The big bottle party at the Cool Climate Wine Summit: a selection of interesting wines from Poland, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Austria
I’m at the Cool Climate Wine Summit in Copenhagen, and this year the opening evening was in the form of a big bottle party. The idea was that the participating producers should dig out a magnum (or larger) and bring it to share with attendees in an informal setting. This was a good way to get a sighter for the more structured tasting today (Saturday) and Sunday, as well as to make new friends and catch up with people you’ve met before.
Pictured above: José Vouillamoz, Caro Maurer and Swiss winegrower Madlaina Erni.
Geeky as I am, I took some notes, and here’s a selection of them!
Kox L&R Cuvée Blanc de Noirs 2021 Luxembourg
Pinot Noir with Sankt Laurent, traditional method. This is bright, fruity and zippy with nice precision to the citrus fruit and a touch of cherry. Really nice. 91/100
Christina Andrae Valwiger Riesling Trocken 2021 Mosel, Germany
This is from a relatively new producer in the Mosel who farms organically, and this was her second vintage from this steep, south-facing slate slope. She says she’s trying to make the wines as they would have been 30 years ago, and so she keeps permanent cover with drought tolerant plants on the slate soils to delay maturity. This is lively and bright with good energy, showing fresh citrus fruit with a stony edge. Quite mineral in character. 92/100
Martin Schwartz Orange 2021 Sachsen, Germany
12.5% alcohol. From former East Germany, the Sachsen, a region with quite an extreme continental climate. Supple with nice lemon, pear and mandarin fruit, as well as some waxy savouriness. There’s a hint of vermouth, too. Nice balance. 91/100
Ellwanger Pinot Brut 2020 Wurttemburg, Germany
From the south of Germany this traditional method fizz from Pinot Noir spends 32 months on lees. Fresh, fruity, zippy and crisp with good acidity. Really nice focus to this fruit-driven sparkler. 91/100
Klumpp Kirchberg Weissburgunder 2023 Baden, Germany
This is really good Pinot Blanc. Fresh, fruity and nicely balanced with pear and white peach fruit showing some citrus drive. Stony and vivid. 93/100
Klumpp Pinot Noir Weiherberg 2021 Baden, Germany
Bright and linear with good acidity supporting the sour cherry fruit. Nice purity with a slight leafy edge. This is really good. 93/100
Metzger Asselheim Goldberg Chardonnay 2023 Pfalz, Germany
13% alcohol. Concentrated and linear with a nice mineral edge. Stony, vivid and bright with good acidity. This is stylish and focused. 93/100
Herr Melhing Riesling Trocken 2022 Pfalz, Germany
11.5% alcohol. Lively, bright and pithy. Nice intensity. Zesty, stony and quite austere. 88/100
By Stokkebye Vingard Liva 2022 Denmark
This is Solaris, wild fermented and unfiltered. Powerful and rich, this is layered with lovely fruit intensity and some spicy framing. Has concentration, complexity and balance. 93/100
Viticoltura Rohner Erni Chardonnay Z 2021 Graubünden, Switzerland
This is from vineyards reaching to 450 m with an alpine climate, and limestone soils. 22 months on full lees in oak. Limey and intense with great acidity and a real sense of finesse to the lime and lemon fruit. Lovely flavour, but also precise acidity and a mineral finish. 94/100
Wegelin Weisstorkel Blauburgunder 2021 Graubünden, Switzerland
Fresh with a stony, mineral edge to the ripe cherry fruit. This is quite juicy with good energy, but it also has a strongly mineral side, and it’s really satisfying. 92/100
Anne-Claire Schott Chasselas Selection 2022 Switzerland
Ripe pear and white peach fruit with some grapey detail and a bit of wet stone savouriness. Nice balance here. 93/100
Mabillard-Fuchs Syrah 2022 Valais, Switzerland
13% alcohol. This is peppery, meaty and broad with a slight meaty/medicinal edge to the lovely fruit, and also a touch of olive tapenade. It’s cool climate Syrah but with generosity and depth, and it’s very stylish. 93/100
Hochegg Castaneo Pinot Nero 2021 Sudtirol/Alto Adige, Italy
13% alcohol. From 800 m altitude and volcanic low pH soils. This has nice brightness with a savoury, spicy twist to the cherry and plum fruit. Savoury and spicy, but showing good fruit focus, this is very satisfying. 93/100
