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During Advent and the holidays, I like to open wines that are outside my usual spectrum of favourites. Because then I have time to get involved with the new discoveries, to discuss them and to try them out on my relatives.
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This year we asked some fellow sommeliers for their wine highlights of the year. For inspiration and variety. As an attempt to break out of our own taste bubble.
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The result is an unexpected selection. It includes grandiose festive wines and wonderfully uncomplicated everyday wines.
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Did you have a favourite wine this year? Just reply to this email. I read and answer all emails personally.
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Thank you very much and have a good pre-Christmas season!
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And now here are the favourites 2021
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«EFor me, there are few wines from the Vernatsch variety that combine as much as Martin Gojer's "Campill" from South Tyrol. The magnificent pergola vines, aged a good 55 years, are rooted deep in the weathered volcanic soil overlooking Bolzano. Due to the long skin contact of six weeks and two years of barrel ageing on the fine lees, the wine acquires a complexity and filigree that is unparalleled among its peers. So graceful, elegant and deeply layered, this Vernatsch could easily pass for a Burgundy! Give it time and air so that it can show its full potential.
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«Benoit Marguet once again manages to bring his idiosyncratic and sophisticated style to this beautifully crafted bottle of Sapience 2011. Vibrant and energetic, with delicate acidity, it embodies an elegant balance between maturity, the brioche and spice notes, and an exceptional depth and minerality.
And if - contrary to expectations - you can't empty the bottle on the first day, Benoit's champagnes always manage to reveal even more potential with air and time.
For me, the 2011 Sapience is clearly a soloist for the very special moments in the year, which I am already looking forward to!»
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«Incredible what Friedrich Keller has created with the second vintage. A purist Pinot Noir from the Kaiserstuhl that comes across as delicate, subtle and filigree and delights with delicate red and blue fruit. Ethereal, spicy and all that in megafein....da is nothing loud, striking - this is great Burgundy cinema from Germany and just screams for Boeuf Bourguignon. A Votre Santè!»
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«E Finally, a Lambrusco winery in our assortment. The first sample follows. Surprise, no aggressive acidity, no too wild nose (stench).
Can this be Lambrusco? Yes, this is Lambrusco at its finest. Juicy, fruity, dancing on the tongue and at the same time elegant and fine.
Pure drinking pleasure. Have fun trying it out.»
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«DThe "small entry" into Claude Riffault's winery offers a lot of grip and tension on the palate. No kitsch, this is how Sauvignon Blanc from the excellent Kimmeridge soils should taste. Herbs, green fruits, paired with a well-integrated acidity. »
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«Afrom Ester's mother's vineyards of nearly 40-year-old vines comes this autochthonous Parellada. With unusually high acidity for this region, Ester brings tension, precision and saltiness - a wine for decades. For the festive season or to put away. »
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«MMy discovery of the year 2021 comes, what a surprise, from Italy! The hinterland of Palermo is the home of Vito Lauria and his likeable family winery, which we picked up just a few weeks ago. I particularly like the 2019 Giardinello Grillo DOC Sicilia bianco BIO, with its yellow-fruited aroma that also recalls chamomile, quince, apple, medicinal herbs, mountain running and wet stones. Once in the mouth, the Grillo takes off with a lot of juice and pressure, presses against the palate and then sweeps towards the throat with real speed. Its astonishingly long aftertaste, its sparsely focused cut and its aromatically long reverberation allow only one verdict: Bockstark!»
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«MMy tip for the coming dark season! A wine that can be enjoyed with drinking flow as a soloist or as a food companion to the classic steak frites or goose!
It is probably the freedom of a new generation of winemakers who have the courage to vinify a Gamay as a terroir wine, from the cru site Moulin-A-Vent.
The result is something to behold! Fine spicy tannins, a fresh stimulating acidity and a red dark berry fruit without being cheesy, touch the gusto and the soul of the connoisseur!»
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Have fun browsing and tasting!
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