July 2024 Tasting Report: Rarefied Rieslings, Tuscan Beauties and Peaking in Napa

Only a handful of wines rose to the very top of the 3,175 bottles we rated in July, with our perfect scorers revealing a Teutonic turn toward excellence. Six of the eight 100-point bottles we uncovered during the month came from Germany, with all of them fully or partially derived from the riesling grape and five of those from the country’s singular 2023 vintage.

How great was that year for Germany? Another seven of the wines we gave 99 points to were of the same national provenance and vintage, and there is a deep smattering of them right through the top echelon of wines we rated during the month. Many of these, including four of the perfect scorers, were from the country's most famous wine region, the Rheingau, which according to Senior Editor Stuart Pigott has been struggling up a long learning curve since the late 1990s but has finally made it back to the top.

Two wineries in particular have helped it get there. One, the legendary estate of Schloss Johannisberg, made the Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Rheingau Blaulack Trockenbeerenauslese 2023, a “masterpiece made in the nobly sweet style with which the estate made its reputation,” according to Stuart, with lusciously honeyed concentration and an electric acidity that makes the gigantic finish so fresh and pure “your mind struggles to make sense of it.” And Stuart described the other Schloss Johannisberg dry riesling we gave a perfect score to as “breathtaking”: their Goldlack Trocken 2021, he said, comes with “a harmony that’s absolutely extraordinary for this high-acidity vintage.”

And on the edge of the Rheingau town of Eltville, the Eva Fricke winery gave us two more 100-point 2023 rieslings: the Eva Fricke Riesling Rheingau Krone Trocken 2023, which Stuart said has a “mind-bending concentration of yellow peach and Amalfi lemon character with a mineral freshness that’s like the beam of a lighthouse shining to the horizon,” and the equally astonishing Eva Fricke Riesling Rheingau Schlossberg Trockenbeerenauslese 2023.

In Germany’s Pfalz region, Stuart went deep on the same 2023 vintage and found it to be the greatest year since 2019 and on the same level as 2007 and 2001. There was no more compelling proof of this, he said, than at the famous Dr. Burklin-Wolf estate winery in Wachenheim, where there was a wealth of great dry rieslings. None was more amazing than the 100-point Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Riesling Pfalz Kirchenstück GC 2023, with its "truly extraordinary" density of yellow fruit aromas. The breathtakingly focused and mineral Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Riesling Pfalz Pechstein GC 2023 was another standout, yet it was a handful of the winery's village wines that really struck Stuart’s fancy, if only for their friendly pricing.

The star of these was the Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Riesling Pfalz Forst Village Trocken 2023, which has a striking, biscuity nose together with a medium-bodied palate and aromas ranging from Mirabelle plums to ripe mango, Stuart said.

And Stuart said he was convinced that Müller-Catoir in Neustadt never had a better vintage than 2023, which showed in one of the dry riesling stars of the vintage, the Müller-Catoir Riesling Pfalz Bürgergarten im Breumel GG 2023, although it was Muller-Catoir's nobly sweet wine from the rare rieslaner grape that had Stuart raving.

The perfect Müller-Catoir Rieslaner Pfalz Herzog Trockenbeerenauslese EL 2023, he said, has the combination of off-the-scale concentration and supernaturally vibrant acidity that makes this every bit as great as their legendary 1990 Rieslaner TBA.

Finally, the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Karl Haidle winery in the town of Stetten in the Remstal subregion of Wurttemberg was celebrated with vertical tastings of red and dry white wines. The young winemaker Moritz Haidle, who took over the cellar with the 2014 vintage, was himself stunned by the still-youthful Karl Haidle Riesling Württemberg Stettener Pfeffer Natur 1964, which comes with excellent grapefruit and bergamot freshness.

And among the reds, the Karl Haidle Lemberger Württemberg Berge GG 2020 really shows how much Haidle and his generation of winemakers have learned about their craft over the last decade. It is a compelling and complex lemberger with dark, savory and smoky aromas and great underlying blueberry and elderberry fruit.

ITALY'S ANSWER TO CLIMATE CHANGE

The two other wines we gave perfect scores to came from Italy’s hot and dry 2022 vintage, and both are from highly respected Tuscan wineries. The perfect scores we gave to the Bibi Graetz Toscana Colore 2022 and the Petrolo Valdarno di Sopra Galatrona 2022, James said, reflect the tack winemakers are taking in confronting climate change: becoming agile and adaptive in their vineyards to combat the sometimes extreme weather.

For Petrolo, according to owner Luca Sanjust, that adaptability extends to the winemaking, which has become much softer, with less extraction and wood maturation producing more transparent and crunchy wines.

From his home in Tuscany, James and Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli tasted a combination of Brunello 2019s, Barolo 2020s and Super Tuscan 2021s, with the standout from all three categories being Isole e Olena’s 100 percent sangiovese Super Tuscan, the Cepparello 2021. James said it could be one of the best Cepparellos ever. He also had high praise for the 2019 Cannubi and Vignarionda Barolos as well as for the 2019 Brunellos of Montalcino winery Villa Le Prata.

Aldo was also in the Alto Piemonte region of Italy tasting wines from the noble and complex nebbiolo grape, with the appellations that take the main stage in Alto Piemonte being the ones capable of combining the finesse of a more northerly nebbiolo with power and concentration. The wines that shined were from Bramaterra, whose strong volcanic impact is reflected in the smoky character of its wines, and from Gattinara.

