HERMANN J WIEMER CUVÉE BRUT

A very elegant and creamy sparkling wine with a wonderful, seamless mouth feel. Plenty of berry and candied-citrus aromas. Excellent concentration and a very long,precise finish that doesn’t want to stop. A blend of 65% chardonnay and 35% Pinot Noir . Drink or hold.

The 2018 Cuvée Brut is the relatively typical 65/35 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, disgorged in January 2023 after 39 months on the lees. (Happily, the disgorgement date is on the label.) It comes in at 12.4% alcohol and with no dosage this year. This is a year younger than the 2017 Cuvée Brut in this report, yet that seems a lot lusher and more harmonious, while this is more of a straight-ahead sparkler. They seem like very different wines. Despite that “no dosage,” it doesn’t seem overly intense, let alone shrill. The 2019 Standing Stone in this report seems far crisper (and just a year younger, with less time on the lees). That’s not to say this isn’t very good; it is. Plus, don’t misunderstand, it has plenty of freshness and good acidity showing off support for the fruit. If this doesn’t seem quite as precise and focused as some here, you won’t be disappointed. It should hold throughout the decade, maybe more.