Wine of Merit: ****++Diamond Creek Winery, Gravelly Meadow, Diamond Mountain, cabernet sauvignon, 1983 : The Grand Daddy. I have a very soft spot in my heart for this vintner, this winery and this vineyard. To drink this wine now, 25 years after harvest, is to realize that ultimately Al Brounstein was a genius, perhaps even a prophet, was right about everything and knew more about how to make great wine than all of his critics will ever know in their combined lifetimes. Fresh as a daisy, more complex than a Stella, as true as the word of G-d, this wine moves me. Wonderful, nuanced elements of freshly butchered fillet of beef, iodine, smoky grilled red pepper, ripe red fruit, warm black lava beach pebbles, chewy licorice root, how this is a new world wine is beyond me. Pressed I would have guessed 90 Montrose! With time in the glass, out rolls the fresh broad leaf cigar tobacco, the note that consistently makes cognoscenti call this wine the Haut Brion of Napa. Full, beautiful, perfectly balanced palate shows more red/black fruit and minerals.
Not worthy – but grateful indeed.
****+Château Ducru Beaucalliou, estate, St. Julien, bordeaux, 1995 : True to form is this Ducru, the “super-est” of all super seconds in my opinion. I always find myself using the term “stately” when describing wine from this estate; this wine has excellent posture, dresses in the best fabrics and has excellent table manners! Brooding dark fruit, cassis, cedar, chalk, wonderful black pepper, violets and stony minerals…give this wine time to unfold itself in the glass and marvel at its layers. The palate is full on, bottomless, still primal but wonderfully balanced and staged. Same goes for the finish. A great wine to drink or hold. Lovely.
****Domaine de Chevalier, estate, Pessac Leognan, bordeaux blanc, 2002: It is true that if I had to be a white wine I would be a grand cru Chablis. That said if somehow Chablis were not available to me, I would be white Bordeaux from Graves with nary a whimper. I just love this wine's complexity, its style, its panache. Bright, aromatic lime blossom, fresh ginger, ripe star fruit (yes, that’s right…star fruit. I also thought it tasted like nothing until I had it in Mexico a few years back. Find it and try it!), honeyed tobacco and an undeniable fresh, ripe Crenshaw melon note all come together just perfectly. A nuance of celery root. Beautiful integration front to back, firm but never biting palate. So fresh! Long finish, with a touch of white pepper and Thai basil. Hard to believe this was $30 at retail. What a steal. Righteous.
****Château Montrose, estate, St. Estephe, bordeaux, 1999 : You know, Montrose is one of those wines. Always alluring, sometimes mind boggling, just the mention heightens the senses and stirs a certain anticipation. Ohhhh…the possibilities; often somewhat wild and savage (when it is at its best), this wine is not quite there yet, though very promising. Still very primal and perhaps even still working off its baby fat, it is magically delicious, beckoning with come hither qualities of ripe plum, fragrant violet and thick, zesty black pepper. The palate flatters…but one senses the muscle hiding beneath. The finish points even more to better days, firm and integrated. Somewhat still one dimensional, I get the sense that this wine will offer even more pleasure and nuance as it continues to age. Yummy now, I believe this holds delights yet to be sampled if one can just avail oneself of the virtue of patience.
Not worthy – but grateful indeed.
****+Château Ducru Beaucalliou, estate, St. Julien, bordeaux, 1995 : True to form is this Ducru, the “super-est” of all super seconds in my opinion. I always find myself using the term “stately” when describing wine from this estate; this wine has excellent posture, dresses in the best fabrics and has excellent table manners! Brooding dark fruit, cassis, cedar, chalk, wonderful black pepper, violets and stony minerals…give this wine time to unfold itself in the glass and marvel at its layers. The palate is full on, bottomless, still primal but wonderfully balanced and staged. Same goes for the finish. A great wine to drink or hold. Lovely.
****Domaine de Chevalier, estate, Pessac Leognan, bordeaux blanc, 2002: It is true that if I had to be a white wine I would be a grand cru Chablis. That said if somehow Chablis were not available to me, I would be white Bordeaux from Graves with nary a whimper. I just love this wine's complexity, its style, its panache. Bright, aromatic lime blossom, fresh ginger, ripe star fruit (yes, that’s right…star fruit. I also thought it tasted like nothing until I had it in Mexico a few years back. Find it and try it!), honeyed tobacco and an undeniable fresh, ripe Crenshaw melon note all come together just perfectly. A nuance of celery root. Beautiful integration front to back, firm but never biting palate. So fresh! Long finish, with a touch of white pepper and Thai basil. Hard to believe this was $30 at retail. What a steal. Righteous.
****Château Montrose, estate, St. Estephe, bordeaux, 1999 : You know, Montrose is one of those wines. Always alluring, sometimes mind boggling, just the mention heightens the senses and stirs a certain anticipation. Ohhhh…the possibilities; often somewhat wild and savage (when it is at its best), this wine is not quite there yet, though very promising. Still very primal and perhaps even still working off its baby fat, it is magically delicious, beckoning with come hither qualities of ripe plum, fragrant violet and thick, zesty black pepper. The palate flatters…but one senses the muscle hiding beneath. The finish points even more to better days, firm and integrated. Somewhat still one dimensional, I get the sense that this wine will offer even more pleasure and nuance as it continues to age. Yummy now, I believe this holds delights yet to be sampled if one can just avail oneself of the virtue of patience.
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