Hannes Reeh Merlot Unplugged

Falstaff Zweigelt-Grand-Prix-Siegerwein

Tasted blind. Drank from decanter over 1.5 hours. Late night quick session at ES. Appearance is clear, medium intensity, ruby colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of milky oak, mocha, savoury earth, red cherries. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium+ alcohol (13.5%), fine medium+ tannins, medium+ body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of concentrated tart red cherries, ripe strawberry, milky oak, mocha, savoury earth. Long finish. Very good quality. Good ripeness and concentration here, far …

Decanted. Clear, medium ruby. On the nose: Raspberry, blackberry, red cherry, earth, violet, vanilla oak. Some meaty notes. On the palate: Medium(+) acidity, medium(+) body, medium(+) fine-grained tannins. Blackberry and red cherry, sweet spice, violet and vanilla oak. Medium(+) finish. Another fine example of a well-made zweigelt. This grape is really looking up these days. Still a touch disjointed; this should be better in a couple of years' time.

Intensive dunkle Frucht, leichte Würze, Geruch nach welkem Laub, leider auch etwas Karamellholz - das setzt sich am Gaumen fort, dicht und auch spannend, am Ende wird der Wein etwas breit, bleibt aber balanciert und geht als sehr guter Wein durch.

Vanilliger Abgang

2013 vintage - hm. Would have expected a bit more compared to the excellent Zweigelt "Unplugged" in 2013. Nevertheless, very balanced, good body and finish. Luckily not so on the fruity/sweety side as previous vintages ('11/'12), a more characteristic year.

Consumed within three evenings. Very classic, elegant, long finish. Still time to develop !