Wine Musings Vol#107

What? A new wine musings? Could it be? Well after a much needed rest, the muser has decided once again to muse. For now. Just to mix it up a bit. I feel like Gary Vee (lol). Here are a few from the vault that merit mentioning...

****++Wine of Merit: Roses de Jeanne, Le Creaux d'Enfer, Champagne, NV (2006): Back with a bang! This is an utterly profound 100% pinot noir, saignee sparkler from Cedirc Bouchard. Very small production from a very small (.032 hectare) parcel in Champagne. Nuanced notes of minerals, pomegranate, rhubarb and tamarind. Very aromatic, with wonderful detail. The palate is chiseled and energetic, good acids, great depth . Long finish. Majestic.

***++ Chateau Leoville Poyferre, St. Julien, Bordeaux, 1995: Bulls eye on this wine's drinking window, though in no hurry at all. Expressive elements of cassis, blackberry, cedar, iodine and grilled bell pepper. Wonderful concentration and depth, front to back. Finish is fine and adds sweetness. Exactly what I hope for from a claret. Wish I had bought more back in the day.

***++ Laurel Glen, Sonoma Mountain, cabernet sauvignon, 1986: Meal-in-a-glass nicoise olives, tar, grilled mushrooms, maturing red fruit, sage. Full on the palate, wonderful balance and depth to the fine, furry finish. Really a stand-out of the evening. I wish they (Napa/Sonoma) still made them this way. A gift.

***+ Restalte, Ribera del Duero, Crianza, 2005: Pure exubernace in a glass. Aromatically explosive stuff. Wonderful effusive notes of red/black raspberry, rosehip, tisane and yes, tagine spices. Somehow very well balanced on the palate, with some new world chocolate and vanilla. But I keep coming back to the nose. My mother-in-law used to have a huge, thickly cut diamond ring that she called "The Wower". This wine is wower material. Great QPR.

***+Merus, Napa Valley, cabernet sauvignon, 2004: No explanations, no excuses. No one will confuse this wine with anything other than a big, brawny, Napa cab. What it lacks in sophistication it makes up for in sheer pleasure. Thick, blueberry pie, treacle and espresso notes. All singing, all dancing. Not much on focus or precision on the palate, just more big, bombastic fruit, mocha and vanilla. Not my everyday cup of tea (or should I say slice of pie) but fun while it lasts. Yum.

*** Windgap, James Berry Vineyard, Paso Robles, grenache/syrah/mouvedre blend, 2007: Awesome. Raspberry, white pepper, bacon and maple. Lively. More red berry and pepper on the palate. Full, coating but still bright...yummy. Pax has really hit a homer with this Wind Gap label. Kudos.

Wine Musings: Vol#106

Wine of Merit: ****++Diamond Creek, Gravelly Meadow, Diamond Mountain, cabernet sauvignon, 1981: They just don't make them like this anymore and it really is a shame. Simply a magnificent wine. A definitive cabernet by any standard (well, ok, at least by mine. No one will confuse this with a Schrader). Tobacco, graphite, red currant, green peppercorn. With time grilled meats, leather. Great structure, front to back. Wonderful, deep minerals mid palate. Amazing balance and integration. Fine, endless, puckering finish. Another ten years left on this bottle. Crazy Good.

****+Gruaud Larose, St. Julien, Bordeaux, 1990: Another wonderful, sophisticated, beautiful wine. A meal in a glass. Blackberry, violets, iodine, blood, nicoise olives, oolong tea, oven roasted Brussels sprouts. So much going on here...and yet perfectly integrated. This wine just unfolds, wave after wave, with time in the glass. Palate coating, long, excellent grip. In no hurry at all. Great wine.

****Kongsgaard, The Judge, Napa Valley, chardonnay, 2006: Perhaps not its finest showing, though still among the best chardonnays available, regardless of provenance. The nose shows that wonderfully typical lemon oil, meringue, anjou pear, cinnamon stick. Hazelnut and a touch of butterscotch. The palate is a little less forthcoming than usual. A bit tighter too. Still, lots of white fruit and citrus. Medium length finish. I think it might be time to drink these up.

