The WineBarn – tasting notes

RS 10.6 g/l, TA 6.6 g/l. Macerated for two to three hours on the skins. Ethereally pale pink. A crisp savoury forest-floor and berry nose. Full, broad and dry. Clean, linen-suited, no frills, beautifully tailored. VGV (TC)

12.5%

RS 10.7 g/l. TA 7.1 g/l. A pretty, pretty lime-blossom and apple nose. Even some peach. Fresh, clean, meticulously lean and delicate. No great ageability or scholarly depth but just immediate sparkling fun. GV (TC)

12.5%

50% Pinot Blanc, 50% Pinot Gris (from the south of Germany). RS 2.9 g/l. TA 6.3 g/l. Soft white peach and clotted cream perfume. Creamy, broad and mouthfilling with gorgeous etched acidity. An almondy sweep, floral trace. GV (TC)

12.5%

40% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Blanc and 30% Pinot Gris. RS 4.1 g/l, TA 6.3 g/l. Oak fermentation and three years on the lees. Ample buttery spice, a full creamy mousse, bold and generously proportioned. It reminds me of Eve’s pudding but with a thrilling volt of lemon sherbet. Long. GV (TC)

12.5%

A blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay from 1999, 2004 and 2007 vintages. Lime-blossom scent. Tight and fairly green. Very fresh. Drink young. (TC)

13.5%

Bottled early Dec. A sherbety lemon/pineapple nose. Very young and bone dry. Lovely tingly freshness. I’d like to taste this in a few months time once it’s had time to unfold a little.  (TC) 12.5%

Dusty and chalky with wild-flower perfume and acacia blossom. So so fresh and sparkling minerality. A scalpel blade of acidity – surgical precision here. Herbal edges and just lovely. VGV (TC) 12%

The intensity of the nose is up a little from the Estate bottling. Resonant. Bergamot citrus. Dry with beautiful fine lines, crystalline, filigree silver work. (TC) 12%

Honeysuckle and lilies, perfumed. Gossamer texture, delicately pithy, sweet citrus petals. Essence of apple. Charged with life and vitality. (TC) 13%

A beautiful smoky nose and savoury, almost like lightly toasted sunflower seeds. Intensity on the palate and such still purity – like a white marble monument. Gravity. Tightly packed herbal, honey and grapefruit. Hypnotic length. Mesmerising and lovely. (TC) 13%

Delicate honey-roast nut aroma. Blossoms in the glass. Hard to spit! A crescendo. Spun honey and tarte tatin backlit with shimmering lemon tang. (TC) 8%

Pale gold. A symphony. Thrilling apricot richness, lingering base notes of jasmine tea and millefeuille. Tightly sheathed, voluptuous and molten gold. (TC) 6%

A paean of glorious, unctuous, honeyed fig and golden sultana. Bewitching. Passion fruit and dried apricot. (TC) 7.5%

Quite an odd bathroom-spray florality. Despite that, a wine with brightly alert acidity, and hazelnutty oak. Gumption but could do with a little more fruit. (TC)

50% Pinot Noir and 50% Portugieser. Subtle, unusual nutty perfume, very fresh nose. Then just delicious grapefruit juice – so much tang and tension. A touch of sweetness giving the wine an appealing strawberry fleshiness. Great length. (TC) 11%

Not filtered. Fresh, simple but attractive fruit. (TC) 12.5%

12 months in oak barriques. There is a more ‘grown-up’ nose, with a peppering of oak spice and fresh juicy fruit on the palate. A lick of liquorice. (TC) 13%

This is Friedrich Becker’s favourite vineyard and he is very protective of it, apparently. 40-year-old vines. Immense delicacy and luminosity on the nose. Silk-screen tannins, a caress over beautifully vivid strawberry and cranberry fruit. And then just a smudge of smoky coffee on the finish. Wait a little bit – I think this has a lot to give. (TC) 13%

Magnum. 11-12-year-old vines. A gorgeous celebration of a nose – forest berries and even a hint of gateau. Tough and a little unapproachable right now but stunning fennel and cumin spice. Juicy dense fruit tucked away like a promise. The suggested drink dates are for a standard bottle, not a magnum. (TC) 13%

