Germany

Beyond Bordeaux – The 2025 Global Fine Wine Offering from La Place de Bordeaux…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

For the past few years, Bordeaux negociants have been supplementing their wine businesses by offering their distribution expertise acquired globally over many decades, to distribute alternative premium fine wines from around the world. CVBG have been one of the largest proponents of the “Beyond Bordeaux” wine category and accordingly, host an impressive fine wine tasting for the trade in London annually. Below are a selection of my scores from the 2025 offerings.

The impressive tasting of Beyond Bordeaux hosted in London by Negociant CVBG Dourthe.

Massetino 2023, IGT Toscana, 15% Abv.

Plush, exotic and lifted with aromatics of cherry kirsch liquor, cassis, sour plum and subtle brûléed vanilla nuances. Super sleek polished texture showing overt stony mineral tannins with a picante, grippy extract on the finish. Plenty of tension belies the 15% alcohol.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Marchesi Antinori Solaia 2022, IGT Toscana, 13.5% Abv.

Deep dark broody aromatics full of macerated black berries, damson plum and black cherry compote with a dusting of brûléed vanilla pod spice. Fleshy and silky soft, fulsome but also very characterful with a classical weightless concentration and elegance. A very polished expression.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Marques de Riscal Tapias 2022, Rioja DOC, 15% Abv.

Shows dense layers of black berry, damson plum and ripe wild strawberry. Ripe tight core with muscle but also precision. The oak is still dominant now but should integrate further and age gracefully.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

F. ALGUEIRA Dolio 2021, Ribera Sacra, 13% Abv.

Layered aromatics with dark bramble berry fruits, a graphite dusting, crushed stones and a hint of smoky reduction. Sleek and precise with a savoury plummy sweet – sour ripeness neatly tucked between bright linear acids and fine chalky tannins.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Cheval Blanc Petit Cheval Bordeaux Blanc 2023, 13.5% Abv.

A 73% Sauvignon Blanc and 17% Semillon blend, this new release shows a juicy opulent crystalline aromatics full of vibrant yellow grapefruit citrus, fresh fennel, ripe gooseberries and lemon grass spice. Deliciously full with a harmonious texture that’s mouth coating, almost creamy, finishing with a delicious purity and clarity. Superb. 

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Cheval des Andes 2022, Mendoza, 14% Abv.

Cool integrated perfumed aromatics offering a classy balance and purity of blueberry, cassis and damson plum. Beautifully fine grained displaying a polished texture. A true class act with superb balance.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Errazuriz Sena 2023, Valle de Aconcagua, 13.5% Abv.

Beautifully aromatic perfumed fragrance of violets, white blossom and hints of saline cassis, black cherry and ripe blueberries. Seamless and silky, but also delightfully vibrant and fresh with a piercing black fruit concentration while remaining classically light on its feet. Very classy expression.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Appassionata Pinot Noir 2014, Chehalem Mountains AVA, Oregon, 13% Abv.

Enticingly fresh aromatics with delightful tertiary hints of freshly brewed tea and sous bois, bold orange and pomegranate nuances. Sleek, soft and very pure, this balances savoury red berry fruits and a bramble berry intensity with citrus, orange vermouth spices and blood orange notes on a very sleek polished finish. Wow. Impressive.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Tasting with Ernie Loosen.

Dr Loosen Wines:

From 130 year old seven hectare plots of Riesling from Ernie Loosen’s Great Grandfather (out of a total 40 hectares in Wehlener Sonnenuhr) Being the 2nd biggest holdings after JJ Prum. 

Riesling Dry 2019, 12.5% – 95+/100

Riesling Kabinett 2019, 9.5% – 97/100

Riesling Auslese 2019, 9.5% – 98/100

 

L’Aventure Optimus 2022 Red Blend – 95/100

L’Aventure Cote A Cote 2022 – 95+/100

L’Aventure Estate Reserve 2022 – 97+/100

Verite La Muse 2022, Sonoma County, 14.5% Abv.

Mostly Merlot, wood spice, black berry, plum pip, with smoky graphite and crushed gravel. Super sleek and polished, seamless, showing sappy leafy black fruits, cedar spice, black tea and a spicy grippy finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Verite La Joie 2022, Sonoma County, 14.5% Abv.