****Chateau D'Yquem, Sauternes, Bordeaux, 1989: Always a lovely way to finish a meal. A touch of initial astringency on the nose fades to reveal honeyed peach, apricot, maple and blood orange. Beautiful attack on entry with a coating mouth feel and a note of baked apple and cinnamon. Lingering, spicy finish. Yummy.

****Cedric Bouchard, Roses de Jeanne, Le Creux D'Enfer, Champagne, NV: Perhaps one the best pinot noir saignee champagnes I have ever had. Intense, lively, ebullient in every sense. Bright strawberry, blood orange, queen Anne cherries and rhubarb fruit. Grilled peaches. Superb minerals and a touch of sage. Racy acids, tangy mid palate. A very intense champagne experience. Love it.

***++ Robert Ampeau, Savigny Les Beaune, Burgundy, pinot noir, 1990: Wonderful, mature savigny. Lovely notes of game, red fruit, citrus, green tea, some barnyard. Lithe and medium weight on the palate, red fruit driven, with no drop off, front to back. Finish is medium length and resolving. A great transition wine from the white to the reds.

***+GTS Vineyards, Estate, Diamond Mountain, cabernet sauvignon, 2005: A lovely wine. GTS stands for George Thomas Seaver and yes, this is his vineyard and wine. The wine is made by Thomas Rivers Brown on Tom Seaver's behalf and it shows TRB's house style. Ripe, voluminous, blackberry jam, mulling spices, Christmas pudding notes jump from the glass. The palate is velvety, generous and coating with lots more black fruit, fig and crushed rock. The finish is long and firm, the only real element that tells me this might be from Diamond Mountain, a terroir that generally produces monster wines that are unapproachable at this stage. Just a delicious wine, though I would quibble with the heavy hand.

**Chateau Troplong Mondot, St. Emillon, 1964: Past its prime but not completely without merit. Unraveling, slightly sherried notes of tangy BBQ sauce, caramel, chocolate and plum. More lively on the thinning palate, with better plum notes and hints of mineral and herb. Finish surprisingly pronounced. Older wines like this are always about storage conditions and other variables outside the bottle as well as in, so your mileage may vary significantly. Still, a fun experiment.

Wine Musings Vol#105

Wine of Merit: ****+Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac, 1979: A wonderful expression of Mouton in full voice. Rich, red fruit, graphite, cedar and cassis. With time focused mint chocolate. Gliding, velvety palate with more red and black fruit and mineral. Finish is sweet and resolving. I think this wine is at its peak. Lovely.

***++ Chateau Montrose, St. Estephe, 1986: A meal in a glass. A teenager, still brooding and a bit awkward, this wine needs cellar time. With time and air...Black fruit, loam, freshly butchered meat, licorice root. The palate is big and burly, showing a pronounced tannic ledge and primary red and black fruit. The finish is firm and long. A lovely Montrose with a long future ahead of it.

***++ Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, Pessac Leognan, 2006: Wonderful and better than the 2005. Waxy, linseed, candied orange peel and marzipan, bright guava, red grapefruit and kiwi, apricot and honeycomb. Great intensity and zest. Fabulous acidity and mouth feel. Superb. Lovely now, better later.

***+ Etienne Sauzet, Puligny Montrachet, 1er cru, Les Referts, 2007: Wonderful white burg and an excellent QPR wine. Bright, refreshing notes of key lime and meyer lemon. A hint of lemon custard and white, fleshy pear. Redolent orange blossom. Not over the top at all - wonderfully balanced and in check. Good acids and minerals, with a touch of vanilla on the palate. Medium length, spicy finish. We drank this with a 2006 Aubert Lauren vineyard and while the later was a crowd pleaser, I preferred the Sauzet for its balance and focus.

***+ Troplong Mondot, St. Emillion, 1996: From Magnum. Perfumed nose of red and black berry fruit, plum, tobacco, freshly turned earth and rose petal. Violets. Lithe mouth feel with excellent balance, rounding out with time, yielding more red fruit and chocolate. Finish is furry and long, surprisingly firm. Yummy.

***+ Chateau Leoville Las Cases, St. Julien, 1988: Just coming into its prime, requiring extended air and more than a little patience. With time, red fruit and game aromas, black olive, a tinge of something leafy, a touch of iodine. Very old world. Gliding palate, with lovely balance, firm from front to back. Finish is pronounced but not hard. A pretty wine that has a long life ahead of it.