Rounded marzipan, a touch floral. Good punch with plenty of tang. Tomboyish. (TC) 12%

Volcanic soil, fermented and aged in big 30-year-old casks for eight months. Savoury lemony spice, a lovely pithy middle with cardamom and cinnamon freckles. (TC) 12%

Volcanic soil. One-third oak fermentation. A sweet rounded scent. Lots of body, custard apple and persimmon with oak-spice mellowness. Bold and lengthy. (TC) 13%

Loess soil. Lemon cheesecake! A mouth-watering combination of dense creamy lemon and shortbread, with good concentration and intensity. Very rich fruit base, glowing, integrated, perfectly pitched acidity. (TC)

Volcanic soil, 100% aged and fermented in oak. Mineral and smoky. Much more austere on the nose. Lemongrass. Wonderfully oak-stitched detail, light and shadow, handmade with much care. Great depth. (TC)

Cherry fruit, but the oak a little domineering at the moment leaving the wine feeling tough and surly. Perhaps it’s just a reluctant bottle or my reluctant palate! (TC) 13.5%

The Pinot vines are grown on volcanic bedrock and the yield is quite a bit lower at 30 hl/ha. Very intense fruit underneath some intriguing forest-floor and liquorice notes. Even a nip of fresh chili pepper. Plenty of presence and power and lively fruit but I think this is not quite ready to show all. The tannins are still very much a governing force at this time. (TC)

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Lemberger and 10% Pinot Noir. 18 months in oak. A classic Cab-dominated nose. Some cigar box and dried thyme with a whiff of fennel. Cedary. Pretty tenacious tannins again, lots of peppery fennel-seed oak spice. I’m not sure if the fruit will ever really have the courage to poke its head round the iron bars of those tannins. For those who like austerity. (TC) 13.5%

Clean and fresh like a garden in the early morning – a real breathe-in-deep wine. Lifted, fresh, floral. Light as a feather. It has been deftly made and is such a pleasure for the price. GV (TC) 11.5%

Crème-brûlée touch and the scent of late-harvest apples. Honeyed ginger, quite delicate jasmine tea and a tight candied-peel finish. Definitely off-dry but neat acidity to back it up. GV (TC) 12%

Wet-stone smell, very subtle minerality. Sweet, nippy citrus. And on the palate something almost thai-scented – lime leaf and lemon grass. Bubbling with tang and tingle and just the cheekiest smidgeon of fruit salad. GV (TC) 12%

13%

50% aged in the 1200-litre oak casks. Meursault clones. I have to confess up front that I find it impossible to be objective about this wine. I first tasted it blind about five years ago and fell in love. Apologies for unabashed, unabated enthusiasm. It could, in my opinion, rival many top-class burgundies. The nose is richly honey-roasted butternut and custard tart. It is creamy and beautiful and broad with rich golden-melon and apple fruit and bone-tingling acidity. I would have encouraged you to buy, but I’m hoping to snap them all up for myself. VVGV (TC)

Smells like a crystal bowl full of chopped apple. Fresh and clean and pure. A very pure sweet juice, nuanced with loquat and quince – a real pleasure. (TC) 9.5%

Apple purée. A pure acacia-honey nose. Appealing and creamy, syrupy and a wonderful accompaniment to apple pie. Syrupy, and thick, but could do with just the teeniest teeniest bit more freshness. Or perhaps I am being a demanding diva. (TC)

Fermented in stainless steel and aged for two months in big oak casks. Lissom nose, fluid and the sweet tang of kiwi fruit. Really lovely grip, texture and symmetry. GV (TC) 12.5%

Volcanic soil. RS 0.6 g/l. No malo, no temperature control and 75% wild yeast. Nose is mellow and round, dusty talc, sophisticated, even aloof. Very crunchy crisp lines, Saville-Row tailoring – perfectly cut, not a crease in the wrong place and no specious roundness but weight and substance. I’d definitely give this more time, and decant. (TC) 13.5%

This is made in exactly the same way as the Weissburgunder Ihringer Winklerberg. RS 0.8 g/l. Rounder, softer and more sweetly scented than the Weissburgunder – more of a Sweet-William pear on the nose. Very dry and tightly zipped, with lots to give. (TC) 13.5%

