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Chardonnay ‘Alte Reben’, Weingut Bernhard Huber, Baden, Germany 2023
Chardonnay ‘Alte Reben’, Weingut Bernhard Huber, Baden, Germany 2023
Quite simply one of the finest Chardonnays we have ever drunk. Not tasted. Drunk. There was no way that we were only going to take a tiny sample amount and spit it out. The bottle was coming home with us. We would put this on a qualitative pedestal alongside those magnificent single vineyard ‘Premier Cru’ Puligny-Montrachets from Domaine Leflaive, reminding us especially of ‘Les Folatieres’, with its incisive limestone bite. It’s not dominated by ‘struck match’, reduction, it’s more subtle and nuanced than that. It’s an extraordinary confluence of flavours from the geology cabinet (flint, limestone, quartz,) to the fruit orchard (nectarine, lime, grapefruit, yuzu), but what really marks it out as exceptional is the way those elements interact with such familiarity and ease without talking over each other. Without doubt, one of our desert island white wines. Fermented in 40% new oak. Natural fermentation, 22 months on the lees. 12.5% alc. Drink now-2037.
Press reviews:
The Wine Advocate: “The zinc-yellow 2023 Chardonnay Alte Reben opens with a deep, warm, intense yet detailed and calcareous nose of ripe lemon fruits intermingled with flint stone and leafy nuances. Full-bodied, very elegant and remarkably refined as well as mineral on the palate, this is a dense, fresh, very complex and vital, lemon-scented and nervously mineral or calcareous Chardonnay with mouth-tickling grip and delicate tension. Drink now-2039.“ 94 points
Jancis Robinson MW: “Rich yet savoury with real mineral undertow. Just not too austere! Long. Drink now-2032.” 16.5+ points
Decanter (previous vintage): "Slight reduction on the nose, but great fruit concentration. Classy with fabulous fruit. Long and fine. Multifaceted and well-defined on the palate. Generous apple and lime fruit. Subtle use of oak supports the complexity. A steelier, food-friendly style - bring on a fine trout grilled with potato salad." 96 points and Top Score in their panel tasting of German Whites
Customer comments (including previous vintage):
“Just wanted to let you both know we tried the Alte Reben Chardonnay and it got great reviews from everyone! We had it with a Berry Bros white burgundy at a similar price range and it wiped the floor with it. Another great find from you both.” - Mr A.D.
“Quite remarkable. Brilliant, but I expect nothing less.” - Mr L.E.
“Better integrated, more complex and downright more delicious than yesterday’s Meursault and top Californian Chardonnay. Nothing out of place. If this was in Burgundy, it would be three times the price.” - Mr I.S.
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Other wines from the same producer…
“A truly heavenly Chardonnay.” - The Australian Wine Companion, 97 points
“So good. Again!” - The Wine Advocate, 96 points
The Rocket Chardonnay has burst onto the scene (ha! ha! like a rocket, geddit?! brilliant!) since its launch (ha! ha! like a rocket, geddit?! brilliant!) in 2017. It has already become a cult wine without even trying (actually... trying to become a cult wine instantly disqualifies you from becoming one). The aromas lift off (ha! ha! like a rocket, geddit! brilliant!), displaying all manner of ineffable loveliness, best described as a continental breakfast trolley tumbling down the side of a volcano, so there’s lime marmalade, toast, warm viennoiserie, pumice stone, struck match, flint and half a grapefruit. 13.5% alc. Drink now-2032.
Press reviews:
The Australian Wine Companion: “The back label confides 'Made on earth by humans.' It is a truly heavenly Chardonnay, with impeccable balance and mouthfeel, attributes it will retain as it matures in bottle. The fruit has the whip hand, not the oak.“ 97 points
The Wine Advocate: "The 2022 Limited Release The Rocket Chardonnay is a more open-weave, raw, powerful rendition of Chardonnay than the sleek Tilbury, tasted alongside. This has crushed curry leaf in profusion, sugared pink grapefruit, apple pie, layers of preserved lemon and even a hint of loquat. There is an all-consuming galaxy of flavour and texture here. Some roasted almonds and crushed shells close the palate. So good. Again! Drink now-2035." 96 points
Decanter (previous vintage): “It’s lean, sprightly and immediately delicious. The racy front palate has fresh lemon zing and a smart savoury drawstring around the waist. Complexity unfurls as flavours gently roll without ever intruding on the lightness and bounce of the palate. It’s cleverly understated, yet highly sophisticated; a lively dancer that’s great fun to be with.” 98 points
“The ‘La Combe Verte’ punches well above its price.” - Vinous
The Walter Scott ‘La Combe Verte’ Chardonnay 2022 is a stunning wine by any measure - well, not any measure, I mean a tape-measure would be useless, as would a speedometer, but can we move along please, I have a lot to say and I don’t have time for any more of your petty interruptions. All of the wines that it pays homage to with its flinty, matchstick aromas and its insanely complex palate (Coche-Dury, Le Moine, Colin-Morey, Leflaive, Arnaud Ente), are no longer affordable to mere mortals like us, so this is exactly the sort of discovery that you demand of us and rightly so! There may come a time when the name, Walter Scott, will appear between those brackets too, but for now it is an estate that has only just set foot on the travellator and begun gliding serenely past its peers. The Wine Advocate’s reviews for the new Walter Scott releases have just been published and all 15 wines sit within a bracket of 93 to 99 points, a notable rise on previous years, so it’s not just our view that this is a domaine going places fast.
The ‘La Combe Verte’ 2022 is a truly world-class Chardonnay, which you can confidently take to a dinner party in the safe knowledge that it will be the wine of the night, no matter what your friends bring along. And if it isn’t, then may we politely suggest that you don’t change your wine merchant, you change your friends!
I know that £39.50 is a bit of reach for a lot of people at the moment, but if you are going to splash out on the word of a wine merchant, I want to make sure you get what you pay for and I think this could sit in the company of any fine white Burgundy or new world Chardonnay at twice the price.
Organically farmed/ biodynamically farmed
Press review:
The Wine Advocate: “Fruit for the 2022 Chardonnay La Combe Verte comes from five premier vineyards in the Willamette Valley planted on both volcanic and marine sedimentary soils: Freedom Hill, Hyland, Koosah, Sojeau and Witness Tree. It was blended with 2% Aligoté and matured for eight months in 25% new French oak before finishing with two months in stainless steel. It offers integrated tones of matchstick and flint that complement a core of quince paste, peach preserves, meringue, beeswax and cashews. The light-bodied palate is seamless and shimmery, pairing concentrated, honeyed fruit with linear acidity that results in a weightless feel and an ethereal finish. Drink now-2035.“ 93 points
Decanter: “La Combe Verte Chardonnay offers a laser-focused minerality, smoky flint, grilled pineapple, and ocean breeze salinity. The palate is a melange of tangy citrus and concentrated fruits—flavours of grilled lemon peel, petrichor, zingy lime pith, and passionfruit. Drink now-2031.” 94 points
Vinous: “A burst of savoury reduction slowly blows off the 2022 Chardonnay La Combe Verte to reveal a deeply seductive blend of wildflowers and sage, giving way to nectarines and candied ginger. This is surprisingly weighty in feel, communicating a level of prominence balanced by a core of juicy acidity. Flinty minerality adds depth to its core of ripe pears and green melon. The 2022 leaves a pretty inner sweetness while cleaning up remarkably well with traces of candied lime that linger. The La Combe Verte punches well above its price. Drink now-2027.” 92 points
Customer comments:
“Very stylish and restrained!” - Mr A.W.