Sparkling
2004 Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne Liesse d'Harbonville: Fresh apple and subtle tertiary notes of caramel on the nose without any brioche or dough notes. The palate is crisp and refreshing, but buttressed with rich golden apple flavors, baking spices, minerality, and a tangy acidity. The bead has become gentle, lending the Champagne a more vinous quality.
NV Guiborat Fils Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Pur Prisme Brut Nature: This is very lean, mineral, and racy with hints of herbs and lemon oil on the palate. The bead here is very fine and gentle because of the 10 years of bottle age post-disgorgement. Good length and finish. A really nice champagne. Disgorged November 2015 (base 2011).
NV Casata Monfort Trento Rosé: Great value. Has a very fine bead and texture that is reminiscent of Champagne. Pretty, crunchy, red-berried fruit on the palate. Lovely and refreshing.
2022 Lé Thio Noots (Romain Verger) Bouillon Blanc: There's some lemon-lime with ripe tropical fruit aromas on the nose. The palate is quite rich and tropical, effervescent, with slightly crunchy acidity. A nice salinity and minerality with a distinct herbal bitterness on the finish. A touch Bretty though (I noticed this in the '22 Le Thio Noots Cab Franc as well, though it isn't overwhelming in either wine.).
White
2021 Amorotti Trebbiano d'Abruzzo: Sharp, linear, and acidic. Citrus and a hint of bitter herbs on the palate, but otherwise a mineral-forward wine. Good length and intensity, with just a hint of texture on the finish. Lively and bright. Very different from other Trebbiano's I have had, which tend to have a little more breadth and orchard fruit. Laser-focused in comparison.
2023 Kilburg Riesling Geierslay Vertigo Feinherb: A light, delicate expression of Mosel Riesling. There's lemon, wet slate, and florals on the nose intermingled with a touch of honey. A slim wine that is mineral forward with green fruit and lemon-lime on the palate. There's a slight doughnut-hole on the midpalate, but the wine is still rather moreish because of the mouthwatering acidity that balances the residual sugar. A really nice summer sipper.
2012 Weingut Willi Bründlmayer Riesling 1ÖTW Reserve Ried Heiligenstein: This showed really well. Great acidity, crisp, linear, focused with plenty of citrus, stone fruit and minerality on the palate. Relatively light on its feet despite the density. Good stuff.
Red
2014 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas La Geynale: This was lovely. Dark fruit, smoked meat, saline, elegant, light-on-its-feet with good acidity and some firm, drying tannins on the finish. Not slick or modern at all; very classic Cornas. Lots of depth and savory intensity with layers to the flavors.
2020 Ch“teau Simone Palette: Very elegant and finessed with a firm tannic structure and lively acidity. Delicate red fruit that feels very light and finessed on the palate. A touch of herbal complexity on the palate. A very nice wine that is more about the structure and earthiness than the fruit.
2013 AR.PE.PE. Valtellina Superiore - Grumello Riserva Sant'Antonio: Definitely has that lifted rose and tar nose I associate with Nebbiolo. The palate is perhaps a tad slimmer than a Barolo, but this still has plenty of concentration to its red fruit, herbs, and mineral flavors. Still a lingering hint of grip on the finish.
1990 La Meridiana Boca Campo delle Piane: Lots of dried red fruit on the palate that is approaching coming across as slightly maderized, but there was enough freshness on the palate to keep it from coming across as over the hill. Elegant, silky, and fun to drink with plenty of verve and lift. Perhaps not quite generic old red wine, but it is definitely old Nebbiolo.
1997 Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County: This was pretty good. Perhaps a touch too velvety and ripe on the palate, but there is a lot of interesting cured tobacco, ashy minerality, and smokiness to provide some complexity to the rich, dark fruit. Unapologetically a California Cab, but there is enough tautness in the structure and acidity of the wine to provide shape and form to the ripeness of the fruit.
2021 Aslina Cabernet Sauvignon : Ripe fruit, a little gloopy and structureless for my tastes. Could use more acidity and tension. Despite this, it does retain varietal characteristics (a hint of cured tobacco and dark fruit on the palate) and is recognizably a New World cab. From Stellenbosch (South Africa).
