Impressive tasting that confirmed why First Growths are the First Growths. Super solid and tremendously good condition wines from the 19th century! Not the best wine of the tasting, but the true starfor me was Moët & Chandon Vin de Sillery 1807 – what a champagne!!!  

An exciting tasting weekend in Finland has been a journey through time. Wines ranging from the 18th century till nowadays guaranteed an impressing tasting experience. 

The 100-tasting 1727-1949 / Day I with wines like Mouton 1899, Cheval Blanc 1929, Moet 1807, Apostolwein 1727, Palmer 1884, Margaux 1884, Krug 1929, Roederer 1915, Mumm 1893 etc.

The La Tâche was the palest of all the DRC 2017s, almost to the point of transparency. This is a floral, open knit expression of the monopoly Grand Cru, which is very far from being a blockbuster this year. Scented and appealing, with notes of avatar of roses, fresh leather and peat smoke on the nose, lots of whole bunch spice and structure, racy acidity, a hint of salinity, succulent red berry fruit and remarkable palate length. A layered, understated red.

BWW2023 Finals -part II with wines like Keller G-Max, Dominus, Ao Yun, Burlotto, Gaja, Guigal etc.

QUINTA DO NOVAL VINTAGE PORT NACIONAL 1963 – This is the Vintage Port which most people would like to take to their lonely island. High-scores everywhere and so much life ahead that it almost frightens you: The colour is easily 10-20 years younger of what you would expect. Deep, dark-red colour with lots of reflections. Perfectly balanced bouquet with finesse and intensity. Long and multi-layered aftertaste. Tasted last year at the Quinta. Port-Heaven! 100

BWW2023 - Best Wine of the World-competition Day III / One more day to go before the we know the winners!

K Vintners The Creator 2019 / "Absolutely Cabernet Sauvignon in style but co-fermented with Syrah to give seamless balance. Black currant, cedar box, fresh tobacco, and pencil lead. So much finesse and length. Blackberry, fire ash, and a mineral palate that keeps on saying ‘The Creator!’"

Vineyard
Powerline Estate Vineyard (100%) 

Charles planted the 38-acre estate vineyard in the heart of the Walla Walla Valley, located over 1200 feet in elevation. The soils are well-drained with cobblestone river rocks and underlying layers of sand and gravel deposits, allowing vines to develop very deep and strong roots. The deep sand and silt below the stones bring a great purity to the grapes, while high elevations keep acids high, producing very well-balanced wines with remarkable complex characters. 

Vintage Notes
The 2019 vintage was on the cooler side as it started slow with a later-than-usual bud break and continued on to be fairly moderate throughout the year. Some vineyards had issues with an October freeze a bit earlier than usual, but our high-elevation vineyards have great air drainage which allows us to extend the growing season late into October without freeze. This yielded fantastic ripening and some awesome wines with incredible balance and character. Overall, we are excited about the wine produced in 2019, which has brought us more finesse, incredible flavors, and lovely balance.

Giacomo Conterno Barolo Monfortino Riserva 2019/ The quality of the tannins is so impressive in this wine, even though it’s a tannic year. Medium to full body. Lovely complexity and length. Barrel sample. Bottled next year and released in 2025. 99-100p

2020 Dr. Thanisch Erben Müller-Burggraef Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling GG / Pale lemon yellow. Apples, roses, nuanced, detailed, nuanced nose. Fresh acidity, apples, lemons, nuanced, linear, elegant fruit, body and texture, long. 92

Graham's The Master Single Harvest Tawny 1950 – This Tawny is from a cooler vintage, with the fruit largely sourced from Graham’s legendary Quinta dos Malvedos. What a stunning Tawny this is! The age is immediately apparent in the color, burnt orange with green tinges around the edge. An ancient fortified, not dissimilar to some of the old gems from Rutherglen.

Wonderful elegance, there is a gentle sweetness here. Mocha, coffee bean, cigar box, orange peel, walnuts, fudge, chocolate, spices, and stone fruit. This is concentrated and complex and yet it dances. Incredibly intense, deliriously supple palate, extraordinary length, and it finishes with that amazing peacock’s tail with the explosion of flavors. A great fortified. 98.

Three sources are seen as very important for the development of botrytis: Lake Neusiedel is the largest by far. In addition, smaller lakes in the region also play an important role. The meadows of the National Park, which are a natural water reservoir, seemed to play a less important role. However, the very dry conditions in 2020 brought the water level of Lake Neusiedel down, dried up the small lakes of the region, but the natural water reservoir of the meadows had a very positive impact on botrytis. The harvest of the botrytised grapes started on October 11th and ended on December 21st.