Aaron Tan

9.3

Underrated, or should I say underrepresented. You can hardly find these in the east coast, though the same can be said in the west (of Australia, in case anyone's wondering). Picked up one of the last bottles of the 2018 Lowboi Riesling from a store in Perth. Lucky me since it's sold out in most of the city.

The 2017 Lowboi Riesling was one of my favourite Aussie Rieslings last year, and the 2018's another winner. Pure energy! Laser precision, white florals, limey-citrusy goodness, salty acidity. Six months or so on lees has given it quite a lovely texture and a musky element. The use of RS (5 g/l) is brilliant - adds weight and softens the acidity, but finishes dry and long.

While "Lowboi" may sound like an upcoming underground rap artist, the wines are far from trying to be hip. They're serious, age-worthy Rieslings and Chardonnays. In fact, the actual origin of the name is a pointer - it pays tribute to the area and namesake where the winemaker's mother grew up in. Lowboi is the personal label of Guy Lyons, winemaker and heir of Forest Hill. Trust me when I say there's real talent here, as I've had the pleasure of working and spending many nights drinking with the man himself. And let's not talk about the impressive resume, having spent time at perhaps the best wineries of their cepage - Gonon and Keller.

The Porongurup Riesling comes from dry-farmed vines planted in 1985. South-facing, the aspect might surprise some as it goes against all convention in the southern hemisphere. But like Kai Schatzael's north-facing auction Pettenthal, Guy probably saw the Springview Vineyard's potential in producing wines of greater finesse in an increasingly warmer planet. Taste this and they will be no questions asked! — 12 days ago

Jeff Savigny

9.2

Color is very pale. Lots of lemon zest on the nose. Palate is slick, saline and lively with heavier notes of lemon and ripe peach/pear. Long dry finish. Outstanding balance throughout, an excellent budget friendly Grand Cru. — 4 days ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.2

Importer is Lyle Fass. Not available in Retail. So much Riesling fruit! Quite tropical and rich. Mango, 🥝, Gooseberry. Seems to have a hint of sweetness. Plenty of acid. It’s so overwhelming right now and needs more time to settle down. Grown on granite i think on the slopes of the Black Forest. — 10 days ago

Noah Raizman

9.2

Began as lemon and green apple, developed a slight and subtle ‘only could this be riesling’ petrol note along with stone fruit. Zesty acidity. Took about three days of sampling to really come around. Definitely not identifiable as New World. Not quite the level of complexity as a top GG though honestly quite close. Really nicely made wine. This can likely age for decades. @Morgan Twain-Peterson — a day ago

Matthew Cohen

9.3

Great mineral nose. Also some lemon flower. Mineral attack on the palate. Meyer lemon. Lovely lemon flower internal aromatics. Lovely finish. Great wine with my flight of crudi made by Slave labor. Bought from Fass selections. ... getting almost a lemon curd richness as it opens. Very good. — 4 days ago

with Lyle

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.2

What a value. Huge nose or fresh sprigs of herbs, huge minerals and fresh spring water. Amazingly clean. Even floral as well. Dense and chewy with wonderful purity and balance. Compact and so clean. Really this is totally over-delivering. Stunningly clean. Long. Did I say this was clean? — 8 days ago

Byron C Mayes

9.0

Bright straw gold in the glass. Nose of pomes and citrus rind. Medium bodied palate of green apple, lime rind, and stone with a slight herby floral note on the finish. The Germans are getting this trocken stuff right. This is a great entry from the Palatinate. Enjoy with sausages or pork tenderloin. — 10 days ago

with Jay

Aaron Tan

8.9

David at Vinous nailed the tasting notes (tasted 2016):

"A faintly fungal note accents apple jelly, glazed pineapple, candied grapefruit rind and caramel on the nose, leading to a colorfully complex but rather opaque as well as decidedly confectionery palate impression. The finish is forcefully sustained but lacks the primary juiciness and salinity that might have leavened the wine’s sheer thickness and overcome slightly rough and unruly manifestations of botrytis."

TDN is certainly more pronounced now, but the part on botrytis was bang on. The wine could do better with a little less/cleaner bot, but I guess it is a true representation of the vintage - 2014 was marred with bot issues. In the words of Helmut, "this one was picked out from the Spätlese material on a table by my top harvest brigade. We’ve had lovelier Auslesen, but when it’s constantly humid, you get negative infection and can’t expect more than this.” On the bright side, the minerality of the site still shines through and when paired with some baked pears drizzled in honey... Divine 🤤 — 12 days ago

Ely Cohn

9.3

An austere, nervy Kabinett with good depth and persistence. Light pale hay. Smokey white flowers, burnt rubber, and Asian pear. What I imagine is a good dose of residual sugar hides beneath a blanket of integrated acid and flavors of sour pineapple, mango, and naval orange. Voluptuous. — 3 days ago

Aaron Tan

9.5

In case anyone is wondering, "S" means Selection... And where might this selection be from? Aulerde. So another declassified GG from the maestro, KP! How does it taste? Pure liquid gold. Drinking so well now. Acid integrated right in, just the right amount of tdn to fruit ratio, playful on the tongue, and that texture. I would say this could do with even more lay time. It's quite primary really... The fruits are quite ripe and sweet (candied). I really love the dried flower element here and the minerality... Bwah! So good. Honestly, the true success here is how fast we reached the bottom of the bottle without even realising it. Another class act from KP! — 13 days ago