Tightly packed with cedar, spice, chai tea, graphite and real mineral presence. Fruits are dark, taut and full of tension, acids are crisp but with a marble like polish. Tight, classical and serious.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Verite Le Desir 2022, Sonoma County, 14.5% Abv.

Tight dark and broody, this is a classy, tight black fruited expression, offering up hints of aromatic complexity. Red berries, sweet cedar and red currant fruits with a lurking leafy, red cherry intensity. Sublime balance and harmony.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Cardinale Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

Beautiful blend of Cabernet vineyards from Spring Mountain with 3% Merlot for extra interest. Delicious black currant, black forest gateau, plums and blueberry compote. Lovely balance with impressive balance and fleshy generosity.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Inglenook Blancaneaux 2023, Napa Valley, 13.7% Abv.

40% Viognier with Roussanne and Marsanne. Lovely cool precision, stony minerality with smoky flinty reduction, spice and dried herbs. Mouth coating, intense but good freshness.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, Napa Valley, 14.1% Abv.

Small warmer vintage with slightly higher yields than 2021, showing blue and black berries, cassis, dried herbs and sweet cedar spice. A harmonious palate showing restraint with intensity and concentration, silky balance and a blueberry, black currant finish. Classical but impressive intensity.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Inglenook Rubicon 2022, 14.3% Abv.

85% Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot – Sweet herbs, sappy cedar, saline black currant, with black and blueberry, liquorice and creamy, graphite tannins. Full, powerful, incredibly complete.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, Coonawarra, 13.5% Abv. 

Quite an ethereal, musky, dusty Cabernet aromatics with blueberry, cassies, black cherry and black berry rock candy. Sublime balance, silky soft tannins with a creamy velvety mouthfeel, tangy acids and a salty black berry fruited finish. The oak is almost imperceptible. Very classy.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay 2023, 12.5% Abv.

Lovely lemon and lime intensity spiced up by a complexing, well judged smoky reduction. Crisp, crystalline, deliciously lean. This is a truly delicious, grown up fine wine Chardonnay.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2022, 14.5% Abv.

Restrained subdued aromatics, with hints of liquorice, blue and black berry and a spicy, granitic, mineral grippy finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Penfolds RWT Bin 789 Barossa Shiraz 2023, 14.5% Abv. 

Sweet and exotic aromatics full of  black berry, hoisin plum sauce, sweet Christmas spices and a smoky savoury depth with very dry, mineral grippy tannins. Very serious.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Penfolds Bin 169 Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% Abv.

Subtle aromatics of black berry, dried mint leaf, chocolate peppermint crisp and sweet dried herbs. Full and creamy, powdery chalky tannins, a cool tangy acidity and a long, focused finish. Very precise.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, 14.5% Abv.

Sweeter black fruits, mulberry and damson plum, over tilled earth, graphite and chai tea. Dense, complex and textural, pinpoint, focused and tight grained. Dusty chalky tannins, liquid minerals and a picante, pithy finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Penfolds Grange 2021, 14.5% Abv.

Beautiful aromatics of incense, plum sauce, black cherry, and sweet Christmas spices with a kiss of salty black liquorice. Full in the mouth with a textured, grippy tannin frame, plenty of chalky minerality and an unctuous, fleshy, grippy finish. Plenty of premium winemaking on display here.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Cloudburst Chardonnay 2023, Margaret River

Fabulous lemon lime intensity with an intricate smoky reductive vein. Wet stones, lemon grass and fabulous depth. Cool classy and restrained, this is top drawer cool climate Chardonnay.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Cloudburst Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, Margaret River

A vibrant, distinctive terroir driven expression that oozes terroir… wet stone minerality, tea leaf, graphite, black currant leaf, tobacco and kelp. Deliciously maritime, saline and focused with amazing energy and inner character. Wow!

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Yalumba Florita Riesling 2015, Clare Valley, 12.3% Abv.

Lemon cordial, lime confit, white flowers and hints of butter, ginger and passion fruit crunch. Dry, pristine, very classy!

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Jim Barry The Armagh 2022, Clare Valley, 14% Abv.

An incredibly fragrant aromatics, fully perfumed with rose petal, incense, rose hip, tangerine peel, pink musk, talc, red peppercorns and vibrant red berry fruits. Incredibly cool sleek and silky, this is Armagh elegance at the next level. Fabulous purity, weightless concentration and spectacular elegance. Wow!

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Yalumba The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz 2020, Barossa Valley, 14.5% Abv.

