Athlete

Brief notes on a robust Pinot Blanc enjoyed over the last couple of days.

Weingut Reinhold & Cornelia Schneider, Weißer Burgunder Spätlese trocken *** 2009, Baden
Luckily, I have another bottle of this and will be saving it for a substantial meal some time in the distant future. Exceptional though it is, this is not a wine suited to casual sipping with salad or on its own in front of the television.

Reticient nose that never really came to life over the two evenings the bottle was open. Instead of fruit, a prickly sensation and some minerality eventually emerged. There was, however, an underlying potency, as confirmed on the palate: athletic, taut and sinewy like a 400-metre runner. Few specific flavours to speak of, but complex and flavoursome in terms of its kinetics. (Did I really just write that?) Not really my better half's cup of tea, but I liked the searing finish which went on and on. Very much a masculine wine for grown-ups, happily without any of the caramelised notes I noticed in the "lesser" Spätlese.