Wine Musings Vol#35

Wine of Merit: ****Clos des Papes, Chateauneuf du Pape, 1995: The bomb. This wine is so multi-layered and delicious…Paul Avril is a master. The wine is amazingly still a smidge tight, though a bit of swirling shows big notes of menthol, sage, jammy blackberry preserves, licorice root, black pepper and a touch of green olive. More blackberry, grilled meats, a touch of heat on the palate – great depth and concentration. A long, firm, peppery finish. Wow. A meal in a glass. So good. This wine is wonderful now and will be great later. Impressive.

****Diamond Creek, Gravelly Meadow, Diamond Mountain cabernet sauvignon, 1981: A continuing tribute to Al Brounstein. Amazingly youthful and full of energy. The nose is almost flamboyant, with deep red and black fruit, minerals, cassis, some autumnal notes. Really super. The palate is coating and velvety, mouth filling and deep. Perfect integration through to the lively, furry finish. Drink or hold…this wine is going nowhere in a hurry. Great wine. Thanks again, Al.

****Foxen Santa Maria Valley, pinot noir, 2005: Makes me feel like sayin’ Foxy! This is nothing short of a wonderful wine. Laser-like purity and focus of black and Queen Anne cherry fruit, cinnamon, cola and licorice root…it is a right hand upper cut to the jaw (thanks JC!)…it is so forceful and intense. Nothing really nuanced yet about this wine, it is tightly wound but clearly built to be a stately wine with great varietal characteristics, wonderful integration and amazing length. And to think it doesn’t even crack 14% alcohol! I swear I could drink this stuff every night. So exciting! At $30 a pop, it should be illegal.

****Rochioli, Russian River Valley, pinot noir, 2005: This wine is all elegance…which is no surprise as Rochioli is all about elegance in every wine it makes. Creamy, nuanced red fruits, cardamom, rose petal and a touch of earth, this is a stately wine. Deftly balanced and seamlessly integrated, with no drop off at all across the palette, this wine will reward bottle aging with even greater nuance and sophistication. A wine I would be proud to serve on any occasion. Bravo!

***++Chateau Haut Brion, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux 1998: This is a wonderful wine. The nose is ethereal: Expansive. Deep elements of black raspberry, graphite, cedar, minerals, cassis all integrate together to offer a tour de force of what great Bordeaux could offer. The palate is not quite as forthcoming, showing a more mature, resolved signature with more berry fruit, minerals and a slight drop off mid palate. The finish is firm and decisive. Superlative.

***+Medlock Ames Bell Mountain vineyard, Alexander Valley, chardonnay, 2005: I loved this wine. Lithe and lively, this is much more Mersault than new world chard. Laden with minerals, hibiscus and Anjou pear, this wine has no flab. The palette offers more of that delicious, laser focused minerals with bright Meyer lemon zest. Whatever oak is present is restrained and completely integrated. Delicious.

***+Domaine de Chevalier, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux Blanc, 2002: I love white Graves. This is a super interesting, complex white Bordeaux. Honey dew, petrol, verbena and key lime all converge to offer a sophisticated signature on the nose. The palate shows more white flowers, clover and cut grass and a caramel / vanilla note that matchers the floral characteristics. Lively if somewhat round, this wine is delicious and worthy of attention all by itself.

***+Shea Vineyard Wine Cellars, Estate vineyard, Willamette Valley pinot noir, 2003: Hard to make bad wine from the Shea vineyard. It has great bones! I have enjoyed this wine in the past and it still presents very youthfully and full of promise. Deep, Willamette red and blackberry compote fruit, with forest floor notes and some nice, wafty church incense. The palette is expansive and almost lush, with big velvety red fruit, chocolate and a touch of rosemary. The finish is long and fine. A winner.

***Col Solare, Columbia Valley, red wine 2001: That crazy Antinori family. They are like truffle pigs when it comes to finding winemaking opportunities. Here they partner with Chateau St. Michelle to make a lovely, smooth talkin’ meritage from Washington state. Mostly cab, merlot and with syrah and malbec thrown in for good measure. As such, the wine is jammy, blackberry and plum flavors, thinning slightly in the mid palate. Lavish oak notes add mocha and vanilla, as well as fine, Asian spice on the finish. A very nice wine to have with some grilled red meat on a warm summer evening.

***Deutz, Blanc de Blanc, champagne, 1998: Yummy and fresh. Fresh, Macintosh apples fill the glass. Yeasty and warm, this wine is delicious, with focused apple and nutmeg notes and baking spice. Delicious and welcoming….this is a warm, welcoming wine that will be a crowd pleaser whenever it is served. Good stuff.

**++Diatom, Clos Pepe, Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay, 2005: I think this is made by Greg Brewer, of Brewer Clifton and Melville fame. While I know these folks do not make shy wines, I was shocked to see that this wine purports to have 15.7% alcohol. Once opened, however, the wine was lively if not crisp, with a sweetness on the nose and palate that suggested residual sugar. Aromas of honeydew, gardenia, and sweet clover honey waft from the glass. The palate is indeed expansive and fleshy, with beechnut and citrus zest but not fat. The finish is long and spicy, showing off some lavish oak notes. Very nice if somewhat of an obvious style.