2023 Lé Thio Noots (Romain Verger) Vin de France Red Cox Knock: A hint of wild strawberry on the nose, but also aromas of cassis and a touch of leafy green. Juicy dark fruit with subtle notes of smoky tobacco, herbs, and earthiness. Quite silky on the palate with well-integrated acidity. Very lacy, ethereal, and refreshing, with subtly grippy tannins. Finish is decently long and wine is overall light, clean, and refreshing, but still distinctly true to Cabernet Franc. A nice mix of the natural and classical. Good stuff.
2021 Danis dans la vigne Crapaud-Licorne: About what I expected. Very carbonic, with crunchy red brambly fruit. Silky, carbonic texture. Juicy. Simple and straightforward, glou-glou wine. Has zero varietal character though; I would have had no idea that this was 100% Malbec from Cahors. A decent bistro wine regardless.
2023 Yannick Meckert Pinot Gris Rouge Cris et Chuchotements: Wild strawberries on the nose. Light purple, translucent robe. Tart, slightly crunchy, light red fruit on the palate. Could use more intensity; despite being silky and slightly tangy, it does across as slightly watery. Definitely getting a subtle hint of mouse. Oh well, this would be a pretty nice, easy drinking light-bodied red (yes, this is a red despite being Pinot Gris; not sure what other wacky grape varieties are blended into this, if any at all), but for that subtle, but distinctive, mouse taint.
2012 Domaine de la Durbane Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape: Extremely ripe and big. I had this blind and guessed alcoholic California Zin. Yikes.
2003 Romano Dal Forno Valpolicella Superiore Vigneto di Monte Lodoletta: Wow, peak Parkerized wine. Lots of ripe, velvety fruit. Screams perfumed new oak on the nose. Rich, alcoholic, and borderline sweet. Not my cuppa.
2023 Jauma Grenache Danby: Pronounced candied watermelon and florals on the nose, reminding me of violets. It has that round carbonic texture, but there is also noticeable VA. It is within the bounds of tolerable, but it is borderline too much. Crunchy red fruit with a tart citrus sourness. Slightly tannic and bitter finish with a medicinal note. Definitely natty, but not undrinkable. And there's no mouse. From the McLaren Vale (Australia).
Orange
2017 Ewald Zweytick Sauvignon Blanc Maischevergoren Witscheiner Herrenberg: A very interesting wine. I actually didn't even realize it was an orange wine while I was drinking it because it had gotten dark on the patio where I was drinking this. Nice nose without that orange Kool-Aid aroma I normally associate with skin-contact orange wines. Nice, sharp acidity, crisp, racy, and energetic. Good stuff.
2023 Lé Thio Noots (Romain Verger) Chausée Sauvage: I'm wondering if this wine sees some skin contact because I'm getting an orange aroma on the nose with a hit of floral. Light-bodied with a gentle acidity that is actually well integrate. Texturally, this is quite smooth and silky. There are flavors of bright juicy citrus and bitter zest that remind me of orange marmalade. A nice tart and saline finsh. Very clean and fresh with no brett or natty faults.
2023 Yannick Meckert Auxerrois Deux Couleurs: Jaune: Peach and orange Kool-Aid aroma on the very lifted nose, but the VA isn't out of control. Definitely volatile on the palate, but otherwise clean with juicy acidity, salinity and rather typical orange wine flavors, though there is a tart, almost lime note as well. It has a silky, carbonic texture, but on the tangy finish, the tannins become more pronounced and there's noticeable grippiness. Definitely a wine for nattier palates, but I can get behind this (though it's definitely not for classicists).
Dessert
1990 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Moelleux Réserve: The second time I have had this in the past couple of months, and even more appealing and more-ish than last time. Despite, the color being extremely dark (which just seems to be a signature of aged wine from this producer), it is absolutely fresh on the palate with mouth-watering acidity, ripe fruit imbued with ginger, citrus, and honey (with not too much of an apricot signature to the botrytis), and the sweetness having receded with age in the bottle. Despite clearly being a ripe wine, the acid spine keeps it in perfect balance, and it crescendos into a long finish inflected with notes of baking spices and slightly bitter citrus peel.