The smoky/meaty smell of puy lentils, some baked cranberries. An appealing, juicy, upfront delight of a wine! So easy to drink, easy to enjoy. (TC) 12.5%

Volcanic soils and burgundian clones. Very pale ruby. Liquorice and aniseed nose. Sweet, sweet juicy fruit, bursting with flavour and foiled perfectly by rich black coffee and bitter radicchio inflections. Firm, long-limbed tannins. Complete. (TC) 13.5%

From a vineyard planted in 1951 of vines grafted from Clos Vougeot vines! No questions asked. Fireworks on the nose. Mouthfilling chocolatey, macerated-cranberry sweet bitterness. Glowingly embroidered, jewelled, silky. A beauty. (TC) 13%

Vineyard was planted in 1969. Fermented in wood and aged in French-oak burgundian barrels for 18 months. Bottled in Sep 2009. A refined perfumed wine. This has undeniable grace and a long, fluid camber. Gorgeous saucy bite in the fruit. (TC) 13.5%

Fermentation and malo in barrel. RS 2.2 g/l. Young and apple-blossom fresh. An open, neatly made wine carrying gentle spicy character and good length. GV (TC) 12.5%

This is their best vineyard, apparently. Fermented in a combination of stainless-steel tanks and big oak casks. RS 0.2 g/l. A brisk nose with traces of cashew nuttiness and an almost salty tang on the palate. Reminds me of samphire with lemon and butter. Athletic build. Capable of developing. (TC) 13%

Aged in 350-litre French oak barrels for six months. RS 1.2 g/l. White curranty aroma. Subtle spice on a dry, powerful palate. Dense and tangy, cape-gooseberry fruit. Fantastic elegance and refinement. GV (TC) 13%

Grapes from a single vineyard, aged for seven to eight months in a large oak fuder. Plum tart on the nose and then an easy, delightful mouthful of fresh red fruit. GV (TC) 13.5%

Best grapes from the same vineyard as the straight Spätburgunder. Aged in two- and three-year-old French oak barrels for 12 months. RS 2.4 g/l. A beautiful ripe red berry and strawberry nose with a tingle of spice. Good fruit depth but the tannins seem to have a little bit of teenage awkwardness about them at the moment and I think this wine definitely needs a bit more time to knit together. Should be great when it does. (TC) 13%

Aged in new oak for 16 months. Smoke and flint, and a bit of Seville orange. Lots of richness, skilfully polished tannins – gleaming. Deep red fruit with dark-roasted coffee nuances. Ambitious, well formed and full on for a German Pinot. (TC)

This is their 'German-style' Pinot Noir, intended to showcase the fresh fruit. Fermented and aged in old oak fuders. A bright ripe strawberry nose. Neat, attenuated grape tannins and a distinctively herbal tone. Very young – not quite ready just yet. (TC) 13.5%

Aged in two- to four-year-old barriques. Quite fragrant and demure, with no specious sweetness but a distinctive roasted thyme and sage character and elegant fruit. (TC) 13.5%

50% new French oak. Haunting lily perfume floats above the glass. So classy and elegant – the Lauren Bacall of wine. Flawlessly spliced tannins and cherries with just a hint of aniseed and fenugreek. Long and lovely. Wait, if you can. (TC)

Intensely fragrant, sweet dark berries, a touch of truffle. This is vividly wrought, a symphony of fruit and supple silky tannins. Power with grace. Rich coffee bean, multi-layered minerality. (TC) 14%

Bottled just a few days earlier. A blend of grapes from Mosel (sand, clay and gravel) and Saar (reddish slate with a high iron content). Pale with green tints and a bit of spritz. Clean, tight high-wire acidity and granny-smith-apple crispy crunchy. Lime-infused, herbal. Nik Weiss suggests that this is a sort of Mosel answer to Sauvignon Blanc and would go well with wild asparagus and a butter sauce, or pan-fried sole. (TC) 11.5%

The smell of wet stone, mossy and a whiff of smoke and honey. Like delicate pear juice with nervy lemony acidity. Balanced and charming. GV (TC) 9.5%

RS 35 g/l. Freshly baked rye bread aroma, with honey. Something a little medicinal there as well. Very very smoky (reductive?) Mineral-packed palate, softened by golden apples and peaches. (TC) 8%

RS 60 g/l. Sweetness and minerality. Lingering smoke and dust on the nose. Honeyed apple purity with an unusual and lovely earthy tension – a feet-on-the-ground Riesling. There is a lot here – it’s lustrous and beautifully framed by succinct acidity. We also tried this with a tortellini of lobster, roasted cauliflower and lobster butter sauce; the sweet creamy velvety delicacy of the dish chimed perfectly with the wine.

