Argentina’s Vibrant Pinot Noirs, Germany’s Great Leap Forward and a ’21 Barolo Bonanza: Weekly Tasting Report

It’s not very often that you have great pinot noirs with very low alcohol, but the soon-to-be-released pinots from Argentina’s Chacra are just that. Some of the single-vineyard bottlings are close to 11 degrees alcohol. That’s three or four degrees alcohol less than a revered Burgundy in a hot vintage like 2020 or 2022.

“They had ripeness and good weight and lots of freshness and lower acidity but low alcohol,” Chacra owner Piero Incisa della Rocchetta said two weeks ago in Miami when he tasted his wines with James. Incisa explained that a heat wave a few weeks before the harvest put the vines into “reserve mode,” so he decided to pick regardless of the potential alcohol.

James found all the Chacra pinots vibrant and fresh, from the well-priced Chacra Pinot Noir Patagonia Barda 2024 to the single-vineyard, hard-to-find Chacra Pinot Noir Patagonia Treinta y Dos 2024, which is from vines planted in 1932. There’s also a pinot with no sulfur added at bottling called the Chacra Pinot Noir Patagonia Treinta y Dos Sin Azufre 2024, which is equally compelling in quality.

James also tasted the gorgeous and graceful flagship red wine from Tim Mondavi’s Continuum Estate and a bevy of excellent new releases from Napa-based Amici Cellars, which topped our California tasting notes.

James gave the highest marks to the Continuum Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Sage Mountain Vineyard 2022, from the Mondavi family estate on Pritchard Hill that Tim Mondavi, his sister Marcia Mondavi Borger and family founded when their father’s iconic Robert Mondavi Winery was sold to Constellation Brands two decades ago.

James noted the Continuum 2022’s perfumed aromas of subtle currants, roses, lavender and sage that follow through to a medium body with super-fine tannins. Continuum is an estate-grown Bordeaux-style blend of grape varieties, specifically 45 percent cabernet sauvignon, 43 percent cabernet franc, 8 percent petit verdot and 4 percent merlot in 2022.

James and Executive Editor Jim Gordon also tasted an array of Amici Cellars wines and they found nine bottles worthy of 95-point-plus ratings, ranging from chardonnay and pinot noir to cabernet sauvignon.

Most impressive among the reds was the refined Amici Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard 2022, which offers creamy tannins and flavors of juicy fruit, flint and dark berries.

This tied in scoring with two Amici single-vineyard 2023 chardonnays from the Russian River Valley – the Charles Heintz Vineyard 2023 and Welch Vineyard 2023 – as well as a powerful, dark and dusky 2023 pinot noir from Hyde Vineyard in Napa Carneros.

GERMANY'S GREAT LEAP FORWARD

The world is just beginning to wake up to the leap forward German winemakers have recently made with chardonnay. The first experimental plantings of the noble white grape of Burgundy were made here during the late 1980s. The first exciting wines were made from the 2009 vintage, then a quantum leap followed a decade later in 2019.

Some of the best innovations are being made in what were previously considered out-of-the-way locations. Senior Editor Stuart Pigott traveled to the Breisgau subregion of Baden to visit the Wohrle winery in Lahr, a town previously best known for having the longest runway in Europe. This was at the Canadian military air base in the town, which is now closed.

Stuart recommends that doubters try the Wöhrle Chardonnay Baden Teufelslochgasse GG 2022, which has the stature of a Burgundian grand cru plus a wonderful balance of creamy richness, elegant acidity and forthright chalky minerality. The Wöhrle Chardonnay Baden Lahr Gottesacker GG 2022 is a shade lighter in body but has great flint energy, fine tannins and a very mineral finish.

Both these wines were wild-fermented and matured on the lees in 500-liter oak casks (of which one third were new), then bottled unfiltered. Winemaker Markus Wohrle uses somewhat less new oak and larger barrels for his top pinot blancs and pinot gris, but the results are compelling.

Stuart was knocked out by the Wöhrle Grauburgunder Baden Lahrer Kronenbühl EL 2023, which has great concentration and structure for a medium-bodied pinot gris. The interplay of fruit, creaminess and mineral freshness puts this wine on the same level as the top pinot grigios from northeastern Italy.

The same applies to the Wöhrle Weissburgunder Baden Lahrer Kronenbühl EL 2023, which has fantastic textural complexity and intense wild herb character, yet also manages to be extremely precise.

Like Wohrle, the Spreitzer winery in the Rheingau is not one of the best-known producers of its region, although Andreas Spreitzer is as consistent a winemaker as Markus Wohrle! Stuart found too many excellent wines there to mention them all here.

One high point was the contrasting Alte Reben, or “old vine,” bottlings of dry riesling. The Spreitzer Riesling Rheingau Heidelberg Alte Reben Trocken 2023 has the mountain freshness we expect from this steep, high-altitude site plus super Amalfi lemon acidity. The Spreitzer Riesling Rheingau Doosberg Alte Reben Trocken 2023 is rich and silky and could easily be mistaken for a GG wine (the highest category of dry wine).

