James Suckling (98)

Very lush and exotic. This lives from the almost erotic interplay of enormous ripeness, creamy richness and the fresh acidity that makes this massive wine so bright and enticing. This could live a century!

James Suckling (98)

Very lush and exotic. This lives from the almost erotic interplay of enormous ripeness, creamy richness and the fresh acidity that makes this massive wine so bright and enticing. This could live a century!

Wine Advocate (98)

Picked on January 7, the 2016 Rheingau Riesling Kiedrich Gräfenberg Eiswein is super precise and spicy on the concentrated and aromatic nose where pineapple and some ethereal, spicy aromas are displayed. The wine is rich, round and elegant on the palate, very sweet but also piquant and pure, with very fine tannins and a long, vibrant finish. This is a truly great Eiswein with mind-blowing precision and sensual intensity. Total production: 900 liters. Tasted in October 2017.

Wine Advocate (98)

Picked on January 7, the 2016 Rheingau Riesling Kiedrich Gräfenberg Eiswein is super precise and spicy on the concentrated and aromatic nose where pineapple and some ethereal, spicy aromas are displayed. The wine is rich, round and elegant on the palate, very sweet but also piquant and pure, with very fine tannins and a long, vibrant finish. This is a truly great Eiswein with mind-blowing precision and sensual intensity. Total production: 900 liters. Tasted in October 2017.

James Suckling (100)

A gently spicy thread here with all manner of fresh fruit that’s just so ripe. This offers very intense mangoes and apricots with peach essence and gentle candied kumquat. The palate is like a perfect sphere of flavor, completely seamless. This is melded together by an extraordinary vintage and delivered to the greatest heights of sweetness and balance. Really a perfect wine. Drink over decades.

James Suckling (100)

A gently spicy thread here with all manner of fresh fruit that’s just so ripe. This offers very intense mangoes and apricots with peach essence and gentle candied kumquat. The palate is like a perfect sphere of flavor, completely seamless. This is melded together by an extraordinary vintage and delivered to the greatest heights of sweetness and balance. Really a perfect wine. Drink over decades.

James Suckling (93)

A very classic dry Rheingau riesling with plenty of mineral depth, packed in a rather sleek body. Delicate white-fruit aromas with some yellow-peach and floral notes. Long and precise, dry finish, the freshness of which pulls you back for more. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

James Suckling (99)

Ripe and golden with a subtle hint of oak in the nose, plus some delicate spice. Super concentrated and super elegant with fabulous minerality at the powerful finish, this astonishing dry riesling is only just beginning to come into its own. The first vintage from this sub-site of the Gräfenberg that the Weil family always called by this Italian name. Drink of hold.

James Suckling (99)

This starts as discreetly as Ravel’s Bolero, the peachy aromas of the Rheingau now just beginning to emerge from behind their veil of yeast from the long maturation in barrel. Then this wine, like Bolero, steadily climbs to a very exciting and expressive conclusion. Then you experience the mineral side of this grape and region in great purity. Drinkable now, but best from 2023.

Experience the exquisite elegance of Rochette Pinot Noir Les Margiles 2019, produced by the distinguished Domaine Rochette, a family-owned firm embedded in the cradle of winemaking: Beaujolais, France. This Pinot Noir is a delightful expression of the terroir illustrating the distinctiveness perceived in the vine-based soils of Les Margiles. The wine undergoes meticulous vinification with careful regulation of fermentation temperatures contributing to the preservation of perfumed, fruity characteristics of the grape.

This 2019 vintage marries absolute refinement with racy fruit focusing on complexity and depth. It unfolds with a vibrant bouquet of red cherries, warmed spices, and a subtle hint of forest floor. Rochette Pinot Noir Les Margiles 2019 is silky smooth on the taste, backed by finely honed tannins, and a racy acidity that lands you a lasting finish. It is noteworthy for its intensity of flavour resonant of Noir's nature complementing beautifully with a wide range of dishes.

Wine Enthusiast (96)

Gold reflections glimmer in this amber-colored sweet wine that has aromas of apricot, yellow peach and Bartlett pear. The palate shows flavors of acacia honey, canned apricot and Anjou pear. The finish has enough acidity to stand up to the sweetness.

Wine Advocate (98)

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.

Vinous - Neal Martin (100)

The 2007 Tokaji Essencia contains 560 g/l residual sugar with 10.1 g/l acidity, a total production of 2,057 bottles. I have tasted the 2007 once before, though that was several years ago. Clear amber in colour, it has a fabulous, showstopping nose with stewed apricots, mandarin, Anjou pears and marmalade all delivered with stunning delineation. The bouquet has not moved much in recent years. The palate is incredibly unctuous in texture and literally lacquers the mouth. It is intense and compelling with notes of Seville orange, yellow plum and a background spiciness. Boasting incredible purity and a length that has to be tasted to be believed, this vies with the 2009 as the greatest Essencia that the Royal Tokaji Company has ever made.

Wine Advocate (97)

The latest release, the 2008 Tokaji Essencia from the Royal Tokaji Wine Company, was tasted over a period of three days. It is clearly cut from a different cloth to the 2007, disproving the idea that wines of such extraordinary sweetness conform to type. It is lighter on the nose than the 2007, with freshly cut tangerines, apricot and orange zest. There is a brightness here, a sense of energy. The palate is founded upon energy and tension, a silver thread of acidity that cuts through the layer upon layer of orange zest, Japanese yuzu, tangerine and honey. This is an elegant and you might argue, more reserved Essencia compared to the 2007. The alcohol is slightly higher at a whopping 4%, a relatively easier Essencia to consume compared to the unctuous previous vintage. While it might not achieve the concentration of the 2007, the 2008 Essencia remains an otherworldly feat of nature. I actually shared the remaining bottle with winemakers from Argentina and Portugal in Hong Kong and they became wide-eyed with amazement. That's the magic of Essencia. It might constitute blasphemy, but the freshness means you can enjoy this now, or as my drinking window suggests, wait another 100 years, as temporally fantastical as that sounds.

