CWD: What did you drink last night (or whenever)?

2012 Puffeney Poulsard M: The Poulsard M is maybe my favorite wine from Puffeney. Hard to say. This wine is still drinking young, and stands as a rebuke to anyone who thinks Poulsard has to be an early quaffer. Lots of structure. So much that, if this were a different wine, you might be concerned that the structure will stand out too much with further aging as the fruit recedes. But Puffeney Poulsard M isn't about fruit, so I'm not worried. I don't see this wine reaching its peak, for my palate, for at least another five years. Maybe ten or more.
 
Sky Zinfandel 2014 - 14%. Beautiful savory notes, with some lovely secondary fruit. The tannins are present, but in no rush to show off. Clearly from California, but so elegant and fun... and soulful.

Hope Wells Pinot Noir 2017 - 12.5%. Poise and elegance to spare. And, very pretty. Lovely fruit, just ripe, no showing off. Solidly medium bodied, hits everywhere, front, mid and center. Somewhere in the hypothetical middle between the boldness of Cameron and the suave of Eyrie. I'm a fan.
 
2018 Tiberio Pecorino: Thanks to others here for calling out Tiberio. This is the first wine from them for me, and it's really a joy, particularly at less than $25. Fruit, but not too much. Nice acid. What we often call minerality. This would fill many of the same roles as a Chablis, but has the guts to stand up to some richer food too. Jim Cowan should try this wine -- I note that it's available in Florida.
 
originally posted by Jim Hanlon:
2018 Tiberio Pecorino: Thanks to others here for calling out Tiberio. This is the first wine from them for me, and it's really a joy, particularly at less than $25. Fruit, but not too much. Nice acid. What we often call minerality. This would fill many of the same roles as a Chablis, but has the guts to stand up to some richer food too. Jim Cowan should try this wine -- I note that it's available in Florida.

Love the 2018. Was just echoing similar sentiments to his (non)-royal fatness the other day. I thought of its departure from your basic Chablis/Muscadet use case as its being (brace yourself for profound insight) Italian. Do not disagree about trying with richer food in general, but as it seems so suitable to mollusks, perhaps an Italian variation (is there a mussels dish that involves plum tomatoes, olives or anchovies)?
 
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by Jim Hanlon:
2018 Tiberio Pecorino: Thanks to others here for calling out Tiberio. This is the first wine from them for me, and it's really a joy, particularly at less than $25. Fruit, but not too much. Nice acid. What we often call minerality. This would fill many of the same roles as a Chablis, but has the guts to stand up to some richer food too. Jim Cowan should try this wine -- I note that it's available in Florida.

Love the 2018. Was just echoing similar sentiments to his (non)-royal fatness the other day. I thought of its departure from your basic Chablis/Muscadet use case as its being (brace yourself for profound insight) Italian. Do not disagree about trying with richer food in general, but as it seems so suitable to mollusks, perhaps an Italian variation (is there a mussels dish that involves plum tomatoes, olives or anchovies)?

The mussels dish sounds great. I was thinking things like squash-based ravioli or roast chicken.
 
Super Bowl deserves 2019 Stirn.

C3D366E9-E91B-4535-82B9-1B6DC7F2154C.jpg
 
for the uninitiated, this is some serious sfjoe nostalgia here.
2013 woodruff chardonnay
how upside down is this world, in which classic french cooking that must be ideally paired with properly aged white burgundy gets paired with this because the p.a.w.b is premoxed, too expensive/non-existent because it needs to be pre-premoxed, or frustratingly not ready when compromise on its age is made in an attempt to avoid premox.

windgap.jpg
p.s. jayson, the color on that lauer is crazy
 
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
for the uninitiated, this is some serious sfjoe nostalgia here.
2013 woodruff chardonnay
how upside down is this world, in which classic french cooking that must be ideally paired with properly aged white burgundy gets paired with this because the p.a.w.b is premoxed, too expensive/non-existent because it needs to be pre-premoxed, or frustratingly not ready when compromise on its age is made in an attempt to avoid premox.

windgap.jpg
p.s. jayson, the color on that lauer is crazy

I needed clarity and cut to pair with homemade Guizhou Chicken. Florian has now reached an elite state providing elite slate.

7BCC1FC7-DAD0-44D2-9787-00781B376B9D.jpg
 
2018 Piedrasassi Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah: It's interesting that Sashi Moorman produces both one of the most hyped sets of California wines, the Domaine de la Cote Pinot Noirs, and one of the least hyped, the Piedrasassi Syrahs. I've not tasted extensively, but the quality seems about equivalent, which is to say high. Steve's Syrahs are in a league of their own, but Piedrasassi is up with the best of class. There will be too much fruit here for some, even at moderate ripeness (13%), but things are balanced and the wine has non-fruit complexity, even at a younger age. My gut is that these wines won't last as long as some of the Qupe Bien Nacido Syrahs have, which is to say decades, but this already drinks well and should for at least another five years. For those open to such wines, it's well worth checking out. The same is true of the other two Piedrasassi Syrahs, from Santa Rita Hills and then Rim Rock Vineyard by Arroyo Grande.
 
