Wine Musings Vol#82

Wine of Merit: ****+Pol Roger, Sir Winston Churchill, Champagne, 1996: Stunning. Crisp acidity, chiseled features, a champagne meant to lay down. Right now it shows bright green apple and citrus notes, great minerals, a hint of almond paste...just wonderful. The palate is refreshing and lithe. The finish offers spice, good length and more minerals. Youthfully exuberant.

****Joseph Swan Vineyards, Estate, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, pinot noir, 1996: Just lovely and surprisingly Burgundian. I always think of Swan wines as rustic and sometimes a bit difficult, but this wine has aged into a classic. Nuanced elements of cherries, black and bing, freshly turned top soil, tisane, clove. Licorice root. Not heavy or brooding at all...in fact very bright and finely balanced. The palate is impeccable, great concentration and grip, adding minerals and depth, lovely balance. Medium long, spicy finish. Kudos to Rod Berglund, who stays the course over at Swan. Really top notch.

***++R&V Dauvissat, Les Preuses, Grand Cru, Chablis, chardonnay, 1996: A great example of grand cru chablis from a great vintage. Intense, laser-focused blood orange and lemon zest. Anjou pear. Wet slate. A touch of fennel and white flowers. Bracing acids, flint and bees wax on the gliding palate. Not oxidized at all. Great the next day in fact. Wonderful.

***+Dominique Laurent, Clos de la Roche, Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, pinot noir, 1996: Lovely and nicely balanced front to back. Excellent fruit, integration and depth. Darker cherry elements, supporting spice and rose hip, underbrush, minerals, cinnamon. The palate shows good grip and length, with fine but pronounced tannins that offer confidence for longer cellaring. Surprisingly old school in style from the more new world oriented Laurent. Delicious.

***+Sylvian Cathaird, Les Malconsorts, 1er Cru, Vosne Romanee, pinot noir, 1996: Delicious. I wish I had spent more time with this wine. Perhaps slightly awkward on opening, with time the wine reveals nuance and complexity; bing cherry, ginger, underbrush, licorice root and smoke all seem to intertwine and emerge as a pot pourri-like melange. The palate is firm and perhaps a bit angular, though again with time it softens, sweetens and fills, adding great tagine spices. A wine for grown-ups. I liked it very much.

***Bernard Defaix, Cote de Lechet, 1er Cru, Chablis, chardonnay, 1996: Similar to the Dauvissat, just a bit less so. Perhaps a bit more rustic. Delicious, citrus fruit and zest, now with an element of citrus pith. Liquid minerals, crushed oyster shell. Not quite as sharply focused on the palate as the Grand Cru. Still very lively and very much in form. An excellent effort.

***Jean Marc Boillot, Les Perrieres, 1er Cru, Puligny Montrachet, chardonnay, 1996: Happily this wine also was in good form. Initially demure, this wine opened to warm crushed gravel, white fruits and a touch of lavender. Perhaps a bit more feminine than its chablis counterparts, with a touch less length. Still, delicious.

***Williams Selyem, Hirsch vineyard, Sonoma Coast, pinot noir, 1996: After the Caithard and the Swan, this is like having a black cherry milkshake. A bowl full of cherries, cola, cream, vanilla, a hint of spearmint and caramelized brown sugar...what this wine lacks in sophistication it makes up for in simple enjoyment. Very fresh and full. I was surprised that it did not have the weight, the smoke or the dark fruit elements I associate with Sonoma Coast pinot. Not very nuanced, deep or for that matter interesting, it is undoubtedly delicious. Fun and tasty.

Wine Musings Vol#33

Wine of Merit: ***+Phillippe Pacelet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru "La Perrière" 2004: A wine I bought on the recommendation of Crush Wines and Spirits in NYC…a wine store quickly becoming a go to source for great wine. Phillippe Pacalet is I believe more of the new generation in Burgundy wine making – and it is apparent for the good and for the bad in his wine. This bottling has amazing purity and focus. The varietal fruit characteristics are perfect and intense. Dark, lush, black cherry, green tea, spice box and cola notes. A wonderful creaminess to the palate, along with more red fruit and nutmeg / clove spice. Absolutely delicious and a pleasure to drink. It has, however, in my opinion lost its old world charm. Blind I would have guessed RRV by one of the boutique producers. No way is this Burgundy! And yet…A lovely wine that I will drink with pleasure. When I want the noise and the funk…I guess we will always have Ampeau!

***+Flowers Andreen Gale, Sonoma Coast pinot noir, 2001: Elegance with stature. Perfumed, lovely Sonoma coast fruit, deep, red fruit, cola, lavender, pine needles and spearmint. Effusive but perfectly aligned and integrated. Lush, creamy palate with black cherry, nutmeg and cinnamon spice. Loong, menthol finish with laser focused eucalyptus. Best now, right at its peak. Fine indeed.

***+Mount Mary, Lilydale valley, Quintet, 1994: Something of a cult classic, Mount Mary is an insiders wine and considered by many to be the very best wine Down Under has to offer. This wine blew me away on release. It is a typical Bordeaux blend with an Aussie slant. Made back in the day when 13% alcohol was considered more than enough. It has aged quite a bit since then, showing a smidge of thinning at the rim, though the hue is still deep plum. The nose is a total ringer for a mature Sant Julien from a very good if slightly uneven vintage, say 1988. Garrigue, sois bois, some barnyardy elements, blackberry preserve, violets, mint, mature plum, tobacco…it’s all there. Even the grilled bell pepper that makes me think Gruaud Larose. Downright juicy. Palate shows more, juicy fruit, but is a tad thin mid palate and I taste a greenness that suggests American oak. Finish is sweet, spicy and adds some minerals, along with more telltale greenness. Delicious, but I don’t think it will get better with time.

