Plump 2022s from Chablis, Spectacular German Pinots and Napa’s Killer ‘B’s: Weekly Tasting Report (March 20-26)

The JamesSuckling.com team tasted 806 wines over the past week, with Senior Editor Ned Goodwin MW in Burgundy, Senior Editor Stuart Pigott tapping into more German bottles and Executive Editor Jim Gordon focused on California. In Burgundy, Ned tasted across communes from north to south, beginning in Chablis and focusing largely on the plump 2022 vintage. Tasting wines from a slew of producers, Ned had the impression that while there are many good wines to be found, 2022 confirms that a warming climate challenges the typicity of this northernmost region of Burgundy considerably more than those regions farther south. Chablis’ saline oyster-shell notes and tensile mineral infusion increasingly give way to riper fruit accents that verge on bumptious.

Yet a visit to Domaine Vincent Dauvissat, arguably the finest of the region (rivaled only by Francois Raveneau), served as a salve of reassurance. While things change, the precision and energy one expects from Chablis can still be found if one knows where to look.

Ned tasted every cuvee in the lineup, remarking on the consistency and toothsome restraint of each. While La Forest 2022 is often the ersatz grand cru, masquerading as a premier cru, the 2022 is, perhaps, just a bit too ripe. Ned called it a “crowd pleaser.” He was more impressed by the 1er Cru Séchet 2022, which comes from a cool site of meager topsoil that imbues the estuarine notes and febrile acidity that define top Chablis, at least for those who have been drinking it for the last 30 years!

Ned was also thrilled by the rocky phenolic ride and cool, demure pose of the 1er Cru Montée de Tonnere 2022, a wine that nudges the Grand Cru Les Preuses 2022 for top billing. The latter, he said, is “incredibly powerful and expansive, with a stony, phenolic drag across a long finish, obviating the lack of obvious acidity in a ‘millesime solaire.’” Anise and mint are frequently found in the better 2022s, including the Grand Cru Les Clos, a more tightly furled wine that may equal the grandeur of Les Preuses with plenty of patience.

RHEINHESSEN'S SPECTACULAR PINOTS

When Senior Editor Stuart Pigott took some of his winemaker friends to see the famous Weingut Keller in Rheinhessen, Germany, he wasn’t expecting winemaker Klaus Peter Keller to put three recently bottled spatburgunders from the 2022 vintage on the table in front of him.

By pure chance, Stuart was the first journalist to taste these German pinot noirs, which is great because they were all spectacular. The most amazing of them was a unique new wine: the breathtakingly brilliant and supernaturally fresh Keller Spätburgunder Rheinhessen Zellerweg Am Schwarzen Herrgott GG 2022. It has the concentration we expect from a top producer in an excellent vintage, but also an incredibly graceful finish. Previous vintages of this wine were marketed under the name Reserve du Fils, or “the son’s reserve.” 

A vineyard tour revealed some of the secrets behind this wine. It comes from one of the highest-altitude sites in Rheinessen, the Schwarzen Herrgott, which lies at about 300 meters above sea level in the Zellertal Valley, through which the border between the Rheinhessen and Pfalz regions runs. The soil is blue clay over limestone and the Keller family’s new plantings here are at a density of 20,000 vines per hectare, which means a one-meter gap between the rows and just 50 centimeters between the vines within the row – a daring and revolutionary system.

“It has the disadvantage that you have to do everything by hand,“ Keller explained. “But you have at least 50 percent more roots three meters-plus below the surface and up to 70 percent more nutrients. It only makes sense if you work for the highest quality and can sell the wine for a good price.“ Clearly, the Keller family and their team love the hand work, and there’s no problem from them to sell for a healthy price.

