Stephen Brook: Stale apple nose, earthy (sulphur dioxide?), unappealing. Rich but soft, lacks freshness, rather flabby and hot, clumsy. Fairly short. 8

Andrew Jefford: Full green-gold. Odd, overblown, toffee pop-corn aromas with some coffee undertones. Not a typical Rheingau. Wow! Where on earth has this coffee come from? One of the oddest Rieslings I’ve ever tasted. Quite nice, in a strange, eerie, coffee-cream sort of way, and certainly not a faulty or undrinkable wine, but just... odd, odd, odd. It’s very rich, very full, very mellow, very luscious, and it has very unusual and exotic overtones. But is it sublime? It is not. 16

Jancis Robinson: Strange, almost singed, nose. Like praline caramel. Is this really Riesling, or is it burned Riesling? Hot finish and relatively dry palate. I think any lover of German wine would be disappointed in this wine - although it does open up an entirely new facet of Riesling flavours. Very interesting - not badly balanced - just very non-classic. Perhaps simply an expression of the vintage? Bravo for doing something so different, though I can't see it lasting very long. Drink 2007-11. 16.5