2014 Weingut von Winning, Sauvignon Blanc “500” Pfalz Germany.
This wine asks serious questions, it grabs your attention and blows your mind, it just might be the greatest Sauvignon Blanc on earth… Yes, the impressive von Winning Pfalz Sauvignon Blanc “500” is that good. I did some soul searching, because I was asking myself while tasting this wine, is this a 100 Point wine? It’s damn close, and I thought further about what is a perfect Sauvignon Blanc, it was a difficult inner conversation to answer, but in the end I am convinced this wine has that potential and it should be on your radar! It’s not the first time I’ve mentioned or talked about the intense and expressive von Winning’s Sauvignon Blanc, even though I’m not a huge fan of this grape, except for small list of awesome versions like Terlano’s Quarz, Shared Notes by Bibiana Gonzalez Rave and Jeff Pisoni, Gerard Boulay and of course vintage Dagueneau, which all are glorious. Also von Winning’s 500 (named 500 after the size of oak cask used to aged this wine) asks about the role of wood, as it certainly carries it’s influence in the wine’s profile, in the end I found it adds to the character and depth here without taking anything away, regardless of your feelings about oak, in this wine it proves a necessary evil and makes the whole wine better, no question. The 2014 von Winning 500 Sauvignon Blanc is wondrous and majestic in the glass, I come to von Winning for their fantastic dry Riesling, especially their Crus, especially their Grosses Gewachs, but I’m continuously fascinated by this wine, it has incredible presence on the palate with gorgeous leesy richness, it shows a complex array of citrus, stone fruit and gooseberry as well as chalky wet stones, sweet brioche, fine spice and mineral tones, it’s highlighted with tropical notes and subtle orange blossoms with a core of lemon/lime, kumquat, white peach and a touch of creme brûlée in a dry, vinous and vigorous wine. This Sauvignon Blanc is a masterpiece of detail, graceful power and stunning layering, while in the end I could bring myself to put 100 Points down at this time, but that might be terribly unjust, I am very open to re-reviewing that decision in the future! This wine was farmed organic on the sandstone soils of the Pfalz, from vines around Deidesheim and fermented and raised in hogsheads (500L barrels) with hand crafted care on it’s lees, it’s aged an addition year, which explains the texture and depth of mouth feel, while staying full of energy and focused, this is a remarkable and charming wine, and as mentioned, look for it to age well, 10 to 20 years I think, it might be the world’s most desirable and sexy Sauvignon Blanc being made, put it on your bucket list!
($78 Est.) 98 Points, grapelive
