MICHAEL COOPER DipWSET

Owner TomeVinos wine shops, WSET Level 3, Blogger www.spanishwinesandmore.com, blog.tomevinos.com

9.6

Petrol, hard limestone, lime zest — 4 months ago

John Willison

9.2

Collaboration between Thomas Keller and Schramsberg. Bone dry. Crushed stones and yeast. Ripping acidity. — 6 months ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.2

Is there a better Silvaner!? — 8 months ago

Erik Longabardi

9.5

Don’t be an idiot and not taste this — 2 years ago

BW

9.4

Little sweet, light — 3 years ago

John Van Trijp

10

Auction bottle magnum — 4 years ago

Friday Hill

10

South Germany is beginning to do Pinot Noirs.

Vineyard is know for Pinot Blancs.

Tart, but not bitter. Long finish.

Complexity with dark fruit.

Part of red wine mafia!! One of my favorites. — 5 years ago

Sarah Stierch

Food & Wine Editor Sonoma Valley Sun

8.9

Nice melon notes. Pretty label. Refreshing. — 6 years ago

Costas Constantinides

9.2

This wine is fantastic. — 4 months ago

Michael

9.3

Lemon Italian ices — 6 months ago

Aaron Tan

9.9

One of the best evenings of wine I’ve had this year, and it was just focused on this duo. Opened as inspiration for this year’s red pick at Miao Lu (a name to remember for those reading. I’ll say it here first - some of the best Pinot’s and Chard’s in the world will be coming out of this project high up in Yunnan!), and they both gave great context to the task.

When I harvested with Klaus-Peter in 2017, the vineyards bore the scars of hail, every last one of them. The damage was manifest in what we came to call "hail berries" (misshapen berries). To my untrained palate, they tasted perfectly fine. Naturally, I asked KP why we were discarding them, and his response, while not entirely unexpected, was still astonishing (paraphrasing of course): "I don't need to know precisely what they do," he said, "but if there's even a chance they might diminish the wine by 1%, they're gone. And these? They look capable of much worse."

That unyielding spirit of his was, I must admit, my torment at Abtserde, the vineyard hit hardest by the hail. We spent an entire day sorting and picking a single row - granted, the rows were long, but the pace was glacial. The true enemy, though, wasn’t the relentless sorting, but the wasps. Those little demons made an already grueling task even more daunting, dodging their stings as we plucked berries one by one, like selecting pearls from a troubled sea. What we ended up with were, quite literally, tiny gems - "caviar" berries of purity. By day’s end, the sight was something to behold. Despite the torment, the hard work was unquestionably worth it. The 17’ Abtserde is my wine of the vintage.

I’ve had the 17’ Abtserde on numerous occasions but this takes the cake as the best (note to self: best to decant a young Abtserde hard). It is a marvel of purity and depth, with its nose evoking Meyer lemon, iodine, chalk, and flint. These aromas reappear on the palate with a nearly overwhelming intensity, blending piquant brightness and mineral-rich concentration. With more air, a floral, bittersweet herbal note very typical of the vineyard appears (smells like the place even). As the evening unfolded, the wine seemed to grow younger, each glass more lively than the last. The final sip was almost painfully austere, like drinking pure limestone, its explosive palate held together by sharp acidity and a palpable, phenolic grip. The finish seemed endless. One of my best Keller experiences this year. — 7 months ago

Joe Hakim

10

Perfect. Lots of lime & minerality. Paired brilliantly with a sunny day. — 4 years ago

Sean Grullon

9.0

Pretty - floral, strawberries and cherries with nice freshness & length, linearly carrying some spice underneath. — 6 years ago

Andrew McIntyre

9.3

This was such much better than I thought it would be! Bursting with fruit and spice with perfectly balanced acidity...gorgeous wine! — 5 months ago

Conrad Green

9.3

Lovely and poised. From mag. Cool steely fruit with hints of white flowers and orchard fruits. Fine tannins and a cool driving acidity. — 7 months ago

Andrew McIntyre

9.3

One of, if not the best rose out there. Not much fresh fruit but complex fruit peel, wood and nut notes. Very interesting wine — a year ago

Tyler Felous

9.6

Wow. Starts so clean/crisp, then you get the mouthfeel, with a tart finish. Beautiful. So excited to be drinking more Riesling — 2 years ago

JKT

9.3

Beautiful Riesling. Gorgeous golden color. Gentle breezes of sweet Riesling notes of fruits and stones followed by caressing textures and lingering finish. Yum. Actually too yummy to go with the Mary revised Leila curry chicken that was less spicy than thought. — 3 years ago

John Van Trijp

9.8

Yes! We have a winner! — 4 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.9

In the presence of the 17' Schönleber AdL, there should not have been another riesling that outclassed it during the night... But then this appeared. Young as it may be, KP's Hipping approaches perfection. Dumbfounding!

I think Jean and David at MFW described this perfectly, so I'll just leave it here:

This 2017er Niersteiner Hipping GG delivers a beautiful nose where reductive elements including minty herbs, smoke, bacon and needle provide the frame for some glorious scents of grapefruit, tangerine, candied lime, fresh almond and coconut. The wine has the purity and lightness of mountain water yet its complexity and density on the mid-palate are just stunning. One can feel the intensity from the high levels of dry extracts but these are magnificently wrapped into spicy and salty elements. The length and impact in the finish are stunning. The after-taste seems to last for minutes. The wine is almost painfully dry at this stage, but the sheer freshness, intensity and complexity are simply breathtaking. This grandiose expression of dry Riesling may well turn into wine perfection in a decade: It is THAT impressive! — 6 years ago