Schwartztrauber Pinot Noir 2021 Pfalz, Germany
13% alcohol. Organic. Juicy, linear and bright. Supple with expressive strawberry and cherry fruit, showing an appealing savoury, mineral twist. Midweight with nice elegance, this is juicy and textural. 93/100
Dagernova Walporzheimer Kräuterberg Spätburgunder Trocken 2022 Ahe, Germany
This is a cooperative with 600 grape growers, and this wine really impressive. Fruit-driven and fresh with nice density, and also some elegance. Good grip, some stony minerality, and nice layered flavours. 93/100
Silesian Johanniter 2019 Poland
This was the first time Silesian made a varietal Johanniter (a resistant variety), and it was fermented and aged sur lie in stainless steel with occasional stirring. It has aged really well, and it’s textural and rich with sweet pear and peach fruit as well as some melony richness, but also some nice citrus character and a tapering mineral finish. A real surprise. 93/100
Silesian Roter Riesling 2019 Poland
This is a skin colour mutant of Riesling. Rich apricot and candied fruit on the nose, with some raisin. But the palate has zesty lemony acidity with nice weight and fruit. A real contrast between the nose and the palate, but quite delicious. 91/100
Pfirmann Kalmit Weisserburgunder 2024 Pfalz, Germany
This is from limestone soils. Textural and layered with a lovely acid line under the focused citrus fruit. Has nice tension with fine spices and some mineral character. Tapered finish. 94/100
Gerhard Trossen Kröver Letterlay Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2021 Mosel, Germany
Nice balance here with a core of citrus fruit as well as pear and melon richness. Rich but shows good tension. Stylish. 93/100
Gerhard Trossen Kröver Steffensburg Riesling Beerenauslese 2011 Mosel, Germany
Complex, spicy, slightly minty with apricot and lime fruit. Rich and concentrated with a waxy edge to the palate and some nice spiciness. 94/100
A. Porret Pinot Noir 2023 Neuchatel, Switzerland
Supple and elegant with sweet red cherries and plums, and some redcurrant character. Touch of pot pourri and rose petal, too. Nice elegance and purity. Juicy and refined. 93/100
Deutzerhorf Eck Spätburgunder GG 2020 Ahr, Germany
Juicy, lively and bright with redcurrant and raspberry fruit as well as a spicy framing. There’s perhaps a touch of oak, too. Really lively with good tension and acidity. 93/100
Lampert Steinerfeld Maienfeld Chardonnay 2023 Graubünden, Switzerland
This is really beautiful. Nice focus and tension with a mineral twist to the lively citrus fruit. Precise with good acidity. Real concentration here. 94/100
Schloss Proschwitz Prinz Zur Lippe Kloster Heiligkreuz Grauburgunder 2022 Sachsen, Germany
12.5% alcohol. From the east. This has nice weight and tension with a mineral twist to the bold citrus fruit. Lively and showing nice focus, this has real complexity and weight. 93/100
Knebel Gewürztraminer 2021 Mosel, Germany
12% alcohol. Nice aromatics here with some lychee and rose petal. Good texture in the mouth, blending intensity with some depth. Lively and energetic with some fine spices on the finish. 93/100
Matthias Müller Fässerlay Bopparder Hamm Riesling Trocken 2024 Mittlerhein, Germany
Crisp, lively and bright with delicate lemony fruit, and a crystalline edge. Stylish and expressive. 92/100
Vinigma Les Racines do Ciel 2023 Valais, Switzerland
This is Heida in amphora. Textural and stylish with nice depth and a salty undercurrent, as well as notes of dried herbs and liquorice. Lovely wine. 93/100
Mindrich Johannisberg Riesling Trocken 2021 Nahe, Germany
Red sandstone soils, south-facing plot. Lovely concentration and tension here with bright lemony fruit. There’s focus and brightness with precise fruit. Pure and lemony with some generosity. Lovely weight. 93/100
Wegeler Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2007 Mosel, Germany
8% alcohol. Nice depth and intensity here with hints of mint and apricot, as well as pear and melon. Lovely depth and richness with some sweetness and real finesse, finishing with a spicy flourish. 94/100
Krispel Grauburgunder Hochstradl Alte Reben 2019 Vulkanland Steiermark, Austria
13.5% alcohol. Textured and nice balanced with appealing pear and white peach fruit. Gentle with lovely balance and some fine detail. Very expressive. 92/100