Chateau de Beaucastel CNdP '10 -- dark red, generous aromas of classic Rhone varieties, garrigue, dark fruits, etc./etc., full, lush, smooth, long, in a word "delicious". Always a fine wine but seemed even better on this Valentines (Valentwines) Day occasion. [E]

Wonderful pairing with rack of lamb, Romano green beans, and polenta cakes, then pecan pie cookies and blueberries.

. . . . . . . Pete
 
2007 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuh kabinett - at first a bit bitter. With air, fruit came out a bit and the wine became more attractive. I confess to preferring the Himmelreich bottlings as a general matter - more precise and crisp, not as creamy as wines from Wehlen. This seemed like a true kabinett - or at least closer to MSR kabinetts than most bottles labeled kabinett.

2016 Elvio Cogno pre-phylloxera barbera - now we are talking! My third bottle in the past year and you know I must love a wine if I keep reaching for it despite not drinking all that often. Deep, really tasting and feeling like old vines, beautiful framing acidity. Total yum.
 
2005 Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape opened with grilled rack of lamb to give Jean a “glass of something good” to have as a respite from her two week dietary “detox.” Dark, dark fruit with a distinct note of dark licorice as well as cherry liqueur in a full-bodied package. As I prefer the more red-fruited expressions of CdP, this wasn’t my preferred expression, perhaps owing to a solar year in the S Rhone. If anything, this reinforces my decision in recent years to restrict my purchasing to “off” years in the S Rhone (2008, 2012).

Mark Lipton
 
Although 2005 CdPs got good press from the Bob, upon release, some of them, particularly the ones that normally benefit from aging (like VT) have turned out to have a hard tannic edge that doesn't seem to be receding. But not all. And I haven't tasted an 05 VT in a long time, so maybe this wasn't the issue you have with it. But it might be.
 
2012 Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay VV: The Kermit Lynch Burgundy portfolio is pretty solid, but generally overpriced, like so much of that book. This leads to occasional buy low opportunities when the wines are dumped, especially for the lesser known producers, from the less famous villages. So it was with this bottle of Santenay. Really pleasant, red fruited with that ethereal savoriness you can only really get in Burgundy. Not trying too hard, and snobs would say it's fine, but not complex. And they'd be missing something. I'd like to be able to buy this at $30-35 every vintage. Alas, it looks like "normal" pricing is $55-65. Oh Kermie....
 
originally posted by Jim Hanlon:
2018 Piedrasassi Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah: It's interesting that Sashi Moorman produces both one of the most hyped sets of California wines, the Domaine de la Cote Pinot Noirs, and one of the least hyped, the Piedrasassi Syrahs. I've not tasted extensively, but the quality seems about equivalent, which is to say high. Steve's Syrahs are in a league of their own, but Piedrasassi is up with the best of class. There will be too much fruit here for some, even at moderate ripeness (13%), but things are balanced and the wine has non-fruit complexity, even at a younger age. My gut is that these wines won't last as long as some of the Qupe Bien Nacido Syrahs have, which is to say decades, but this already drinks well and should for at least another five years. For those open to such wines, it's well worth checking out. The same is true of the other two Piedrasassi Syrahs, from Santa Rita Hills and then Rim Rock Vineyard by Arroyo Grande.

Thanks for this. These wines are around locally, but I've never got around to buying them. I may take a couple for a test drive. The bottles are silly looking which has been an impediment.
 
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
Although 2005 CdPs got good press from the Bob, upon release, some of them, particularly the ones that normally benefit from aging (like VT) have turned out to have a hard tannic edge that doesn't seem to be receding. But not all. And I haven't tasted an 05 VT in a long time, so maybe this wasn't the issue you have with it. But it might be.

2004 vs 2005 is 1994 vs 1995 all over again?
 
originally posted by maureen:
2016 Elvio Cogno pre-phylloxera barbera - now we are talking! My third bottle in the past year and you know I must love a wine if I keep reaching for it despite not drinking all that often. Deep, really tasting and feeling like old vines, beautiful framing acidity. Total yum.

I haven't had the 2016 (I would like too!) but my experiences with other vintages, particularly the 2013 have been all over the place. However, when the bottle is good, the wine is fantastic. I'm not sure if it is psychological, but I really get that old vines feel as well. It comes across as a deep savory edge to the fruit.
 
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
Although 2005 CdPs got good press from the Bob, upon release, some of them, particularly the ones that normally benefit from aging (like VT) have turned out to have a hard tannic edge that doesn't seem to be receding. But not all. And I haven't tasted an 05 VT in a long time, so maybe this wasn't the issue you have with it. But it might be.

2004 vs 2005 is 1994 vs 1995 all over again?

The 05s aren't quite as mean-spirited as the 95s and there are some nice ones (Charvin, Ferrand, Yannick Feraud, but I'm a broken record about these wines). Still, there is an element to déja vu all over again about the pair, yes.
 
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