Rolling Out the Brunellos, Pinot Paydirt in Germany and a Touch of Burgundy in China: Weekly Tasting Report (Nov 16-22)

We have been wrapping up our tastings of 2018 Brunellos this week in the Hong Kong office, and they’re shaping up to be more balanced and drinkable compared with the chewy and tannic 2017s while not as structured or powerful as the great 2015s and 2016s. But there are some exceptions that will be discussed in our coming 2018 Brunello report.

Our two highest-scoring Brunellos this week are Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona’s Pianrosso 2018 and Altesino’s Montosoli 2018. The northern hill of Montosoli has excelled in 2018. Altesino’s Montosoli 2018 is on par with the great 2015 and 2016 vintages, and it displays fantastic aromatic complexity of fresh and dried fruit and savory iodine character, with finely knit tannins. On the opposite, southeastern slope of Montalcino, fruit from the Pianrosso vineyard produced a 2018 Brunello vintage full of depth and intensity. Alex Bianchini of Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona told us in a Zoom interview that 2018 “is a surprise vintage because it plays in elegance and finesse.”

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF THE WORLD 2022 AND OUR WINE OF THE YEAR

It’s not all about pure sangiovese wines, though – check out the Solengo 2020, Argiano’s Bordeaux blend from Montalcino, which we rated just as highly as their 2018 Brunello. It’s made from organically farmed cabernet, merlot, petit verdot and some sangiovese from the lower southwest slope of Montalcino, and is profound and seamless, on par with the 2019 and 2018.

Also of note this week are Donum’s pinot noirs from Carneros. 2020 was marked by wildfires in California, affecting some of Donum’s vineyards in other AVAs, but they produced outstanding wines, such as the Mikado Tree Single-Block Reserve and White Barn Single-Block Reserve, both intense, spicy and deep expressions that are worth seeking out.

PINOT NOIR PAYDIRT

In Germany, Senior Editor Stuart Pigott made a great pinot noir discovery, although he had to taste a few bottles before he finally hit paydirt.

“On paper, warm and dry years like 2020 should be ideal for pinot noir in Germany, since those conditions push the vines to produce more tannins, and it’s tannins that give red wines their power and structure,” Stuart said about his tasting expedition. “So I expected a lot and was sometimes a bit disappointed.”

Then he visited the Chat Sauvage winery in Johannisberg, in Germany’s Rheingau wine region: “When winemaker Verena Schottle arrived in 2016 she was an unknown figure, but she quickly pulled this eccentric winery onto the right track. However, the 2020 vintage wines are something else ­– really awesome!”

Chat Sauvage is eccentric, because in a region dominated by riesling it is focused on pinot noir, with chardonnay as second string. “And, when it was founded in 2000 by Hamburg businessman Günter Schulz, he gave it a French name that means ‘wild cat.’ For the extremely traditional Rheingau, it was totally surreal,” Stuart said.

Stuart found nothing wild about the 2020 pinot noirs except their astonishing quality. “They all have stunning concentration and are incredibly expressive with a wonderful freshness,” he said. “Think premier and grand cru Burgundy from a vintage with healthy acidity, like 2010 or 2016, then you are close.”

None fit this description better than the near-perfect Chat Sauvage Pinot Noir Rheingau Lorch Schlossberg 2020, which pushes the envelope of this style all the way and is extremely complex. “It may well be the German red wine of this vintage,” Stuart enthused.

How did Schottle achieve such greatness? “We always worked with very low yields and we do a lot of hand work in the vineyard. We are very exact,” she told Stuart.

The other excitement for Stuart during the past week came from the Danube Valley in Austria. “Nikolaihof in Krems converted to biodynamics decades before that became cool,” Stuart recalled, “and the wines were always different, but when the son, Nikolaus Saahs, took over, the wines become totally unique. Who else on Planet Wine would age a dry white for 25 years in neutral oak before bottling it and make that work spectacularly well?”

The wine in question is the Nikolaihof Riesling Wachau Vinothek 1997, and with aromas that reminded Stuart of an old library, quince paste and beeswax, it is unique. Not surprisingly, it is also quite expensive.

Young Urban Stagard of the nearby Stagard winery also bottles late, so Stuart couldn’t taste his 2021wines any earlier. “2021 is an excellent vintage for Austria, and is also the best vintage ever from Stagard,” Staurt said. “His remarkable row of single-vineyard dry rieslings really puts him in the first league.”

Most remarkable was the Stagard Riesling Kremstal Ried Steiner Schreck 2021, which Stuart opined “is a masterpiece of delicacy and also really delicious.”

A DELICIOUS CORNER OF CHINA

In Beijing, senior editor Zekun Shuai continued to explore Chinese wines and was deeply impressed by some standout bottles from two producers in Yunnan and Ningxia.

In the northwestern corner of Yunnan province, near the Tibetan border, the Xiao Ling winery produces perfumed, acid-driven cabernet sauvignon and merlots from elevated vineyards between 2,000 to 2,400 meters in altitude, sourcing grapes from more than eight villages. The best of these grapes go into Xiao Ling’s cabernet-merlot Grand Vin blend, according to winemaker Feng Jian.

It is the grapes from the southern villages, where the climate is much cooler and wetter than in the warmer and drier northern villages, that give the blend its ethereal pinot character, full of perfume, mouthwatering succulence and berry fruit. “Sometimes, it rains 900-1000mm a year in the south, and the grapes are very different and develop thinner skins,” Feng said in explaining the Burgundy-like character of the wines. “The biggest difference is the land. If you make wines from that part [of the grape], you will have a more delicate wine.”

The respected French winemaker Sylvain Pitiot, the former technical director and general manager of Clos de Tart, acts as a consultant for the winery, which also might explain the Burgundy influence.

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF CHINA 2021

The Xiao Ling Cizhong霄岭2019 and Xiao Ling Cizhong 霄岭2020 are remarkably consistent in quality after the dry and warm 2018 vintage. 2019 was a “scorching” year, according to Feng, and the wine delivers more depth, verticality and structure but is still fresh and juicy. The 2020 is crunchier and more succulent, despite the heavy rainfall that year. It’s also incredibly expressive, textured and drinkable, showing superb linearity and freshness.

Xiao Ling also makes a rare Baco noir that puts its own spin on Beaujolais-like freshness and drinkability. The hybrid variety, which is also known as “French Wild,” is thought to have been brought to the region by French missionaries. The rosé wine Feng makes from the grape is almost like a serious ramato but with softer tannins.

Ningxia also delivered some exciting wines, the top one being an orange wine made from viognier – the Domaine Charme Viognier Ningxia Orange Wine 夏木维欧尼橙酒. This is an eye-opening Ningxia viognier that went through 40 days of skin contact and was then aged in a used 500-liter cask. It is a beautiful orange wine, delivering a scented, tropical nose and well-structured palate that is dry and fresh with a creamy texture. It is the debut vintage of this fascinating offering from Domaine Charme, but with just one puncheon made the price could also be other-worldly.

– Claire Nesbitt, Associate Editor; Stuart Pigott, Senior Editor; Zekun Shuai, Senior Editor

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.