
Among a handful of USA wines, Sonoma-based Hirsch stood out with a “wonderfully crafted chardonnay with lemon rind, cooked apple, lemon and lemon curd … Takes you down deep and energizes you,” with its Hirsch Vineyards Chardonnay Sonoma County Sonoma Coast 2018 (96 points).
And Italy’s Veneto region also provided several fantastic Amarones, the star of which was Prà’s 96-point Amarone Della Valpolicella Morandina 2015, which James said was “a very typical Amarone with lots of dried figs and sultanas. Full-bodied with layers of fruit and intense flavors of chocolate.”
Elsewhere in Italy, Gaja’s delivery of two of our top-rated wines so convincingly from two different regions is a convincing reminder of their winemaking credentials. The Gaja Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo 2017 (99 points) also points to the quality of the newly-released 2017 vintage in Barbaresco, with such attractive aromas of fresh rose petals, strawberries and citrus. This is “full-bodied and layered with a complete, very linear and long finish” and James is emphatic that this needs five years to show its potential.
The Gaja family’s Pieve Santa Restituta Brunello di Montalcino Rennina 2015 (99 points) joins an esteemed list of great 2015 vintage Brunello wines that have filled these pages. This is a powerful and fully articulated Brunello which is “extremely perfumed … full-bodied, extremely tight and refined with superb tannin quality that shows polish, finesse and beauty.” James declared this a landmark, the “best wine ever from here.”
Gaja then has a string of highly rated Barbaresco, Barolo and Brunello wines that follow close in the wake of these top two selections. The Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn 2017 (98 points) is a standout and is “extremely perfumed with strawberries, flowers, cherries and hints of ash and tar.” It has a polished, medium to full-bodied palate “with tightness and raciness to the tannins.” Then the 2017 Gaja Barbaresco (97 points) had “glorious aromas of flowers, crushed berries, strawberries and dried herbs” said James, and “a wonderfully curated, polished tannin structure and backbone.”
The Gaja wines that so impressed James, with two 99-point offerings.
From Barolo, the Gaja Sperss 2016 (97 points) is “very floral and refined with dried cherry, strawberry, smoke and spice … some tile and toffee,” and has a full-bodied palate with a solid core of beautifully creamy tannins. James was impressed with the intensity and focus of this wine, a hallmark of Barolo 2016. Then back to Brunello and the Pieve Santa Restituta Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille 2015 (97 points) is a “fantastically structured, serious 2015 Brunello … full-bodied and chewy with loads of fruit, yet framed with lots of ripe tannins that are polished and poised.” It will benefit from a couple years rest, better after 2023.
Also filling our high rating band this week, Giant Steps has delivered a suite of single-site pinot noir and chardonnay wines that continue the high quality they have delivered in recent vintages. The Giant Steps Chardonnay Yarra Valley Applejack Vineyard 2019 (97 points) is an elegant, focused and powerful chardonnay with “florals and crushed stones … lemon and grapefruit pith, as well as white peaches and subtle hazelnuts.” I loved the “sleek and fresh, lemon-drenched finish” here. The Giant Steps Chardonnay Yarra Valley Wombat Creek Vineyard 2019 (97 points) also delivers “striking freshness of lemon and yellow grapefruit” and the palate “carries energetic, acidity-fueled drive and delivers impressive balance, as well as length.”
In the pinot category they also excelled with two Yarra Valley wines and another iteration of their concerted embrace of Tasmanian pinot terroir. The Giant Steps Pinot Noir Yarra Valley Applejack Vineyard 2019 (96 points) is “expressively complex” and has “impressive density with focus” that is drilled into shape with vibrant acid structure. The Giant Steps Pinot Noir Yarra Valley Sexton Vineyard 2019 (96 points) takes a different mode altogether and “has soulful, complex style” and a palate that is defined by “layers of fine, compressed tannin.”
From two parcels in the Coal River Valley, the Giant Steps Pinot Noir Tasmania Fatal Shore 2019 (96 points) has impressive depth and fruit purity with “aromas of red cherries, roses, spiced earth, bracken and blueberries” and a palate that is equally dependent on vibrant acid structure and expansive tannins to build the expressive finish.
This week has showcased very different, site-driven wines from producers that have a focused and polished approach, from thrillingly tensile chardonnays and pinot noirs that are incredibly drinkable now, to majestic, complex and age-worthy Barbarescos, Barolos and Brunellos that are destined for enjoyment in years ahead.
Enjoy and stay safe.
– Nick Stock, Executive Editor