| Score: |
. LF.
"The 2015 blew me away and was the first "great" Kastanienbusch Pinot Noir Sven made. It showed the Grand Cru pedigree of the vineyard in one of the greatest vintages for German red wine in a generation . . . . For my Burg heads out there, which is a lot of you now, as many of you have been priced out of Burgundy, the 2015 is like a blend of 2010/2015 Burgundy. The nose will blow you away instantly. It's just a ridiculous silly perfume of Pinot. Earthy and mineral with the deepest most vivid mid season cherry fruit you can imagine. There is also a gamey Gevrey-type quality as well. Really compelling. Even a hint of citrus that complicates things. It's got bramble with that aforementioned mid season cherry fruit, loads of spice and mineral. After some major air gorgeous detailed raspberry and strawberry. Almost a Nebbiolo-like vibe. Stunning clarity to the nose. Just sick. Even the most jaded wine drinker will rejoice at the aromatic depth and complexity here. Only Pinot can do this. Magic. Just magic. You all know exactly that thing that German Pinot does like Liason and Juwel this wine does that aromatically but on a more grandiose level because of the great Kastanienbusch terroir. That Grand Cru terroir I think separates this wine from the pack. 2016 really is a terroir vintage as well. Super transparent. The palate is gorgeous. Deep with just stunning sweetness and the most velvety ripe tannins and such almost 4 dimensional texture. It is so so juicy and there is incredibly vivid tight, ripe, crunchy sweet fruit. Man that sweetness and perfectly judged ripeness that is balanced by striking acidity. It's so aristocratic. There is tiny mid season cherry fruit intensity that is off the charts. Like only the best cherries from the largest bowl of cherries you can imagine. The palate has beautiful and exquisite fruit that is so polished and so refined yet also crackles and crunches. Really fine just amazing sweet and ripe tannins. Beautiful sappy dark and sweet red cherry fruits extend on the finish with amazing florality. A sweet tartness with terrific freshness and wonderful acidity. Awesome.This is really great. This is like Chambolle meets Gevrey and it also harkens back to various much more expensive versions by Hansjorg Rebholz. The Chambolle part is the aching beauty and finesse of it and the Gevrey is the flavor profile which is meaty and gamey just like good Gevrey can be. This tells me that Kastanienbusch creates Gevrey like wines as both producers (Klundt and Rebholz) make Kastanienbusch Pinot Noirs and both have a specific gamey/meaty quality. But the difference is you gotta wait 10 years to drink Rebholz. The structure is heavenly and this will age on the fruit and balance alone as the tannins are so ripe, defined and perfectly integrated with the fruit this will drink exceptionally well in its youth, age for 10-12 years and NEVER shut down. I'm happy for Sven I'm that he has truly arrived and is now a true double threat with Pinot and Riesling (and Silvaner Eiswein and killer Weissburgnder as well)." Lyle Fass, Rockssandfruit.Blogspot.com, Mar 2019 |