Guibert de la Vassire Mas de Daumas Gassac Ros Frizant Brut (Languedoc) Cherry Kool-Aid, and not in a good way. Completely candied and confected. Two sips are about all youll ever want. (1/09)
Guillemot-Michel 2001 Mcon-Villages Quintaine (Mcon) Seems fully mature, with concentration at the core and aromatic frippery around the perimeter. White truffle, faded but good, white peach, (dry) honeysuckle, and a dust-in-heavy water texture. Lengthy finish. Really quite enticing, though it tastes a lot more like Guillemot-Michel than it does chardonnay. As for whether or not it tastes like a Mcon, that category is almost too debased for comparison. (1/09)
Swan 2000 Pinot Noir Cuve de Tois (Russian River Valley) Perhaps not all the way to wherever its going, but its in a strangely bipolar place now. The palate is light, crisp, and pure, full of red cherry and sharp raspberry acidity. But the nose, while it has some nice earthen elements, also speaks loudly and repetitively of smoke and cola. None of it is anywhere close to bad, and its a compelling enough wine to go back to again and again in an attempt to make some sense of it, but its just weird. (1/09)
Reynaud Chteau de Tours 1998 Vacqueyras Rserve (Rhne) Mute as if its corked, though the exact nature of the flaw other than the absence of the wine isnt fully clear in the time we give the bottle. We put it aside. Twenty-four hours later, Im told it has blossomed into something dark, rich, and full of fruit (as its understood in Vacqueyras, at least), but still youngish. Oh well. (1/09)
Desmeure Domaine des Remizires 1999 Crozes-Hermitage Cuve Christophe (Rhne) Sour and fecal, in a way few wines are these days. Significant Band-Aid as well. Its like a masterclass in brett. Underneath way underneath theres leathery meat-fruit thats significantly lighter than one might think, and good structure. But theres no getting past the ass. (1/09)
Hillau Domaine Etxegaraya 2002 Irouleguy (Southwest France) Harsh and scraping, like raw banana skin-flavored sandpaper. A victim of its synthetic cork. (1/09)
Youngs 2000 Zinfandel (Shenandoah Valley) 13.8%. Light and coconutty. The wild-vine intensity, often expressed as something almost piney, of the region is nowhere to be found, except in a vague suggestion of fresh spring bush growth. Fresh, friendly strawberry (seeds intact) comprises the entirety of the fruit. Im not sure aging did anything for this wine. In fact, Im convinced holding on to it was a mistake, as it was much better, richer, and more textured in its youth. (1/09)
Michel Nollat & Fils 2006 Bourgogne (Burgundy) Corked. (1/09)
Rosier Chteau du Chatelard 2006 Fleurie Les Vieux Granits (Beaujolais) Cold, almost icy minerality, with a chilled blackberry boisterousness that never quite manages to escape an enveloping gauze. Id be interested to see how this develops, because its a middle-tier Fleurie right now, but all that minerality would seem to have serious potential for future rocky goodness. (1/09)
Cazin 2005 Cheverny Le Petit Chambord (Loire) Starbursting yellow fruit with crisp streaks of green, then layers of light chalk and dried honey, and a finishing sheen of very light sweetness. Nicely balanced, very pretty, and as fine a bargain as youll find in these difficult times. (1/09)
Bera 2006 Canelli Arcese (Piedmont) Pours with a near-explosion of tiny bubbles, which take a while to recede. Uh-oh. The nose is, at first, absent, then quivering with volatility, then once again absent. And theres a staleness to the wine. First approximation: corked and refermented. An hour later, the secondary-fermentation stink starts to emerge, as does the wretched reek of TCA. The poor wine, which is usually full of appealing life, never had a chance. (1/09)
caRugate 2006 Soave Classico San Michele (Veneto) More jagged than cohesive, showing more seams, cracks, and edges than is typical for this wine, its green plum, honeydew, and tart watermelon rind core are given the usual (for the appellation) dusting of powdered sugar in solution, though the wine doesnt come of as more than anecdotally off-dry, and may in fact be analytically sugar-free. In a way, the discontinuities lend the wine appeal, but its not everything it could be. (1/09)