2004 Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne Liesse d'Harbonville: Fresh apple and subtle tertiary notes of caramel on the nose without any brioche or dough notes. The palate is crisp and refreshing, but buttressed with rich golden apple flavors, baking spices, minerality, and a tangy acidity. The bead has become gentle, lending the Champagne a more vinous quality.
NV Guiborat Fils Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Pur Prisme Brut Nature: This is very lean, mineral, and racy with hints of herbs and lemon oil on the palate. The bead here is very fine and gentle because of the 10 years of bottle age post-disgorgement. Good length and finish. A really nice champagne. Disgorged November 2015 (base 2011).
NV Casata Monfort Trento Rosé: Great value. Has a very fine bead and texture that is reminiscent of Champagne. Pretty, crunchy, red-berried fruit on the palate. Lovely and refreshing.
2022 Lé Thio Noots (Romain Verger) Bouillon Blanc: There's some lemon-lime with ripe tropical fruit aromas on the nose. The palate is quite rich and tropical, effervescent, with slightly crunchy acidity. A nice salinity and minerality with a distinct herbal bitterness on the finish. A touch Bretty though (I noticed this in the '22 Le Thio Noots Cab Franc as well, though it isn't overwhelming in either wine.).
White
2021 Amorotti Trebbiano d'Abruzzo: Sharp, linear, and acidic. Citrus and a hint of bitter herbs on the palate, but otherwise a mineral-forward wine. Good length and intensity, with just a hint of texture on the finish. Lively and bright. Very different from other Trebbiano's I have had, which tend to have a little more breadth and orchard fruit. Laser-focused in comparison.
2023 Kilburg Riesling Geierslay Vertigo Feinherb: A light, delicate expression of Mosel Riesling. There's lemon, wet slate, and florals on the nose intermingled with a touch of honey. A slim wine that is mineral forward with green fruit and lemon-lime on the palate. There's a slight doughnut-hole on the midpalate, but the wine is still rather moreish because of the mouthwatering acidity that balances the residual sugar. A really nice summer sipper.
2012 Weingut Willi Bründlmayer Riesling 1ÖTW Reserve Ried Heiligenstein: This showed really well. Great acidity, crisp, linear, focused with plenty of citrus, stone fruit and minerality on the palate. Relatively light on its feet despite the density. Good stuff.
Red
2014 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas La Geynale: This was lovely. Dark fruit, smoked meat, saline, elegant, light-on-its-feet with good acidity and some firm, drying tannins on the finish. Not slick or modern at all; very classic Cornas. Lots of depth and savory intensity with layers to the flavors.
2020 Ch“teau Simone Palette: Very elegant and finessed with a firm tannic structure and lively acidity. Delicate red fruit that feels very light and finessed on the palate. A touch of herbal complexity on the palate. A very nice wine that is more about the structure and earthiness than the fruit.
2013 AR.PE.PE. Valtellina Superiore - Grumello Riserva Sant'Antonio: Definitely has that lifted rose and tar nose I associate with Nebbiolo. The palate is perhaps a tad slimmer than a Barolo, but this still has plenty of concentration to its red fruit, herbs, and mineral flavors. Still a lingering hint of grip on the finish.
1990 La Meridiana Boca Campo delle Piane: Lots of dried red fruit on the palate that is approaching coming across as slightly maderized, but there was enough freshness on the palate to keep it from coming across as over the hill. Elegant, silky, and fun to drink with plenty of verve and lift. Perhaps not quite generic old red wine, but it is definitely old Nebbiolo.
1997 Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County: This was pretty good. Perhaps a touch too velvety and ripe on the palate, but there is a lot of interesting cured tobacco, ashy minerality, and smokiness to provide some complexity to the rich, dark fruit. Unapologetically a California Cab, but there is enough tautness in the structure and acidity of the wine to provide shape and form to the ripeness of the fruit.
2021 Aslina Cabernet Sauvignon : Ripe fruit, a little gloopy and structureless for my tastes. Could use more acidity and tension. Despite this, it does retain varietal characteristics (a hint of cured tobacco and dark fruit on the palate) and is recognizably a New World cab. From Stellenbosch (South Africa).
