2013 August Kesseler Spätburgunder Cuvée Max
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Tasting notes
This cuvée incorporates all of the vintage’s Pinot fruit from Assmannshäuser Höllenberg and Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg as no single-vineyard bottlings were attempted. The stony and fruit pit notes found in this year’s basic estate bottling are more prominent here, and the smokiness of peat-like as opposed to merely black tea intensity. Tannin is much more noticeable and generates a significant, though by no means unpleasant sense of chew. Mouth-filling richness of lightly-cooked, albeit still tart-edged cherry and plum, along with mouthwateringly savory, marrowy beef stock more than compensate for this bottling’s more obvious sense of structure and its austere elements. The finish really grips. I would expect significant nuance to emerge with a few years in bottle.
Critic scores
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Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
David Schildknecht, Vinous
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Kesseler's dark cherry-colored 2013 Rheingau Pinot Noir Cuvée Max contains the grapes from the grands crus Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg and Assmannshäuser Höllenberg, which were not bottled separately in this year. The pure and distinctive, crystalline nose intertwines dark ripe fruit aromas of cherries, black berries and raspberries with floral, spicy and flinty flavors, with a nice freshness. Full-bodied and velvety textured, with fully ripe dark fruit aromas and soft yet slightly bitter tannins, this is a smooth, elegant and mouth-filling Pinot; it is fruit-intense but also with a powerful 13.5% alcohol finish. The tannins remain quite bitter though but they are not drying. Drink this perfect autumn wine with venison dishes.