**+Bjornstad Cellars, Porter Bass vineyard, chardonnay, 2005: Greg Bjornstad has had a hand in some of the better chards and pinots in California, notably DuMol, Kistler, Flowers and Kosta Browne, amongst others. This wine is not really like those. Lean and crisp, this has a young Chablis like lime, green apple and sweet pea nose. The palate instead is zippy and a bit bracing, almost a touch under ripe. The accompanying lemon curd and marzipan notes do not really hold up against the acid, creating a bit of a hole in the middle. The finish has bite and is a touch astringent. All in all, not bad.

Wine Musings #34

Wine of Merit: ***++Demeter Zoltan, Tokaji Furmint, 2001: Zoltan Demeter is considered something of a young gun in Tokaj – he accepts no foreign investment and makes wine as he feels it should be made. If this wine is any indication, he has it figured out. This is a late harvest, sauterne styled wine, with wonderful purity, depth and focus. Bright apricot, Lichee nut, honey, mandarin orange…the flavors are focused, crisp vibrant and wonderfully integrated across a lively palate. Really super and a great find. While I do not profess great knowledge of Hungarian wines, this is clearly a winner and bodes well for further exploration!

***+Kalin DD Sonoma pinot noir, 1997: I have tasted this wine before and found it tired. Not so today. Delicious, sophisticated, wonderful varietal notes. The bottle age adds some nuance of a floral tisane to the nose, tree bark, along with pretty, delicate red fruit and spice. The body of the wine is still very much firm and intact and, at least today, this wine is presenting at its peak. Really wonderful and another example of why Kalin makes just superb wines (try their Semillion too – it is unique and wonderful).

***Brogan Cellars Russian River Valley, pinot noir, 2005: Made by Burt Williams daughter Margi. These wines lack the finesse and balance of the WS wines but are delicious none the less. Deep, deep dark, chocolate covered black cherry notes, cola, peppermint…this wine is aggressively fruit forward and extracted for maximum affect. Fat on the palate with a nice round mouth feel and style-y, spicy finish, I would recommend this wine for the shorter to mid term. Nice!

***Alloro Vineyard, Estate, Willamette Valley, pinot noir, 2004: Wow. This is a serious, old school rustic pinot. After so many cherry fruit, cola driven wines this is a stand out for its willingness to be different. More Pommard than RRV, this Willamette wine offers loamy top soil, bay leaf, green olive, tar and grilled meats and lavender along with powerful red fruit notes. Full but maybe a smidge racy on the palate, the finish is firm and has some pucker to it. Huh. A wine to be admired and probably laid done for a bit.

***Orin Swift, The Prisoner, Napa Valley, 2004: This is a wine that makes no bones about what it is up to: This is about fun – a zin cab syrah mix that tastes great. Brambly, black berry fruit. Toned down a bit since release, adding a bit more sophistication and nuance – you can now pick out the minerals, autumn leaves and mint – it is still exuberant and showy. Yummy in the short term – better than I remember it.

**La Jota, Howell Mountain cabernet sauvignon, 1991: Many folks consider La Jota to be kind of a poor man’s Dunn. I have never thought so. While it does often possess that austere structure and black, brambly mountain fruit, I have never found it to have the balance and integration, let alone the depth, of Randy Dunn’s wine. And structure with a lack of balance is a hollow promise. Case in point this 1991. It has aged itself into a crotchety, lean mountain cab. The fruit has matured and developed more redness. The aromas have mellowed, adding some green olive and rosemary notes. The palate has thinned, still showing bramble, pine and chalk in reserve and the finish can still take the enamel off of your teeth. A slightly better than average wine which has matured to just average, even from this excellent vintage.

***++Silver Oak, Alexander Valley cabernet sauvignon, 2000: It has become fashionable to make fun of Silver Oak over recent years, mostly because of the lavish amounts of NAO that it uses and its recipe driven wine making style. Net/net is that this is a delicious wine from an otherwise difficult vintage. Fresh, lively fruit driven style offering excellent concentration and depth with cigar box and toasty vanilla. Not as much of the signature Alexander green olive element that frankly I think makes this wine more interesting than the Napa. More jammy, berry fruit on the palate with some smoke and minerals and yes, lots of mocha / café latte from the new oak. Finish is deep and long. Dynamite wine. I was glad to enjoy it!

***+Molly Dooker, Enchanted Path, Shiraz Cabernet, McLaren Vale, 2005: Made by the folks who until recently brought you Marquis Phillips wines from down under. This is one of those full throttle, high extract wines that Robert Parker gives ridiculous scores to (and wins the all world label contest - great stuff, right?). I cracked it open just to see what the hype was about. All in all, not bad, though not my cup of tea – or should I say prune juice. In fact, the wine has almost a prune juice color – deep, dark and brooding. Super fat and heady (16% alcohol) this wine has aromas of candied black cherry, crème de cassis and yes prune Danish. On the palate there is an even greater sense of baked, candied fruit, almost like a panforte or a shoefly pie kinda thing, though it is remarkably lively for the weight. The finish is strong but fine and sweet as well. Fun wine, not a wine I will be buying by the case.

****Aubert, Ritchie Vineyard chardonnay, RRV, 2004: I have posted on this wine before, but it was drinking so well tonight I thought it deserved the bump. Wonderful intensity and nuanced aromas of buttered popcorn, linseed oil and pineapple. Great complexity on the palate with liquid minerals and marzipan accompanying the fruit and lemon zest. While in the past I would give the nod to the Ramey effort form this vineyard, tonight this wine nudges ahead. If you have it in the cellar, stand it up (it is very cloudy) and then giver ‘er a pour. Good stuff.