2023 Lé Thio Noots (Romain Verger) Vin de France Red Cox Knock: A hint of wild strawberry on the nose, but also aromas of cassis and a touch of leafy green. Juicy dark fruit with subtle notes of smoky tobacco, herbs, and earthiness. Quite silky on the palate with well-integrated acidity. Very lacy, ethereal, and refreshing, with subtly grippy tannins. Finish is decently long and wine is overall light, clean, and refreshing, but still distinctly true to Cabernet Franc. A nice mix of the natural and classical. Good stuff.
2021 Danis dans la vigne Crapaud-Licorne: About what I expected. Very carbonic, with crunchy red brambly fruit. Silky, carbonic texture. Juicy. Simple and straightforward, glou-glou wine. Has zero varietal character though; I would have had no idea that this was 100% Malbec from Cahors. A decent bistro wine regardless.
2023 Yannick Meckert Pinot Gris Rouge Cris et Chuchotements: Wild strawberries on the nose. Light purple, translucent robe. Tart, slightly crunchy, light red fruit on the palate. Could use more intensity; despite being silky and slightly tangy, it does across as slightly watery. Definitely getting a subtle hint of mouse. Oh well, this would be a pretty nice, easy drinking light-bodied red (yes, this is a red despite being Pinot Gris; not sure what other wacky grape varieties are blended into this, if any at all), but for that subtle, but distinctive, mouse taint.
2012 Domaine de la Durbane Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape: Extremely ripe and big. I had this blind and guessed alcoholic California Zin. Yikes.
2003 Romano Dal Forno Valpolicella Superiore Vigneto di Monte Lodoletta: Wow, peak Parkerized wine. Lots of ripe, velvety fruit. Screams perfumed new oak on the nose. Rich, alcoholic, and borderline sweet. Not my cuppa.
2023 Jauma Grenache Danby: Pronounced candied watermelon and florals on the nose, reminding me of violets. It has that round carbonic texture, but there is also noticeable VA. It is within the bounds of tolerable, but it is borderline too much. Crunchy red fruit with a tart citrus sourness. Slightly tannic and bitter finish with a medicinal note. Definitely natty, but not undrinkable. And there's no mouse. From the McLaren Vale (Australia).
Orange
2017 Ewald Zweytick Sauvignon Blanc Maischevergoren Witscheiner Herrenberg: A very interesting wine. I actually didn't even realize it was an orange wine while I was drinking it because it had gotten dark on the patio where I was drinking this. Nice nose without that orange Kool-Aid aroma I normally associate with skin-contact orange wines. Nice, sharp acidity, crisp, racy, and energetic. Good stuff.
2023 Lé Thio Noots (Romain Verger) Chausée Sauvage: I'm wondering if this wine sees some skin contact because I'm getting an orange aroma on the nose with a hit of floral. Light-bodied with a gentle acidity that is actually well integrate. Texturally, this is quite smooth and silky. There are flavors of bright juicy citrus and bitter zest that remind me of orange marmalade. A nice tart and saline finsh. Very clean and fresh with no brett or natty faults.
2023 Yannick Meckert Auxerrois Deux Couleurs: Jaune: Peach and orange Kool-Aid aroma on the very lifted nose, but the VA isn't out of control. Definitely volatile on the palate, but otherwise clean with juicy acidity, salinity and rather typical orange wine flavors, though there is a tart, almost lime note as well. It has a silky, carbonic texture, but on the tangy finish, the tannins become more pronounced and there's noticeable grippiness. Definitely a wine for nattier palates, but I can get behind this (though it's definitely not for classicists).
Dessert
1990 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Moelleux Réserve: The second time I have had this in the past couple of months, and even more appealing and more-ish than last time. Despite, the color being extremely dark (which just seems to be a signature of aged wine from this producer), it is absolutely fresh on the palate with mouth-watering acidity, ripe fruit imbued with ginger, citrus, and honey (with not too much of an apricot signature to the botrytis), and the sweetness having receded with age in the bottle. Despite clearly being a ripe wine, the acid spine keeps it in perfect balance, and it crescendos into a long finish inflected with notes of baking spices and slightly bitter citrus peel.