Dark broody black and blue berry fruits, beautifully complex, integrated aromatics of black currant, liquorice and salted caramel. Incredibly harmonious and balanced, this is a sublime Barossa expression.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Fine Wine Safari New Release Tasting Notes – Donnhoff Riesling QbA 2019…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

While we are enduring this mad Covid-19 straightjacket, I have decided to release a few more of my new release tasting scores as individual snap shot wine posts. I get to taste so many incredible wines every day that I felt I need to share some of these experiences with readers within a more limited contextual setting.

In this vein, I caught up with Cornelius Donnhoff earlier this week for an incredible zoom tasting of a fantastic range of his wines but one white which really caught my eye, and generally tends to every year, was the Donnhoff Riesling QbA 2019 from the Nahe. Incredible quality and value for money, this is the ULTIMATE aperitif Riesling. One bottle will not even touch sides! But actually, watch out for all the new 2019 Donnhoff Rieslings that will start hitting the shelves of all good indie retailers from June-July onwards.

Donnhoff Estate Riesling 2019 QbA, Nahe, 10% Abv.

Fabulously pure fruited and crystalline, the 2019 vintage produced some deliciously fresh and energetic Rieslings combining excellent phenolic ripeness with vibrant balancing acids in an almost ‘Feinherb’ off-dry style. The nose reveals stony volcanic mineral notes from Donnhoff’s vineyards in Oberhausen’s southeast-facing sites of Kieselberg and Felsenberg which brim with backing aromatics of green apple bon bons, white peaches and fleshy yellow grapefruit citrus. Always bright, crystalline and slightly salty, this is one of the most phenomenal value for money quality Rieslings in the entire Donnhoff range and in 2019, it is once again a totally thrilling wine with concentration, balance and intensity. Fill your boots!!

(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Available in the UK from importer ABS.

Donnhoff’s Niederhauser Hermanshohle Spatlese Impresses Even in a ‘Lesser’ Vintage…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

With a reputation going back to the 19th century, this vineyard site was even one of the most highly taxed back in 1901, with its quality accruing a 1500 silver groschen tax compared to neighbouring vineyards on a 15 silver groschen rate. Thought to be named after the Roman god Hermes, the protector of travellers and messengers, and the Hohle or cave on the slope, this 8.55 hectare vineyard is based on grey slate and sand stone soils on a 30-45 degree gradient at 130 to 175m altitude.

When the 2012 Rieslings were released, they were considered by producers and the trade as slightly boring, uneventful, safe wines. Very little acid verve, unique character or electricity. But tasting this wine 6 years later reveals quite a self assured expression with some early development but plenty of delicious complexity. If you have them in your cellar, there’s no rush but they should be fairly interesting to drink now.

Niederhauser Hermanshohle Riesling Spatlese 2012, Nahe, Germany, 8.5 Abv.

Medium straw yellow, on the nose the lift and complexity shows allure and intrigue. Massive density and intensity, there are complex notes of white flowers, gardenia, kerosene rag, lemon marmalade, white peach and waxy yellow lemon peel. As a Spatlese, the wine shows richness and textural palate weight but not overt sweetness. There are delicious notes of soft honied peaches, lemon confit, apple purée, creamy resinous lemon rind and smokey honey on toast. An attractive wine drinking well now but will probably peak in 2 to 3 years time, and drink well over another 5 to 8+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Jewel of the Pfalz ~ Tasting Reichsrat von Buhl’s Stunning New Release 2015 Pinot Noir…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Reichsrat von Buhl has been a family-owned winery for more than 150 years, and has belonged to the circle of the most prestigious wineries in Germany for just as long. Since it was founded in 1849, Reichsrat von Buhl has made its wines in a terroir-dominated style, focusing on using the best vineyard sites around Deidesheim and Forst.

Reichsrat von Buhl is also certified organic, and is an active ambassador of both natural, sustainable viticulture. Since 2013, it has been led by a new team including managing director Richard Grosche and technical director Mathieu Kauffmann. Long term viticultural manager Werner Sebastian remains responsible for the vineyards.

The 2015 Vintage

The region had already experienced a comparatively dry end-of-year 2014 in the vineyards of the Mittelhaardt. Then slightly above average rainfall in January 2015 brought some relief, but unfortunately was followed by seven straight months of very little rain.

