Weekly Tasting Report (Sep 21-27, 2020): Almost 300 Wines Rated

We were thrilled to host some Italian tastings in Hong Kong this past week, while at the same time continuing to add nearly 300 wines to our tastings database. James has been delving into many more Spanish submissions including the wines of esteemed producers like Vega Sicilia, Artadi and Pingus who all feature in our highlights. Meanwhile in Australia I am tasting my way through some of Victoria’s best wines and two producers from the cool-climate Macedon Ranges have hit our highlights reel among others this week.

The multi-vintage Vega Sicilia Ribera del Duero Reserva Especial Unico NV (98 points) is an extraordinary wine and this glorious edition, a blend of 2009, 2010 and 2011, is a showcase of exceptional tannin curation. There is an abundance of "blackberry, chocolate, toasted-oak, cedar and hazelnut” and flavors are “driven and deep.” This is majestic, complex Ribera at the beginning of a long road of great drinking.

Also from Vega Sicilia, their Ribera del Duero Unico 2011 (98 points) shows a “sort of decadent” style with "plum, spice and dried-flower aromas, as well as chocolate, fresh flowers and sandalwood … coffee and hints of meat.” It is highly complex, a full-bodied red with “round, creamy tannins and an intense, juicy feel” that will please now and also age well.

Peter Sisseck’s Dominio de Pingus Ribera del Duero Pingus 2018 (97 points) is a very refined young Ribera that is “very perfumed and aromatic with blackberry, cherry, blueberry and fresh flowers, such as violets.” The palate here is also full-bodied and James singled out the way in which this wine delivers long flavors with refinement and focus. It is recommended to rest this for a couple of years too.

The 2017 vintage wines of Artadi have showed well with many highly rated wines this week. The Artadi Alava La Poza de Ballesteros 2017 (97 points) is a “very complex red with crushed berries, bark, stone and flint on the nose” and has a powerful, full-bodied palate that delivers “firm, fine tannins that run the length of the wine.” Also rest this until 2023 or later.

Artadi’s Alava Quintanilla 2017 (97 points) fuses a fragrant nose with “aromas of fresh berries and flowers, such as lavender and violets” with a full-bodied palate that is “beautifully poised and polished.” The Artadi Alava San Lazaro 2017 (97 points) is similarly very aromatic “with glorious crushed-berry and floral character” and offers a full-bodied palate with “wonderful depth and layers of fruit and soft, ripe tannins.” Also look to the Artadi Alava Valdegines 2017 and Artadi Alava El Carretil 2017, both rated 96 points this week.

I tasted a number of wines from Cullen in Australia’s Margaret River region and they rated consistently well across a range of styles and price points. The star is the Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River Vanya 2016 (97 points), the top red wine made at Cullen and a “very refined and harmonious” expression of cabernet sauvignon. Finely detailed and complex, the “finely stitched tannin texture” of this “elegant and flavorful” cabernet is impressive.

Across the other side of Australia to the Macedon Ranges and the Bindi Pinot Noir Macedon Ranges Original Vineyard 2019 (98 points) is an extraordinary expression of the estate’s oldest vines. This wine is filled with intense, ripe pinot fruit and delivered in an irresistibly complete and deeply complex style. The palate is incredibly silky and has “a fluid texture with seamless delivery of ripe red and dark-cherry flavor in supple and silky mode.”

The Bindi Pinot Noir Macedon Ranges Block 5 2019 (98 points) is quite apposite with a vastly more detailed and lacy style that is atypical for this wine. It offers elegant floral aromas and the fruits sit in the orange zest, blood orange and young red cherry zone. Supple and seamless tannins hold it all neatly in check and I recommend resting this for a few years to allow it to fill out. This is a great Block 5.

And the Bindi Chardonnay Macedon Ranges Quartz 2019 (97 points) has such alluringly rich fruit combined with such long, focused and mineral structure on the palate. This is great chardonnay with “fresh and intense aromas of lemons, peaches, hazelnuts and white florals” leading to a palate that has an impressively “pristine, long and powerful finish with great focus.”

The best releases to date from Macedon’s Curly Flat Vineyard feature here. The Curly Flat Pinot Noir Macedon Ranges 2018 (97 points) is something of a watershed for this producer with new winemaker Matt Harrop elevating quality to a new level. This wine has such well-assembled complexity, well-guarded purity and the kind of bright, vibrant tannin that is rarely seen outside Burgundy. There’s a lot of energy and rich red and dark-cherry fruit framed in “crisply defined tannins that carry long and refreshed into the finish with assertive acidity.” There’s so much packed into his wine, it will really benefit from a little more time to settle into stride.

A few other Curly Flat wines are worthy of a mention this week, all rated 96 points in my tastings. There’s an ethereal and fragrant Curly Flat Pinot Noir Macedon Ranges Western 2018, a more muscular and structured Curly Flat Pinot Noir Macedon Ranges Central 2018 and the complex yet resolved Curly Flat Chardonnay Macedon Ranges 2018.

And what better way to wrap up our highlights than with a great Sauternes. The Château d'Yquem Sauternes 2018 (97 points) is an extremely polished and refined d’Yquem with “lightly cooked peaches and mangos and an overlay of vanilla and cream with some lemon meringue.” But it is the striking nature of its texture that really thrilled James, which he describes as “creamy and so fine … so clean and refined .. vivid and clean as crystal” with a very long finish. “Elegance with stature” is the final word here.

This week we found a collection of great wines from the cellars of esteemed producers in many parts of the wine world. We hope you are inspired reading about them in our weekly wrap of tasting highlights.

Enjoy and stay safe.

- Nick Stock, executive editor