Wine Musings Vol#96

Wine of Merit: *****Chateau Pichon Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande, Paulliac, 1995: Just a wonderful wine. Nuanced nose of plum, sage, baker's chocolate, pipe tobacco. Hint of menthol. Completely integrated. Wonderful balance. Sumptuous mouthfeel, lingering finish. This wine has been described as seductive and I completely agree. A wine I was thinking about the next day. Great.

****Larkmead, LMV Salon, Napa Valley, cabernet sauvignon, 2007: Another lovely wine...and in fact a good, modern day interpretation of the 95 Pichon Lalande made in the USA. More vanilla, hazelnut in the upfront, this is a wine that unravels nuance upon nuance as it opens up evolves in the glass. Sweet black and red fruits, spiced cherry pipe tobacco, black licorice, molten chocolate. Firm structure and deep concentration suggest that this will benefit from ample cellaring, though it is hard to fault the heady, youthful exuberance. Not quite the sophisticated grande damme that the Pichon Lalande represents, but clearly a family resemblance!

***+Galardi, Terra di Lavoro, Roccamonfina, aglianico, 2004: I think I might have hit this wine at a difficult time in its evolution. It presents with super interesting notes of black raspberry preserves, graphite, licorice root, smokey tar. Mid palate does seem however a bit muted. Big finish. It is very plausible that the mid palate will expand and that the disjointed nature of the wine will abet and that the wine will synch up. A great, very artisanal iteration of a wine from the "Land of Work". I will bury remaining bottles.

***+Phillips Hill, Oppenlander vineyard, Anderson Valley, pinot noir, 2006: Refreshingly honest, high quality cool climate pinot. A delicious, queen anne cherry and rose hip base, from which emanate nuances of oolong tea, cinnamon stick and earth notes. Blood orange zest. An undercurrent of soft tannins front to back, bright acids, more red fruit and spice. Very nice purity and focus. Lovely.

***Edmunds Saint John, Heart of Gold, El Dorado County, 2008: Like an early summer breeze. A vermentino, white grenchae blend, the wine is sunny, fresh and juicy. Redolent of freshly sliced, white Jersey peaches. A touch of grilled fennel, almond and white flowers. Bright acids. A great summer sipper and wonderful QPR at $20.

***Ridge, Geyserville, Sonoma County, 1993: A field blend of zinfandel, petite syrah, carignane, alicante and mataro (mouvedre). Surprisingly fresh for its age. Brambly, peppery, mature red plum. Tobacco leaf and leather. Full, coating mouthfeel and a satisfying, long spicy, peppery finish. No real hurry to drink. A testament to this wine's longevity and structure.

Wine Musings LTD: Polaner Selections Tasting

First, I did not taste the majority of the wines. As I was not there to buy a portfolio, I could cherry pick…and cherry pick I did. I will tell you this: pricing for good wine is getting ridiculous. The wines I truly cared for where often north of $100. I don’t understand it. I will be spending more money with crush pad and much less with delicious but unproven wineries like Revana, Bucella, Amuse Bouche, Merus, Realm and the like which come out with first vintage wines at $100+. It is not appropriate. That said…

I did try the 2004 Merus, and found it wonderful. Great depth, extraction and grip. Mmmm. Black fruit and minerals, fairly open knit and generous (a signature of the vintage). Yummy now and I am guessing yummy for the next 8-10 years. Not sure it will get better, but it will probably mellow and become more nuanced. Given that this is a wine made in someone’s garage out in Napa valley, it should be congratulated.

Similar are my impressions of Realm. They offered a barrel sample of the 2005 wines, which will bottle this spring. The ToKalon, Dr. Crane and Farella vineyards. The former two are spectacular. Really special. Wines to look out for. Kudos.

I also had the pleasure of tasting the 2004 Phillip Togni. Again, wonderfully, open, jammy but still intense and deep. Reminds me of the 1994 vintage. Yum.

I have to say, Larkmead is making lovely wines, albeit Merlot. I liked there 2002 wines and loved the 2004 Firebelle Merlot. Really great. Deep, red and black fruit, mocha, violets. Maybe lavender. Delish!

A new wine, made by Thomas Brown. 2004 Maybach cabernet – from the family that made the car back in the Father Land. Made from a vineyard on the Turnbull property. This wine is wonderful as well – and given the low production, a wine you will not see unless you order it direct from the winery. I would if I were you – or me! I cannot think of a Thomas Brown wine I do not like.

Similar comments about the Driknward Peschon cabernet from 2004. Supple, ripe, deep, excellent depth. Furry tannins. Yes!

Lastly, the wines from Black Sears, long known for the Howell mountain fruit, rock. The 2004 zin was stately – reminding me of the old Storybook zins I used to faun over. Bramble, balck mountain fruit, great balance, nicely integrated oak. The 2003 cab was also surprisingly good, very Dunn like – deep, purple, blueberry and blackberry – maybe snozberry (!). Nice…

Other US wines that merit special mention are the Brookman 2004 cab, the Ojai white hawk syrah, the Pax alder spring syrah, Arnot Roberts Alder Springs and the Copain Eaglepoint ranch syrah (this whole cluster fermentation thing has to stop – the wines are all getting pretty much made in a cookie cutter way), the 2004 Wolf family cab . All of these wines merit buying and drinking.

What else stood out for me? The CNdP 2005 wines rock. The Dom. De la Janasse wines were deep, flavorful and much more interesting than most of the US wines, especially the VV. The 2004 Artadi rioja pagos viejos ruled the roost. Very, very special. Deep plum, saddle leather, garrigue, mint. Nice. I tried some older wines from Lopez de Heredia. They tasted…old. The pinot noir from Ch. De La Tour from 2005 was a true pinot noir vin de garde. The Clos de Vougeot VV was Righteous.