The famous Wisselbrunnen has long been the star vineyard site in the winery's portfolio, and with the 2023 vintage, Spreitzer has made the most remarkable wine Stuart has tasted from this site in many years – the Spreitzer Riesling Rheingau Wisselbrunnen GG 2023. Super-elegant with great racy energy, this dry riesling masterpiece has wonderfully subtle aromas of white peach, gooseberry and bergamot.

In spite of a challenging weather pattern, 2023 turned out to be a great vintage for Germany, but there’s one caveat to that statement: the paucity of nobly sweet top Auslese, BA and TBA wines. In most places the harvest weather was too wet for botrytized grapes to shrivel and make these wines possible. The Spreitzer Riesling Rheingau Ostriches Lenten Eiserberg Trockenbeerenausleser 2023 is a fabulous exception, with stunning purity and refinement plus an enormously concentrated dried mango and papaya fruit. It has breathtaking vitality at the almost endless finish. Production, however, was very limited.

CHRISTOPHE BARON'S RACY CHAMPAGNES 

The 2020 season in Champagne was warm and dry, but the Christophe Baron Champagnes from that vintage are racy and full of tension. The four offerings come from winemaker and owner Christophe Baron’s family vineyards in Champagne’s Marne Valley. These are single plots of old, organically farmed pinot meunier vines, mostly planted in the 1960s, and they produce stunningly precise wines, each at the Brut Nature level with zero dosage (no sugar added). Associate Editor Claire Nesbitt tasted the wines with Karin Gasparotti, the resident vigneronne of Baron's Washington State winery, Bionic Wines, during Claire's trip to Washington.

Claire was most impressed with the Champagne Christophe Baron Les Alouettes Brut Nature 2020, which is restrained, tightly wound and minerally and is made from a plot of pinot meunier vines planted in 1968. It’s a far cry from the often fruitier expressions of pinot meunier or meunier-driven blends in Champagne, and it will benefit from a few more years in bottle due to its tight structure.

Baron’s other three Champagnes – Le Dessus du Bois Marie, Les Closeaux and Les Hautes Blanches Vignes – are likewise bone-dry and full of tension. All are bottled in magnum format only.

MORE GREAT 2021 BAROLOS

More than a month after our first and most extensive tastings, the 2021 Barolo vintage continues to impress with its aromatic richness, refined tannins and remarkable depth, Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli reported. Over the past week, he sampled even more selections from the renowned Piedmont appellation, and once again the results were stellar – both at the top of the range and, just as notably, at entry-level.

This is an important point to highlight. Top artisanal producers have long demonstrated their ability to craft outstanding wines even in challenging vintages, often through rigorous grape selection, which naturally leads to lower volumes. In this context, it is perhaps no surprise that the Palladino Barolo Parafada 2021 – one of the “grand crus” of Serralunga d’Alba – stood out as extraordinary.

A deep, multidimensional Barolo, it offers an intricate nose of graphite, wild strawberries, cherry stones, licorice and subtle hints of mint and blood oranges. The tannins are ripe and finely tuned, exuding elegance and savory complexity, complemented by a full body, crisp acidity and a dense, lingering finish. While its elegance makes it enjoyable now, I would give it at least 10 years of bottle aging.

But beyond the flagship labels, other noteworthy Barolos also delivered, including the Bricco Ambrogio by Negretti, which stood out for its fresh, perfumed vermouth-like complexity. Meanwhile, Produttori di Clavesana's Barolo Terra 2021 offers exceptional value for money, showcasing precision, complexity and a beautifully graphite-infused finish.

READ MORE BAROLO ANNUAL TASTING REPORT: A BEAUTIFUL WARMTH UNFOLDS

Aldo's tasting extended beyond Barolo to other Piedmont gems, particularly those made from barbera. Once considered a “commodity variety” among Italian growers, barbera has now found a level of meticulous care and refinement in its most prestigious terroirs, such as Asti, Nizz and Alba.

One standout was again Palladino’s Barbera d’Alba Superiore Bricco delle Olive 2021. This barbera is full of tension, brimming with licorice, crushed leaves, fresh violets and vibrant plums, all underpinned by a strong graphite core. Full-bodied, with firm yet velvety tannins, it boasts crisp, well-balanced acidity.

Finally, a remarkable late release from Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta in Piedmont deserves attention. The 2013 Monferrato La Corte Chiusa Colpo d’Ala is an evolved wine, rich in tertiary aromas, layered with detail and depth. It is ready to drink now, making a perfect pairing with seasonal dishes – such as asparagus – where the toasty notes of an aged wine harmonize beautifully with the charred edges of freshly grilled vegetables.

– James Suckling, Jim Gordon, Stuart Pigott, Claire Nesbitt and Aldo Fiordelli contributed reporting.

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by James Suckling and the other tasters at JamesSuckling.com. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.