Maximin Grunhaus Pinot Noir 2017
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Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine
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The 2017 Maximin Grunhauser Pinot Noir is presented in a rich ruby red. The bouquet is dominated by red cherry fruit, rose hip, some red cassis and subtle roasted aromas. This is accompanied by fine herb aromas and white pepper. Juicy on the palate, with a lot of pressure and freshness. Fine balance between extract, tannin and acid. The long-lasting finale is characterized by pithy slate flavor.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Beautiful combination of ripeness and freshness here, the aromas ranging from rose petals to black raspberries to blueberries. Fine-grained and silky with brightness, but also a pretty tannin backbone.
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Wine Spectator
A silky, elegant red, with good intensity to the dark cherry, red currant and rose hip flavors, filled with attractive herbal elements that add complexity. Quite vibrant, featuring soft tannins and a long, spice-infused finish. Drink now through 2029.
Other Vintages
2020-
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine
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Suckling
James
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Following the Mosel River as it slithers and weaves dramatically through the Eifel Mountains in Germany’s far west, the Mosel wine region is considered by many as the source of the world’s finest and longest-lived Rieslings.
Mosel’s unique and unsurpassed combination of geography, geology and climate all combine together to make this true. Many of the Mosel’s best vineyard sites are on the steep south or southwest facing slopes, where vines receive up to ten times more sunlight, a very desirable condition in this cold climate region. Given how many twists and turns the Mosel River makes, it is not had to find a vineyard with this exposure. In fact, the Mosel’s breathtakingly steep slopes of rocky, slate-based soils straddle the riverbanks along its entire length. These rocky slate soils, as well as the river, retain and reflect heat back to the vineyards, a phenomenon that aids in the complete ripening of its grapes.
Riesling is by far the most important and prestigious grape of the Mosel, grown on approximately 60% of the region’s vineyard land—typically on the desirable sites that provide the best combination of sunlight, soil type and altitude. The best Mosel Rieslings—dry or sweet—express marked acidity, low alcohol, great purity and intensity with aromas and flavors of wet slate, citrus and stone fruit. With age, the wine’s color will become more golden and pleasing aromas of honey, dried apricot and sometimes petrol develop.
Other varieties planted in the Mosel include Müller-Thurgau, Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), all performing quite well here.