Wine Enthusiast (100)

Ethereal aromas of peach nectar, apricot preserves, orange zest and candied almonds waft from the glass. Full texture and luscious flavors of caramelized pineapple, orange marmalade, honeycomb, ripe summer peach, and Turkish delight. Its extreme sweetness is held in check by vibrant but not overpowering acidity. Drink through 2059.

2003 was, like in much of Europe, a hot vintage in Hungary, but conditions were still enviable enough to yield a remarkably classic, honey and orange-infused Aszú. Rich, decadent with a notable creaminess to the palate, the finish is fresh and clean, and lingers on for minutes on the palate.

Decanter (93)

Facing south and southwest, the Nyulászó vineyard features brown and yellow clay soil. Minerality sets the tone of this 2016 dry Furmint, with struck match, ripe peaches, honeysuckle and dusty dried apricot aromas. The palate is explosive, warm and spicy, with layers of citrus, dried apricot, fig, melon and hints of white pepper, refreshed by a solid backbone of acidity. The concentrated flavours follow all the way to the lingering finish, complex and sophisticated.

Each case contains 1 bottle each of:

1. Mezes Maly Great First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2008 | 18.5/20 points Jancis Robinson MW
2. Szt Tamas First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2008 | 19/20 points Jancis Robinson MW
3. Nyulaszo First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2008 | 18.5/20 points Jancis Robinson MW
4. Betsek First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2008 | 18/20 points Jancis Robinson MW
5. Birsalmas Second Growth Aszu 6 Puttonyos 2008 | 18.5/20 points Jancis Robinson MW
6. Gold Label 6 Puttonyos 2008 | 17/20 points Jancis Robinson MW

1 x 50cl each of the following selection:
Royal Tokaji Blue Label 5 Puttonyos 2016 | 17.5+/20 Jancis Robinson
Royal Tokaji Aszu Tokaji Gold Label 6 Puttonyos 2016 | 17+/20 Jancis Robinson
Royal Tokaji Szt Tamas First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2016 | 18++/20 Jancis Robinson
Royal Tokaji Mezes Maly Great First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2016 | 18.5++/20 Jancis Robinosn
Royal Tokaji Betsek First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2016 | 18+/20 Jancis Robinson
Royal Tokaji Nyulaszo First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2016 | 17+/20 Jancis Robinson

Wine Advocate (96+)

From Bürgstadt’s coolish terroir, the 2019 Centgrafenberg Spätburgunder GG offers possibly the deepest, most intense and complete as well as generous bouquet of Fürst's 2019 Pinot trio, yet it still preserves this delicate, finessed and floral Pinot fruit that is reminiscent of dark cherries, black berries and raspberries with a touch of black cake, here combined with toasty notes. Silky, round and juicy on the palate, this is a full-bodied, very intense and concentrated yet lush and elegant Pinot with firm tannins and a tight, sustainably intense and salty finish with good mineral freshness. This is a highly promising Centgrafenberg that no Pinot lover should miss buying. Tasted in Wiesbaden in August 2021.

Vinous - Neal Martin (93)

This bottle of the 2015 Columella is better than the one poured blind at the 10-Year-On tasting in London just a few weeks earlier. It has a floral bouquet with black plum, blueberry and light garrigue scents, the whole bunch imparting a subtle pepperiness. The palate is quite sweet on the entry, the tannins saturated and just a little glossier than the '12. Fine grip, but backward on the finish, suggesting that this will benefit from continued time in the cellar. Tasted at the Columella vertical in Hong Kong.

Decanter (98)

Complex nose already: beautifully exuberant nose of damsons and flowers – the Carignan really coming through at this early stage. A herbal, stemmy element is also quite noticeable but well balanced. Full-bodied on the palate but only just, with a lovely sense of fluidity, slightly granular tannins and fine acidity – everything is in its place, and is delicious now, but will improve and build further complexity. If possible, wait until 2026 to broach. Long, so expressive and unique. Various soils: granite, slate, clay, gravel. Three weeks' fermentation and three weeks maceration in 3,300L open-top concrete fermenters. Aged for 12 months on the lees in small barrels (5% new), then a further 12 months on fine lees in large wooden foudres. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Wine Advocate (98)

From the first sniff, the 2020 Columella is an instant champion that is pointing and swinging for the fence. With its fresh frame of fruit and expertly layered oaky essences, the wine is incredibly complex as it bursts from the glass with precision and finesse. Medium-bodied and with 13.5% alcohol, the Columella somersaults into a phantasmagoria of bright crunchy red fruit flavors and seductive floral essences that makes my head spin. Collectors will take note and add a couple of bottles of this to their cellar. It’s an absolutely stellar bottling that will age gracefully for decades.

Wine Advocate (94)

The Sadie Family's 2023 Swartland Old Vine Series Skerpioen is Chenin Blanc and Palomino planted together on white limestone soils with a sandy top layer. The Chenin Blanc is picked on the underripe side, and the Palomino is picked ripe and golden yellow in color. "I am site-driven, not variety-driven," says Winemaker Eben Sadie. "My goal is to make the most honest wine from a singular site." I love the intensity of the Skerpioen, which is delivered vertically in terms of the brightness of its aromas and horizontally in terms of the pretty richness of the mouthfeel. There are hints of waxy Meyer lemon, sea salt and a hint of rubber latex. It matures in old acacia and oak foudre for 12 months.