The Travaglini Gattinara Riserva 2019, in particular, shows an ancient character, with notes reminiscent of rhubarb root, undergrowth and wood embers, alongside powerful but ripe tannins. And among the 2019 riservas from Gattinara winery Antoniolo, the San Francesco stood out for the elegance of its tannins in a complex and deeply profound profile.

BOJO STUNNERS

From Beaujolais, France, Stuart bumped into a handful of stunning single-vineyard wines that were aged for the same 18 months in barrel that top red Rhone or Burgundy wines still get – unusual in a region where one year in barrel is the norm. One, Les Héritiers Saint-Genys Morgon aux Charmes 2022, stood out for its breathtakingly deep, fresh and savory nose plus gigantic concentration, while the cooler and more restrained Les Héritiers Saint-Genys Morgon en Ruyère 2022 is sleek and highly structured, with “an intense minerality that turns the finish into a fireworks display.”

And from an exciting selection of new wines from Hungary that Stuart tasted, the St. Andrea Egri Bikavér Grand Superior Nagy-Eged-Hegy Agapé 2019 has already reached the sweet spot in its development, with a nose of ripe red berries, summer flowers and seashells that must be experienced to be believed. The younger, fruitier St. Andrea Egri Bikaver Grand Superior Hangács 2022, meanwhile, brims with wild berry, sandalwood and licorice character. Both are complex cuvees, in the latter case featuring cabernet franc as well as the Hungarian kekfrankos and kadarka grapes.

We also tasted three extremely rare Port bottlings from Van Zellers & Co. in our Hong Kong office that we scored highly: Crafted by Liberty, Crafted by Family and Crafted by Poetry. From 1860, 1870, and 1888, respectively, these unique tawny Ports were bottled in March 2024, offering a rare chance to experience the magic of century-old-plus winemaking. Senior Editor Zekun Shuai said of them, “Tasting them is a humbling yet emotional experience, with a mere sip from any of these miniature sample bottles certain to linger, haunting the senses long after.”

PEAKING IN NAPA

In California, Executive Editor Jim Gordon had a close-up look at the mountainous Stagecoach Vineyard of Napa Valley winery Pahlmeyer and tasted through its 2021 lineup with winemaker Katie Vogt. Two of its reds earned nearly perfect scores, with the 100 percent cabernet sauvignon Pahlmeyer Napa Valley Piece de Resistance 2021 a stunning, creamy and fresh offering, while their cabernet franc-based blend, the Pahlmeyer Napa Valley Raison d’Etre 2021, shows the ripeness of blueberry syrup and the texture of velvet, Jim said

“Everything is on level 11 for 2021,” Vogt told Jim, referring to the intensity, tannin levels and acidities in the wine. And this applied equally to Pahlmeyer’s merlots, including the impressive Pahlmeyer Merlot Napa Valley 2021, which could convert any merlot skeptic into a fan, Jim said.

There were also some terrific offerings from French-born winemakers operating in Napa. One, Nid Tisse, made two brilliant chardonnays and the supple, finely balanced Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills Radian Vineyard 2022. But the Nid Tissé Chardonnay Napa Valley Carneros Hyde Vineyard 2022 was perhaps the stoniest, steeliest wine made from the much-celebrated property. It slowly opens in the glass to reveal Bosc pears, apple skin and a lingering finish, according to Jim.

READ MORE NAPA VALLEY CABS SHINE IN 2021: APEX VINTAGE IN A ‘REDEMPTION’ YEAR

Also rooted in France, but situated in the rugged Mayacamas Mountains that divide Napa and Sonoma counties, was the Bordeaux-style red blend Pym-Rae Napa Valley Tesseron Estate 2020 – an aromatic, linear and fine-textured wine from a challenging vintage.

And from the Rutherford appellation in Napa Valley came the expanded lineup of Bella Union wines, featuring exciting Bordeaux-varietal reds from 2021 and 2022 as well as refreshing, unorthodox whites from 2023.

Right at the top of the list was the dressed-up version of the estate-grown cabernet sauvignon that Bella Union has made for several years, the Bella Union Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Rutherford 2021, a plush, luxurious and chocolaty wine made in collaboration with consultant Thomas Rivers Brown. The Bella Union Winery Napa Valley La Gemma 2022, meanwhile, offers great polish, concentration and a quiet power, and not far behind in focus and appeal is the Bella Union Winery Napa Valley Cultivist 2022, a floral, exuberant Bordeaux-style red blend that leads with merlot.

ANTIPODEAN DELIGHTS

James rated almost 100 wines from New Zealand while pruning his vineyard in Martinborough, New Zealand, and Kumeu River’s white wines were as impressive as usual. Their newest releases come from the rainy 2023 vintage. Although their harvest was on the small side, Kumeu River’s wines showed a boundless energy with intense acidity buttressing the vivid fruit, most aptly reflected in their single-vineyard chardonnay from Mate’s Vineyard, which led all their bottlings (and whose 2020 version was our Wine of the Year in 2021). Pinot noirs, especially 2021s from Ata Rangi, Burn Cottage, Kusuda, Prophet’s Rock and Rippon, also excelled in James’ tastings, and don’t miss this crazy elixir-of-a-sweet wine from Schubert in Wairarapa.

And James also rated the latest releases from renowned Australian vintner Penfolds in his tastings with Penfolds winemaker Peter Gago. His verdict: while the newest vintage of their legendary Penfolds Shiraz South Australia Bin 95 Grange is “one of the most refined and textural Granges" he has ever tasted, he preferred their Cabernet Sauvignon Coonawarra Bin 169 2022, “which is all about caressing tannins and vivid cabernet fruit.”

– Vince Morkri, Managing Editor

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