Wine of Merit: ****Leoville Poyferre, estate, St. Julien, Bordeaux, 1996: Signing in full voice. Just great, room-filling aromatics. Garrigue, blackberry, nicoise olives, licorice, cassis. Clear-eyed, focused and very much on point. The palate glides. More berries, chocolate, integrated, a touch of clove. Finish is fine and long. A wine to enjoy now or cellar for another 10 years. A pleasure - and probably still a value from that vintage as it was not a huge scoring wine upon release (88 WS, 93 RP).
***+Newton Cellars, Napa Valley, Unfiltered cabernet sauvignon, 1991: Just right. Evolved. Mature red plum fruit, funghi trifolati, grilled fennel, tar. The palate is velvet, more plum and chocolate, coating. Finish is succulent and of middle length. A wine that is giving it all it has right now.
*** Chateau La Nerthe, Chateauneuf du Pape, Blanc, 2004: Love it! Great, zesty white from the sunny part of France. I am crazy for white chateauneuf, especially in ripe vintages. This wine just has wonderful joie de vivre, great concentration and boyancy! Floral, expansive, happy notes of grilled pineapple, clover honey, cardamom, fennel, a touch of lilac or lavender. The palate is full yet firmly structured and the finish long and spicy. Van Gogh is a glass. Bottled sunshine.
***Jocelyn Lonen, Bohn Vineyard, Russian River Valley, sonoma, Reserve chardonnay, 2006: Very nice indeed. I think this represents a good benchamrk for RRV chardonnay; lovely, bright citrus zest, lime blossom, nuances of sweet tropical fruit. A note of bees wax and mild tobacco. The palate is rich, viscous and oily, adding some mineral and marzipan sugar. The finish is spicy and long, a touch of nutmeg. No one would confuse this with a white burg and no one should. A smile.
***Bedell Cellars, Cupola, North Fork Long Island, 1998: I do not profess a great deal of knowledge about Long Island wines. This is a meritage of sorts, representing a typical Bordeaux blend with cabernert, merlot, cab franc, petite verdot and malbec. I have to say...it is delicious! Age has added nice complexity to the nose, with ripe black berry fruit components, a touch of bell pepper and truffle, violets and licorice root. The low alcohol and still bright acids makes this wine a joy to have with food. Perhaps the mid palate could use some stuffing. But for a 10 year old wine you take the mid town tunnel to get to, I was impressed. Well done!
**++Duhart Millon, estate, Paulliac, Bordeaux, 1996: Buoyed by the Poyferre, I struck out for gold again. No such luck. A very decent, perfumed wine, this iteration seems a bit tired. Lovely red and black fruits on the nose, cedar and cassis. A hint of minerals. The palate thins a bit in the middle and the finish is on the short side. Probably a wine to drink up, wistfully thinking about what could have been.
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