2016 Westhofen MORSTEIN Spätburgunder Felix Grosses Gewächs Q.b.A. trocken Versteigerung

Vinous: Blueberry laced with bay laurel and beef stock seasoned with black pepper feature on both nose and palate. Smokiness akin to black tea and Latakia tobacco – along with the just-mentioned pepper – segue seamlessly into fine-grained tannins. Yet there is underlying richness and a sense of incipient plushness. Carnal elements stimulate the salivary glands on a bell-clear, generously juicy, shimmeringly smoky finish. Incidentally, if reduced (no pun intended!) to terms of hectoliters per hectare, this year’s Morstein represents just a dozen of them. Total volume here was a mere 350 liters, as compared with 1,400 of Frauenberg and around 2,000 of Bürgel. As usual, the Morstein was sold at auction. - David Schildknecht, Jul. 2019