Sadly, there are only 600 bottles of this wine, which was 100 percent whole-cluster fermented. There’s rather more of the Keller Spätburgunder Rheinhessen Bürgel GG 2022, which was 50 percent whole-cluster fermented. It has very complex aromas of forest floor, smoke, licorice and wild herbs. And although it’s quite rich, being from Keller’s warmest site, it is also impeccably balanced with below 13 percent alcohol, like their other 2022 vintage pinots.

Stuart tasted more novel wines with the rising winemaker Leo Sommer at the ProWein trade fair in Dusseldorf. The most daring of these was the Sommer Riesling Burgenland Handwerk 2022, which has an enormous nose of white peach, dried red flowers and wild herbs. For a dry riesling it has a generous tannin structure but also the concentration to easily carry this. Stuart loved the peach puree and sea salt character at the very dynamic finish.

Even more impressive was the Sommer Grüner Veltliner Leithaberg Ried Halser 2022, a game-changer for this grape in the Leithaberg region. It has all the smoke and chalk you could wish for in a dry white with mind-boggling flinty intensity married to great ripeness and beautiful balance. With these wines Sommer has moved into Austria’s top league for dry riesling and gruner veltliner.

Hannes Schuster from Burgenland showed his just-released 2021 vintage red wines at ProWein and Stuart found an embarrassment of riches. Never were the tannins in the Schuster wines finer than in this vintage. The Schuster Blaufränkisch St. Margarethen 2021 has a haunting nose of ripe mulberry, is very concentrated and tightly wound with a stony minerality, while the Schuster Blaufränkisch Burgenland Müllendorf 2021 hails from an extremely chalky site, and you really feel that on the super-structured palate with its electric acidity. Fabulous forest berry and wildflower aromas complete the compelling picture in the latter.

The Sankt Laurent grape is only grown in Austria and Germany, but is rare after falling out of favor during the 1970s, when producers were obsessed with high yields. It naturally gives very small yields of wine with a pinot noir-like personality, but with rather firmer tannins. With a wealth of sour and black cherry fruit, plus savory and floral notes, then a crescendo palate and spicy finish, the Schuster Sankt Laurent Burgenland Zagersdorf 2021 proves this grape is capable of greatness.

Stuart also tasted the latest releases from the Bernard Lonclas Champagne house, featuring three contrasting blanc de blancs. Some of the 2015 vintage Champagnes are quite big and bold, but Stuart loved the sensational balance of creaminess, mineral acidity and delicate mousse in the super-elegant Bernard Lonclas Champagne Blanc de Blancs Vintage Extra Brut 2015.

NAPA'S 2021 KILLER 'B's

Nicely concentrated cabernet sauvignon 2021s from Napa Valley dominate this week’s California tasting notes. Outstanding examples like the Signorello Cabernet Sauvignon Padrone 2021 and Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Benchland Select 2021 continue to confirm the impression that James and Executive Editor Jim Gordon gathered at the Premiere Napa Valley auction tastings last month.

Many high-quality 2021 reds are renewing the excitement there after a smoke-troubled 2020 vintage, and so far appear to be more concentrated and balanced than 2022s.

Coincidentally, 2021 reds from four Napa wineries whose names all start with ‘B’ – Baldacci, Bravante, Buoncristiani and Barlow – stood out in our tasting notes. Consumers who can find and afford their bottles won’t be disappointed. It’s also smart to keep an eye out for any Napa 2019 reds still on the market – ‘B’ wineries or otherwise – as their velvety tannins and generous fruits offer easy drinkability now. A great example is the Charles Krug Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Vintage Selection 2019.

The California wine that really stole the show this week is one of the state’s best sweet wines year in and year out: the Dolce Napa Valley Late Harvest. The semillon-sauvignon blanc blend from Far Niente Estates is made with botrytis-affected grapes, emulating Sauterne. This latest release from 2018 reminded Associate Editor Andrii Stetsiuk of “dried persimmon, candied peach, fresh honey and saffron flavors” that persist into a long finish.

– Ned Goodwin MW, Stuart Pigott and Jim Gordon 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.

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