Hard Chardonnay

Brilliant vintage for this wine. Nose is green apple and a hint of butter. Very wet earth and mineral. Reeks of limestone and terroir. Textured, rich and concentrated but also nimble and pure. Really focused like a laser. Juicy and lean. Very angled wine. Needs to open. But a stunner. Nose becomes confectionary with air. Palate gets a little plump but still linear and fresh.

Always so good. Opulent and incisive. Deep nose. Lots of amplitude. Huge limestone. Herbal. So complex. German Chardonnay is so awesome. What a palate. Huge core of apple and pear fruit and stacked with minerals and a malo sweetness. So long and nimble. Gorgeous wine. Almost 9.5.

One of the best Chardonnays in that $30-$40 range from anywhere in the world. Nose of mineral, butter, nuts, mimics a Meursault. Just beautiful. Such clarity on the nose. Palate is rich and ripe but with scintillating acidity and freshness and lovely pure juicy fruit. Amazing balance and purity. Just a beautiful wine. Acid is awesome.

Buttery rich nose. Lemon curd. But also lively limestone minerality peeking through. Like a great Meursault. Palate is round and very fresh with a nice bit of opulence and insane acidity and minerality. Nose makes you think this will be less mineral and fresh than it is. Exceptional.

All oak when I first popped it, it's integrating nicely with air. Almost weird the way the butteriness of the oak interacts with distinctively German minerality, which seems much higher-toned than the deep, brothy earthiness of Burgundy. Has a bit of Chardonnay's oily texture yet with a seeming weightlessness. Golden delicious apple starting to peek through. I will withhold a numerical rating until tomorrow night.

UPDATE: Night 2 - The oak scents have receded, though they are still there. Now, however, they are supporting a floral-scented talcum minerality and some of the most alive and deep fruit scents I have ever sensed. Extremely pure fruit and high-toned stony minerality on the palate, with excellent acidity. Long, weightless finish. The fact that this took two days to show itself foreshadows a nice aging curve. Great wine.

Floods the mouth with cool minerals, lightly baked citrus, green tropical fruits. And the judicious oak lends a spice and rounds the edges, just so. The Baden terroir is evident and very pretty. Superb selection @Lyle Fass

For me the best German Chardonnay but I am biased obviously. Floral nose with some green apple and loads of minerals. The Palate has the rich almost Meursault like flavors on the attack and then finishes so mineral and fine. Absolutely brilliant. So fine. So filigreed. So finesse driven, yet also beautifully light touch of wood.

Creamy nose. Mineral, beeswax, amazing density and purity. Such killer fruit on the midpalate. This is stunning. Long and exquisite. Amazing delineation and purity. Only use German wood, light toast. Insane wine.

Razorsharp Chardonnay. Yellow fruits, butter, vanilla. Very very nice acidity, chalky notes, perfect balance. Magnum 2016. 13• alcohol.

German chard is very much here. Burgundy who?