Saturday, November 8, 2008

Wine Musings Vol#71


Wine of Merit: ***++Pahlmeyer Winery, Napa Valley, chardonnay, 2006: Another chardonnay that I admire, often from up close. This iteration of Jason Pahlmeyer’s white wine concoction is less corpulent and flattering than I have typically come to expect. High toned citrus blossom, peach nectar, cardamom and Zuppa Inglese. The palate shows structure and focus, bright acids and Asian spice, even as it expands ad envelops. A wine I am happy to welcome to the table each and every time. Super.

***+Aston Estate, Clone 115/667, Sonoma Coast, pinot noir, 2006: Big Ups to Thomas Rivers Brown. I know and love his Rivers Marie pinots. That said I knew this was a new wine from a new vineyard, made for someone other than himself (in this case Schrader). I am pleased to report that it is delicious. True to its Sonoma Coast rootstock, this wine is deep and brooding, but not heavy handed or over extracted in any way. Vibrant? Powerful? You bet. But still balanced, beautifully integrated and true to the varietal. I happen to love the 115 and 667 clones and know them intimately (I make a pinot using that same make up from the Amber Ridge vineyard in the RRV) and was quite pleased to see how each clone contributed in a clear, focused, unmistakable way to create a whole greater than the sum of the parts. The 115 offers lovely, deep, fragrant pinot aromatics of bing cherry, cola, floral tisane and cinnamon stick. The 667 makes up the stuffing, with darker fruit notes, blood orange, smoke, spice and a strong backbone. Generous mouth feel and a fine, tingly, spicy finish. A lovely wine and one that I will cellar with confidence and drink with pleasure. Well done TRB!

***Flowers Winery, estate vineyard, Sonoma Coast, chardonnay, 2002: I have quite a bit of heart for what Flowers has accomplished out on Camp Meeting Ridge over the years. The wines are dense and complex, long lived wines that reward cellaring with nuance and added sophistication. This chardonnay follows suit. Lovely, bright citric fruit, tobacco and minerals. A slight autumnal quality. A definite sense of Sonoma Coast terroir. The wine is still taught and toned, showing excellent depth. Full, expansive mid palate and a long, firm finish. Top notch effort.

**++Two Hands Winery, For Love or Money, cane cut semillon, Barossa Valley, 2005: I find Aussie desert wine and French desert wine as comparable as Australian rules football and The Beautiful Game…which is too say almost not at all. One is about brute force and will, the other about grace and art and talent. So it is with this Two Hands semillon, which has been compared by others to a Sauturnes. Favorably. I don’t see it. Yes it possesses botrytis like sweetness, canned peach syrup, lichee, honeysuckle and jasmine. But the flavors and aromas are obvious and cloying, as is the mouth feel. The finish is a bit vague. Not that this is a bad wine; it is not. It is delicious…just delicious in an obvious way. And while it is much less expensive than top notch sauternes (what isn’t?), I think in this case you get what you pay for. A fun romp.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Wine Musings Vol#70


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.