***Failla, Alban Vineyards Viognier, 2005: Ehren Jordan just doesn’t make bad wine. The Alban vineyard is known for producing top quality viognier fruit. This is a dynamite viognier – and I find most new world viognier cloying and obvious. This instead is sophisticated and feminine, offering perfumed, guava, marzipan, honeysuckle and lavender notes that fill the glass, with an underlying hint of slate. The palate is smooth and viscous, with honeyed yellow peach, more minerals and asian spice. Great served cold with herbed cheeses and smoked salmon. If you eat trief, I guess seafood would work.

***Ridge, Dusi Vineyard ATP zinfandel, 1995: Another of the Advance Tasting Program (ATP) wines from ridge. 100% zinfandel. This was a bit of a SNAFU wine when it was made – the intention was to make it a late harvest, 40 degree brix type wine. Instead ripening stalled at 26 degrees brix and so they simply harvested it thinking that it would be a full throttle, in your face, short shelf life zin. So I didn’t hold out much hope. Instead it was actually lovely. Deep, dark, sweet brambly plum fruit, black pepper and some talc dominate the nose. The palate is still lively and round, not as flabby and dried up as the nearly 15 alcohol would have had me believe. Finish is spicy and resolved but not thin. A lucky find.

***Ridge, Lytton Estate ATP zinfandel, 1994: This was meant to be an age-worthy wine – a field blend that includes 100 year old head pruned zin as well as carignane and petite sirah - and it delivered. Bordeaux like complexity offers red berry fruit, cassis and pine needle as well as sois bois. Maturing palate feel is smooth and integrated, nicely balanced. A very nice glass of wine to drink now or hold, though I don’t think it will improve.

***Williams Selyem, Russian River Valley pinot noir, 2000: I think this wine represents the moment in time when Ed and Burt cashed out and left the winery to the Pellegrini folks. As such, I guess they went out with a whimper as opposed to a bang. I suggest this in comparison to WS pinots that I have had in the past. Actually, by itself it is a rather nice wine, especially given the difficult vintage. Very mature with bricking at the rim, the wine has a prune Danish and black cherry liqueur nose, with a nuance of green tea and cinnamon. The palate is lavish and full, maybe even creamy. The finish offers Asian spice, pretty much resolved. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

***Jocelyn Lonen Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon, 2004: A quick update on this wine as I have posted on it recently. It is drinking great. Lush, deep red and black fruit, cassis and chocolate, a touch of truffle…no one will confuse this for a Ch Montrose but everyone should appreciate this for the delicious, palate coating mouthful of wine that it represents. At $35 a pop, this still represents an excellent value. Yum!

Wine Musings Vol#11

From notes taken February, 2006:

Wine of Merit: ****+Didier Dageneau Pur Sang, 1996: Crazy Didier Dageneau. He makes great Loire whites! Calling his wine a Puilly Fume, which I guess it is, is like calling a Ferrari a Fiat (which I guess it is). Anyway, this is a 10 year old Sauvignon Blanc that is fresh, vivid and wonderfully complex. Out of the glass it is all about the freshness, with bright lemongrass, grilled grapefruit and fig. With time the wine unwinds to show more garrigue, the wonderful flint and wet stone of the terroir and even some tobacco. The palate is fresh and lively and deftly balanced to the perfectly integrated finish. Too young still? It boggles the mind. A Doug Polaner repped wine, by the way. Max, how does your brother rep all the best wines? Not for the meek – like $70 a pop. Try his other wine, Silex – it will rock your world (excuse the pun). And your wallet ($100+).

**+Williams Selyem Sonoma Coast, 1996: A bit tired. Maturing color, a bit hazy. Varietal. Ripe red fruit, cinnamon, green tea and cola. The mid palate is just right trending toward thinning. The finish is short and a tinge of green and slightly bitter spice belies the new oak it was barreled in (American?), now that the fruit is not there to support it. I think this might be the first release after Ed and Burt sold to the Millbrook guy. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

Belland, Chassagne Montrachet Morgeot, Clos Pitois 2002: Funny how red chassagne montrachet has become the exception, not the rule. Used to be the other way around. Anyway, from the famed Morgeot (1er cru) vineyard. This wine right now is not forthcoming and reveals only good structure, hinting at varietal fruit elements. I also pick up a green edge, cola and maybe a slight sweet vegetal (beet?) aroma. Maybe it was the beet salad I was eating. :>) I would defer judging this wine til it is ready to have an honest conversation. Seems like it is built for the longer haul, though.

****+Gruaud Larose 1990: Now that’s what I am talking about. Thanks Gary! Mature but big boned cabernet from St. Julien. I love this wine – and love it more every time I have it. Wonderful stone fruit, briar, slate, cassis and tobacco – man, why smoke Cubans when you can drink this stuff. Typical Gruaud animal / leather notes, though I notice they have become less pronounced the more Parker gives them higher scores. Oh well. Perfect balance with more minerals and black fruit and smoke on the palate. Furry finish. Enjoy now or over the next 5+ years for sure. I bought mine on release for $27 a pop at Brewers World, back in the day. Set you back $140 these days.

***Inniskillin Vidal ice wine, 1998: Take off to the great white north! From the Niagara region. Wow! This stuff is so yummy. Seriously mature, honeyed color. Thick, juicy and sweet. The nose is honey, orange blossom, lavender and grilled peaches. Explosive palate, adding tobacco notes, chai and excellent purity of tropical fruit (papaya?). Finish is firm and spicy but never bitter or medicinal. Ageless. Heavier than the Bonny Doon Vin de Glacier (made with Muscat Canelli) and a bit less complex than some of the best Freemark Abbey Edelweins (botrytis Riesling), this is a wine that is fun for the whole family, though not cheap ($50 for a split). It’s a beauty, you hoser!