Saar is (obviously) after the name of the river and ‘feilser’ means rock in old German. The vineyard is located, unusually, directly on the banks of the Saar – most Saar vineyards being on tributaries because the river flows from south to north so sun exposure is not great. However, there are two parts of the Saar within the viticultural zone where the river does a 90-degree bend creating south-facing slopes. Here, with a bigger river surface area than the tributaries, the effect of the reflection from the river is not to be under-estimated. The vineyards are steep, bright with sunlight and warm, giving body but also, according to Nik Weis, a Chablis-like minerality on the nose. The wine is entirely fermented in old wood.
Pale lemon with an unmistakeable oatmeal/biscuity timbre on the nose. Some peachiness. Terribly graceful with a prickly edge on the palate. A young ballerina of a wine – tucked in, neat, disciplined and pretty and needing time.  

This is the hottest vineyard of the estate, facing south south west. It’s located on a very tight dune-shaped bend of the Mosel, is steep and has shallow soil over blue slate. The vines are on average 60 years old. Nik Weis suggests that these factors contribute to a wine that tends towards a more voluptuous style of Mosel. RS 25 g/l.
Refined minerality and perfume, very classic. Lime marmalade and razor-sharp acidity. White pepper notes and a hint of quince. This has everything you would want from a Mosel Riesling. Intricately composed with formidable length. (TC) 11%

A touch of gold but still very pale. Heady bouquet of lily and frangipani, a delicate smokiness. Definitely a little sweeter and denser. Very fleshy and round, nectarine and an orange tang. There is a long exciting trail of allspice and turmeric, even some soft paprika. Sleek. Endlessly long. This wine was matched with William Drabble’s lobster tortellini and went incredibly well with the whole dish, especially the roasted cauliflower.(TC) 12%

One of the more delicate Auslesen that I have tasted. Honeyed chamomile on the nose, some fennel seed and ginger too. A touch of rose petal and gently poached nectarines. Fine-boned acidity and superb silky texture. VGV (TC) 7.5%

Only 300 bottles made. Thrilling intensity and an utterly captivating synthesis of precision and opulence. Crystallised mango and passionfruit, spicy and rich but oh so finely spun. It just melted on the tongue. (TC) 8.5%

Earthy and mushroomy on the nose and honey and apricot in the mouth. More botrytis driven than any of the others. Sharp focus, plush fruit. (TC)

Deep gold, almost amber. A stunning brioche-and-honey nose. Candied peel and Ceylon tea, a spicy savoury pot-pourri. Silky weight in the mouth, it feels like a polished amber stone. Shapely. Glowing with orange notes, orange peel, coriander and saffron. Lovely weight and lifted lemon finish. A wine to linger with. (TC) 8.5%

RS 8 g/l. Clean and straight forward like a cool mountain stream. Spritzy, very dry, invigorating. GV (TC) 12%

RS 8 g/l. A touch of blossom and crystal cut. Crisp citrus, grapefruit. Chiselled. (TC) 12.5%

An effusive nose with peals of exotic papaya fruit. Life and richness and weight on the palate, toasted nuttiness, juicy mango. Broad and complete and fabulous! (TC) 13%

Totally reserved on the nose, unlike the Bockenauer Felseneck tasted just before. But a wine with tremendous character – kiwi fruit fleshiness, tingle and lift and bitter-sweet grapefruit on the finish. Great length, very very moreish. (TC) 13%

Again that tropical fruit showing through, but delicate, like mango sorbet with a sliver of crystallised ginger. Very intense. Soaring, open and graceful like the vaulted ceiling of a cathedral. Real beauty. (TC) 7.5%

