Wednesday 4 June 2014

The Glass Battle - Riedel vs Zalto - Round Two

In Round One Zalto took an easy victory with the young New Zealand Pinot. Riedel have preparing themselves for round two and are eager to give it their best.
This time it is a mature Burgundy they will battle with. From the greatest vintage ever no less!

1964 Beaune Cuvée Estienne Hospices de Beaune, Moillard Grivot - in Riedel Vinum
A deep, complex, gorgeously mature nose with notes of (over)ripe raspberries, beet juice, chewing tobacco, Christmas spices, molasses and moist forest floor. Very, very fine. Boiled root vegetables after a while. Opened a bit light but gains depth and concentration over the evening. This is good!
The taste is round and soft yet packing a punch, with notes of dried strawberries, red beets, rosehips, dry tobacco and mushrooms. A very good acidity. A long, initially sweet finish that ends with a dry twist. This is perfectly mature. There is something deeply hedonistic and primal with a perfectly aged Burgundy. Great stuff!
As you can see below the Vinum glass showed its class and was the best one for this aged Burgundy.
94p   (tasted 2014/05)

1964 Beaune Cuvée Estienne Hospices de Beaune, Moillard Grivot - in Riedel Vinum Extreme
The Extreme glass shows almost en identical nose as the Vinum, albeit a tad lighter in structure. The taste is also almost identical but it ends a bit dryer in this glass. But very, very good in this one also.


1964 Beaune Cuvée Estienne Hospices de Beaune, Moillard Grivot - in Zalto Burgundy
Well, the Zalto isn´t suitable for aged Burgundy, not according to this single test anyway. The nose is definitely more monolithic, the sweetness found in the Vinum glass doesn´t show itself at all. I find the taste in the Zalto more cooked and the balance between the fruit and acidity isn´t there. This is way behind the Riedel glasses.

Riedel came back and took the first place in round two, with both glasses outshining the Zalto. Will Zalto bounce back in the final round three? Stay tuned! :-)

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