Looking at long term averages, the region should have been experiencing a good 120mm of rainfall during the same period. Plenty of sunshine, warm temperatures and no rain – winegrowers could easily react to this trio of conditions with impatience. Finally, on the 18th of June a much hoped for downpour brought a good 10mm of rain, with subsequent showers on both the 22nd and the 27th of June, each delivering another 10mm of rain. Harvesting commenced on the 31st of August in one of the cleanest, highest quality, disease free vintages in recent memory.

Reichstrat Von Buhl Spatburgunder Trocken 2015, Pfalz, 13 Abv.

Vibrant ruby red colour, the nose of this serious 2015 is deep, broad, aromatically expressive and plush showing plenty of earthy black berry and red currant fruit, strawberry confit and subtle hints of pomegranate and ruby grapefruit citrus. The palate possesses all the seamless rich depth and textural weight of fruit you’d expect from a prestigious vintage like 2015, but impressively, remains quite defined, focused, elegantly balanced and deliciously pure with a subtle mineral lick. The oak is very much a backing melody, supporting fleshy red and black berry fruit concentration and a long, plush, layered raisined cranberry and caramelised red cherry finish. Powdery tannins, sublime harmony and thoroughly seductive. This is what top quality German Pinot Noir is all about. Drink now to 2028+.

(Wine Safari Score: 93+/00 Greg Sherwood MW)

Riesling Does Not Get Much Better Than This ~ Tasting the Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese 2016 with Cornelius Donnhoff…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

One of Germany’s most beautiful river valleys and geologically speaking, the most varied and interesting. The small tranquil River Nahe joins the Rhine at Bingen and all along the valley walls, surrounding the little villages, vineyards adorn the countryside. The vineyards of the Nahe were first classified in 1901 and there are now 4,202 hectares of vines with a ratio of 75% white and 25% red, forming 2.3% of annual German wine production.


The Spring of 2016 started quite gently with pleasant temperatures and stable weather. However the rains arrived in May and continued to plague the vineyards, with the annual rainfall being equalled by late June already, and all at the critical flowering stage. Diligent canopy management was required until the rains finally stopped in July, ushering in a period of more tranquil conditions. The remainder of the summer was dry and bountiful, stretching all the way to the first day of picking on the 4th of October 2016.


Tasting with Cornelius Donnhoff today, he confirmed that they consider their 2016 Rieslings to be of outstanding quality and very comparable in quality with their block buster 2015 whites, across all styles.


Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese 2016, Nahe, 8.5 Abv.

From one of the Nahe’s most incredible vineyards, the 2016 Hermannshohle reflects the rewards for great terroir and another wonderful vintage, showing concentration and fine, intense suave acids. The wine is still in nappies but is already showing the real class of a “Grand Cru” quality vineyard. The nose is vibrant and expressive, showing citrus bon bons, white peaches, citrus blossom, and waxy tangerine peel spice. There are pretty wet slate notes to complement the pristine, crystalline fruits. The palate is rich, luxurious, and long, with incredible drive and intensity and a concentration of green apple pastille, crunchy white peaches, talc, musk, citrus oil and grey slate minerality. Such opulence, refinement and balance. Class personified. Young Riesling Spatlese from the Nahe, or anywhere, does not get much better than this!

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)



 

There’s gold in them there hills…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

A few weeks ago I travelled to Germany with my buddie Jamie Goode from Wineanorak.com to taste the 2015 new releases. Of course we knew the Rieslings would be epic if the vintage was half as good as producers were saying it was.

After almost a week of tasting whites and reds, from pretty much every major region of Germany, the wines that stood out for me were surprisingly the non-Riesling wines.

Don’t get me wrong, the 2015 Rieslings at all quality levels were amazing with many producers calling them the best vintage since 1976.

But I was blown away by the quality of Muller Thurgau, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Sylvaner and Pinot Noir of course. Importantly, they represent such great value!


The Wittmann 100 Hills Pinot Blanc dry 2014 from the Rheinhessen typifies this fresh, 12.5 abv vibrant, smashable style of white that Germany is really excelling in at the moment. A tight, sleek, taught structure packed full of yellow citrus, crunchy pineapples, orange zest and chalky green apple minerality. While so easy to drink, there is nothing frivolous or confected about this wine. The perfect aperitif. (Wine Safari Score: 89/100 Greg Sherwood MW) Only £11.99 per bottle at Oddbins – Sept 2016. Noted as a Biowein.