Wine Musings Vol#102

Wine of Merit: ****Domaine Roumier, Ruchottes Chambertin, Gran Cru, Cote D’Or, 2008: Stunning. An elegant wine with poise, texture, structure and nuance. Wonderful depth and complexity for such a young wine. Berries, forest floor, potpourri…wonderfully integrated and nuanced. Length and grip on the seamless palate. Surprisingly approachable. A lovely wine.

****Domaine Ramonet, Bienvenues Batard Montrachet, Grand Cru, Cote D’Or, 2007: Once again, a stunning wine. Laser-like focus and clarity. Marzipan, linseed oil, candied citrus zest, a nuance of North African spices…wow. Mineral and citrus infused palate front to back. Endless finish. Simply a great wine.

****Tenuta San Guido, Sassicaia, Toscana, IGT, 2007: A capable successor to the awesome 2006. A four square wine with big structure and still very primary elements, but clearly everything is there and in the right proportions. Perhaps not quite as ripe as 2006, but perhaps also better proportioned. For fans of this wine and this estate, 2007 looks like another must own vintage. Outstanding!

***++Renato Ratti, Marcenasco, Langhe, Barolo, 2005: I loved this wine. Approachable yet complex, perfectly balanced and a wonderful example of wines from La Morra. Strawberries and cherry liqueur, espresso, damp earth. Great balance, lovely concentration front to back, a powerful yet supple finish. A delicious and promising wine and a price that makes a lot of sense to me. Has Barolo replaced Bordeaux as the go-to red wine for the cellar?

***+Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke, Riesling Spätlese, 2004: Drinking perfectly right now. Rich and textured. Nose of white flowers, Asian pear, yellow peach, ginger, honeysuckle. Undertones of slate. Unctuous palate, lovely balance, medium, spicy finish. Just delicious.

***+Cargasacchi, Santa Rita Hills, pinot noir, 2005: Delicious! Bright, zingy strawberry rhubarb, cranberry, baking spices. Palate is nicely toned, lithe and seamless front to back, adding bright acids and some pink peppercorn notes. Generous oak, but well integrated. With extended air the oak becomes more prevalent and less enjoyable. An easy drinking SRH pinot that was great with food and a real crowd pleaser.

***Paolo Bea, San Valentino, Umbria, IGT, sagrantino, 2006: Fruit-tastic! Prominent notes of blueberry, blackberry, plum, black licorice and mint. With more air, cardamom and tar. A bit one dimensional. Palate is coating, a bit grapey and well structured, with lots of grip. Finishes with drying tannins. Lacks the sophistication and savoir faire of the more serious Bea bottlings...but delicious nonetheless.

Wine Musings Vol#1

All wines graciously poured by the Sevrens at the Amanti Vino Grand Opening, Oct. 2005:


Wine of Merit: ***+Failla Phoenix Ranch Syrah, 2003: Yet another beautiful effort from Ehren Jordan. If you liked the pinot you will love the syrah. Wonderfully clean, pure fruit. Black raspberry, blueberry, earth, spice box. Great concentration and balance. Wood is integrated perfectly. Delicious now and later. You will not mistake it for La Chapelle, but at $30 a pop, don’t hate – celebrate! Buy more? Hells yeah.

*+Clos le Chance Petite Sirah, 2003. I don’t know why so many folks make petite sirah wines in California. Most are yuck. Add this one to the list. Stick with Stags Leap.

*++Jarvis Cabernet 1992: I dislike everything about this winery – it is so snobby - so it is hard to objectively evaluate their wines. OK, I guess. The vintage was forward to begin with so no surprise that it is falling apart a bit. Mature, overripe fruit, mocha, flabby. I also think this was early days for the winery. Pass.

***Richard Partridge Cabernet 2002 – I dig his wines. 100% cab. Great structure but also great fruit intensity. Integrated flavors of black fruit, licorice, floral notes. Good, honest cal cab. Delish. Buy more? Probably not – but happy to drink it.

****Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco 1999 – Umbrian wine. Wow! Talk about purity of fruit and sense of place! Every bit as good as the Caprai wines. Wonderful, red fruit, cigar tobacco / clove, grilled meats, rosemary and white pepper. Palate coating and balanced. Still, $80 a pop? This is excellent Italian wine. I just don’t think Italian wine from Umbria should cost this much. It just isn’t serious enough. That’s just me – I grew up there and can’t help it.

*+Tin Barn Cabernet, 2002: Made form Volker Eisele’s vineyard I think, over by the SLD. Not special. Another restaurant wine. People liked it because it was “chocolate-y”. Moving on…

**++TestaMatta 2000: More expensive Italian wine - this one has a great label and a great name (“Crazy Head”). Made by some nut named Bibi Graetz. Yet again, another “International Style” Italian wine for like $60. Supposed to be 100% Sangiovese, yet I don’t taste it. Lots of New French Oak. Very pure fruit and the tannins are sweet. Yawn. Again, a Skurinck wine and they know vino. Maybe it’s your bag.

**Varner Hidden Block Santa Cruz Pinot Noir, 2003. After the Monteallegro, I was Santa Cruz dreaming. This wine is kind of ho-hum in my book. Medium / light palate, mostly cola and green tea with some red fruit. Firm on the finish, but not really supported by any kind of weight. A fairly homogenous pinot noir. Buy more? No.