Weekly Tasting Report (Aug 31-Sep 6, 2020): Australia, Austria, France, Italy, Lebanon, USA
Nearly 300 wines were added to the JamesSuckling.com database last week, and while I put the finishing touches to an extensive Barossa tasting report (coming soon), James continues tasting in Hong Kong. His highlights include great discoveries from Austria, Piedmont’s 2016 Barolo vintage and also California’s Etude this week.
The top-scoring wine is the Azelia Barolo Cerretta 2016 (97 points) which heads up a trio of Azelia wines in our top rated selections. This Cerretta 2016 has a “compact and very linear” shape with “polished tannins that are tightly compressed.” James noted this new wine from Azelia is a standout and a wonderful addition to their range.
Another two Barolo wines from Azelia both rate close to the top. The Azelia Barolo Bricco Fiasco 2016 (96 points) is impressive with aromas of “fresh flowers with strawberries and cedar” as well as “a very compact palate of tannins that melt into the wine with freshness and brightness.” James also really liked the Azelia Barolo San Rocco 2016 (96 points) which he described as having “a full body of gorgeous fruit and layers of ripe, fine tannins” that are “extremely long.”
And a fourth Azelia wine rated just below these on 95 points. The Barolo Margheria 2016 is “a full-bodied Barolo with very finely curated tannins that give a fine-grained, powder-like texture.” James liked the way “the flavors show subtle cherry, berry, cedar and floral character” and also the “long and driven finish” that needs some time and will be better after 2023.
We also published four wines from California’s Etude at 95 points this week, covering two distinctly different styles. There’s the Etude Pinot Noir Sonoma County Carneros Grace Benoist Ranch Heirloom 2017 which is “classic quality” pinot noir with “creamy texture” and some “lemon rind to the dried-strawberry flavors.”
Then a trio of cabernet wines from three different Napa AVAs. The Etude Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Rutherford 2016 (95 points) showed “aromas of blackberries and blueberries with some flowers and lavender,” and James noted the “extremely refined and well manicured” quality of tannins here. From adjoining Oakville, the Etude Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Oakville 2016 (95 points) is a “flavorful, structured red with linear, polished tannins and a long, beautiful finish.”
Four Azelia Barolos made the top 10 of our tastings last week.
And finally the Etude Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Coombsville 2016 (95 points) shows the maritime influence of the San Pablo Bay with “really beautiful purity of fruit” that is “full-bodied, yet tight and tense with polished, refined tannins running through the center palate.” This is quite drinkable already but James recommended all three of these Napa cabernets will be better in another two years at least.
Beaujolais wines are popular with all the team at JamesSuckling.com and the M. & C. Lapierre Morgon 2019 (95 points) is the latest vintage from one of the most consistent producers of top-quality Morgon, a real master. This showed “lots of red and black bramble fruit on the nose with flowers, wet earth, old vine, moss and citrus peel.” The vivid palate really came to life in the glass too. Drink now, why wait?
And Emmerich Knoll leads a procession of highly-rated Austrian wines in our highlights. The Riesling Wachau Vinothekfüllung Smaragd 2018 (96 points) is “so transparent and creamy, offering a dry, energetic palate with super fine texture and lively acidity.” This is full-bodied riesling with great concentration and has “flinty and intense … aftertaste.” The Emmerich Knoll Riesling Niederösterreich Ried Pfaffenberg Selection 2018 (95 points) offers “lots of white pineapple with green melon, flint and a lime undertone,” and is also full-bodied, dry and layered in what James described as a “rather extreme style.”
There’s also the Emmerich Knoll Grüner Veltliner Wachau Vinothekfüllung Smaragd 2018 (96 points) described as a “tight and fruity white with sliced-peach and lemon character” that delivers a full-bodied palate that is “very tight and rich … very structured and very serious.” All three Knoll wines here impressed with concentration and intensity.
The Kracher Welschriesling Burgenland Trockenbeerenauslese Nummer 5 2017 (95 points) also made an impression with concentration of fruit. James described it as “pretty crazy with density and very intense sweetness that focuses on a center palate that comes across as almost oily” and liked the “subtle apple tart, peach tart, candied lemon and caramel” flavors. From the tradition-steeped cellars of Nikolaihof, their Nikolaihof Riesling Wachau Steiner Hund 2015 (95 points) is a “dry, solid riesling with dried lemon, apple, and light honeysuckle” that shows good complexity and “so much intensity and focus.”
And finally there are three more rieslings from Austria, all rated 95 points, that round out our highlights this week. The Jurtschitsch Riesling Kamptal Ried Heiligenstein EL Alte Reben 2018 is another “full-bodied white” with layered and complex structure to the palate. The Hermann Moser Riesling Kremstal Ried Gebling EL Kellerterrassen Reserve 2019 showed “lots of dried-apricot, honey and lemon-rind aromas” in a dry, full-bodied style. Then the Bründlmayer Riesling Kamptal Terrassen 2019 is a “very tight, composed white” from this consistently high-quality producer that James described as a “super wine at this quality level from one of the legends.”
There are some very drinkable and good value wines in our top ratings this week, as well as some classics that deserve time in the cellar.
Enjoy and stay safe.
– Nick Stock, executive editor