Guillemot-Michel 2001 Mcon-Villages Quintaine (Mcon) Seems fully mature, with concentration at the core and aromatic frippery around the perimeter. White truffle, faded but good, white peach, (dry) honeysuckle, and a dust-in-heavy water texture. Lengthy finish. Really quite enticing, though it tastes a lot more like Guillemot-Michel than it does chardonnay. As for whether or not it tastes like a Mcon, that category is almost too debased for comparison. (1/09)
Swan 2000 Pinot Noir Cuve de Tois (Russian River Valley) Perhaps not all the way to wherever its going, but its in a strangely bipolar place now. The palate is light, crisp, and pure, full of red cherry and sharp raspberry acidity. But the nose, while it has some nice earthen elements, also speaks loudly and repetitively of smoke and cola. None of it is anywhere close to bad, and its a compelling enough wine to go back to again and again in an attempt to make some sense of it, but its just weird. (1/09)
Reynaud Chteau de Tours 1998 Vacqueyras Rserve (Rhne) Mute as if its corked, though the exact nature of the flaw other than the absence of the wine isnt fully clear in the time we give the bottle. We put it aside. Twenty-four hours later, Im told it has blossomed into something dark, rich, and full of fruit (as its understood in Vacqueyras, at least), but still youngish. Oh well. (1/09)
Desmeure Domaine des Remizires 1999 Crozes-Hermitage Cuve Christophe (Rhne) Sour and fecal, in a way few wines are these days. Significant Band-Aid as well. Its like a masterclass in brett. Underneath way underneath theres leathery meat-fruit thats significantly lighter than one might think, and good structure. But theres no getting past the ass. (1/09)
Hillau Domaine Etxegaraya 2002 Irouleguy (Southwest France) Harsh and scraping, like raw banana skin-flavored sandpaper. A victim of its synthetic cork. (1/09)
Youngs 2000 Zinfandel (Shenandoah Valley) 13.8%. Light and coconutty. The wild-vine intensity, often expressed as something almost piney, of the region is nowhere to be found, except in a vague suggestion of fresh spring bush growth. Fresh, friendly strawberry (seeds intact) comprises the entirety of the fruit. Im not sure aging did anything for this wine. In fact, Im convinced holding on to it was a mistake, as it was much better, richer, and more textured in its youth. (1/09)
Michel Nollat & Fils 2006 Bourgogne (Burgundy) Corked. (1/09)
Rosier Chteau du Chatelard 2006 Fleurie Les Vieux Granits (Beaujolais) Cold, almost icy minerality, with a chilled blackberry boisterousness that never quite manages to escape an enveloping gauze. Id be interested to see how this develops, because its a middle-tier Fleurie right now, but all that minerality would seem to have serious potential for future rocky goodness. (1/09)
Cazin 2005 Cheverny Le Petit Chambord (Loire) Starbursting yellow fruit with crisp streaks of green, then layers of light chalk and dried honey, and a finishing sheen of very light sweetness. Nicely balanced, very pretty, and as fine a bargain as youll find in these difficult times. (1/09)
Bera 2006 Canelli Arcese (Piedmont) Pours with a near-explosion of tiny bubbles, which take a while to recede. Uh-oh. The nose is, at first, absent, then quivering with volatility, then once again absent. And theres a staleness to the wine. First approximation: corked and refermented. An hour later, the secondary-fermentation stink starts to emerge, as does the wretched reek of TCA. The poor wine, which is usually full of appealing life, never had a chance. (1/09)
caRugate 2006 Soave Classico San Michele (Veneto) More jagged than cohesive, showing more seams, cracks, and edges than is typical for this wine, its green plum, honeydew, and tart watermelon rind core are given the usual (for the appellation) dusting of powdered sugar in solution, though the wine doesnt come of as more than anecdotally off-dry, and may in fact be analytically sugar-free. In a way, the discontinuities lend the wine appeal, but its not everything it could be. (1/09)