Lemony and clean, fresh and lithe. (TC) 12%

So floral and clean it smells like it just stepped out of a shower! Apple-scented soap, of course. Dry and steely and green. (TC) 11%

Pretty sullen on the nose but gorgeous long lines and tang. There is lime blossom and it is piercingly racy. Dry with great finesse. (TC) 11.5%

Smells evocatively of mossy steps and ancient stones and mist and heather-covered hills. Then a complete contrast on the palate – Chantilly cream, silky, honey and dried apples. The finish is relatively dry and neat. GV (TC) 12%

This wine was a failed Grosses Gewächs. RS 40 g/l. Nutty nose, some cumin notes. Easy and appealing but somehow reminded me of the apple puree that comes in jars for baby food. Just a little bit light on complexity and interest for the price. (TC) 11%

Silver trumpets on the nose here – clear throated, bergamot and spice. Finely knit and highly strung, with tightly reined power. Honeyed edges and fennel spice along the length. Quite a bit of alcohol though which I think detracts a little from the whole! (TC) 14%

Pretty light and inarticulate, but good acidity and taut green stone fruit. Neat. (TC) 12%

Stony slate smell. Pretty good smoky density with massive acidity – almost salty and tangy like pickled jalapeno, but in a pretty mouth-watering way. Needs to settle down and will be excellent with food. GV (TC) 12.5%

There is a deep honey and ginger timbre on the nose, as well as clementines. Very evocative and warmly spiced. Round and succulent, glorious orange notes and fragrant Ceylon tea. Real depth and excitement. No lightweight though. GV (TC)

13%

Unlike the Geyserberg there is no luxuriance on this. Fennel and elderflower on the nose, very chalky and tense – no nonsense, no frills here, just a sort of mathematical purity and precision. Austere beauty. GV (TC) 13%

Smells of barley sugar sweeties and fruit gums. Not much intensity of fruit on the palate. Innocuous. (TC) 12%

Citrus and bramley apple on the nose. Tight and dry and neat. (TC) 12%

RS 2.5 g/l. Much more expressive on the nose than the estate bottling and the Kabinett. This one sings. Good body on the mid palate, crunchy, appley, and edged with hazelnuts and a neat pithy bitterness. Clean cut. (TC) 13%

A beautiful nose – seems to be somewhere between Sauvignon and Viognier. Compact, lots of life, and packed with rich tropical fruit. Broad, full of character, great stuff. (TC) 13.5%

Cardamom and lime sorbet perfume floating above the glass. Dancing, masses of character. Fresh fennel notes, lime, substantial and very satisfying. (TC) 13.5%

Dry, with good tension and build but not thrilling. (TC) 13.5%

It took 10 days to harvest the grapes for this little beauty. Gingerbread and madeira sponge on the nose and a lovely nutty, honeyed roundness. It makes me think of date pudding and pecan pie. Long, hazelnutty finish. (TC) 9.5%

Goodness me! Unabashed passion fruit on the nose, pure and simple! Very, very appealing. It’s juicy and fresh and has cheeky acidity. I’d love this on a hot summer afternoon in the garden. GV (TC)

12.5%

Ticks all the boxes: fresh, bursting with lime and orange, an underline of subtle minerality. Not overly complex but it delivers everything you’d want it to at the price. GV (TC) 12%

Chalky, lime sherbet and tightly laced up. Translucent, bright, full of energy and masses of citrus. (TC) 13%

Heavy clay soils. Striking density and power and weight here, direct and sure – as if a plumb line to the floor. Rich and abundant apricot fruit. I suspect that this will age with intriguing beauty. I don’t think it’s even begun to show its colour. (TC) 13%

A cooler vineyard than the Aulerde – was picked 10 days later. Rocky limestone and 200m higher as well. Very refined perfume, apple and elderflower. Fine-boned acidity with subtly delicate fruit. Edges of nuts and even a mintiness. A real lady. (TC) 13%

East-facing vineyard, which gets earlier sun, on pure limestone. Light, green and stunning purity on the nose – as if standing beneath a glacier. Immense purity on the palate as well, opening in the glass like a flower. Fantastic length. (TC) 13%

Danish pastry on the nose, very pretty. Baked apricots and delicately curvy with vibrato acidity. Delightful. (TC) 8%