Wine Musings Vol#104

****++Araujo, Eisele Vineyard, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004: I continue to fawn over this Eisele cabernet, from vintage to vintage. This is a magnificent iteration. Wonderfully balanced, red fruit driven wine with elements of fig, treacle, creosote, pipe tobacco. Gliding palate with excellent grip and a perfectly integrated, spicy finish. The prototype for how Napa cabernet should be.

****++Kongsgaard, The Judge, Napa Valley, chardonnay, 2006: The best I have had from the 2006 vintage. Profound. Amazing depth and elegance. Heady, yet laser focused blood orange, orange blossom, white fruit, lilly of the valley. Cardamom, nutmeg. Great depth, minerals on the oily palate, more tropical fruit. Supple, with surprising delineation through to a long finish. Pretty hard to take anything away from this wine. Great.

***++Moet & Chandon, Cuvee Don Perignon, Epernay, 1996: This is drinking superbly right now. Bright green apple, candied lemon and lime zest, wet slate. Yeasty but bright and fresh. Lively acids on the palate. Baking spices and more citrus. Long, firm finish. A great apertif!

***++Maybach Eterium Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, 2007: Wow. In a super spot right now. Marzipan, candied orange zest, bosc pear, white flowers. Excellent minerality. Long. Deep. Funny that on the back, Chris suggests TRB used a "restrained" hand or something like that...nothing restrained here. Full throttle chard.

***++Ridge Montebello, Santa Cruz Mountains, 1993: Drinking great. Surprisingly youthful. Blackberry, loam, black currant, eucalyptus, sage. Beautifully integrated and balanced. Plenty of grip. Really elegant.

***+Las Flors de la Peira, Les Terrasses du Larzac, Coteaux du Languedoc, 2006:Delicious wine. Ripe grenache provides exuberant, perfumed nose of chocolate covered raspberry / blackberry, lilac, malabar pepper, candied black olive. Coating, velvety palate with very good balance and integration. Full and fresh...not thick or syrupy. Long on the finish, with a slight metallic note that mars an otherwise very pleasant wine.

***B Kosuge, 1313, Pinot Noir, Oregon, 2008: Lush, Eola Amity Hills pinot. Deep, black cherry, pine needles, cola, cocoa. Velvety, with a nice mineral under currant. Well integrated oak. Nice length. Byron has succeeded here in making a wine that borders on opulent but keeps everything in balance and proportion. Sexy wine from a dynamite vintage.

Wine Musings Vol#103

A New Year means back at it for Wine Musings. The interim has seen amazing wines, great tastings and trips to Bordeaux. Thus rejuvenated, we review some recent gems:

Wine of Merit: **** Chateau Lynch Bages, Pauillac, Bordeaux, 1998: Just lovely. Initially showing strong elements of tobacco, graphite, cedar, dark fruit and freshly turned topsoil. Black fruit and minerals on the palate, with lots of grip and depth front to back. Fine, grainy finish. Evolving but in no fear of waning in any way, shape or form. A winner.

***++ Robert Ampeau, Volnay Santenots, 1er Cru, Burgundy, 1993: I love the Ampeau family and their philosophy on wine. While this vintage might suggest that this wine spent a long time in my cellar, the truth is it actually spent more time in theirs. No wine is released until deemed ready...and this was only deemed ready a few years ago. Well...it is ready! Just a wonderful wine...singing in full voice right now with no signs of faltering at all. Barnyard, spring flowers and a lovely Dijon mustard element accompany Bing cherries and clove. A trace of something coppery. Hard to express how alluring this melange really is. Full yet lithe on the palate with good acidity. Seamless, front to back with pleasing depth and definition and a long lasting finish. Love it.

***++ Joseph Phelps, Insignia, Napa Valley, 1994: I always find that older Insignias improve quite a bit over time and this is no exception. Juicy plum, leather, grilled meats and that distinctive mint. With time the mint becomes more pronounced, chocolate and soy notes are added. Air really helps this wine come into focus, adding violets and black fruit on the nose, the same and minerals on the flattering, open-for-business palate. Finish is fine and long. This wine offers full enjoyment, no excuses or explanations required. It should be fine for another 5+ years.

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.