Joel Stewart
Joel Stewart
1990 Schloss Schonborn, Hochheimer Domdecheney, Riesling Spatlese, Halbtrocken, Rheingau - In a zenith state. Fresh squeezed grape, green apple, honey, whiff of petrol and allspice. Smoke, brass, white fruit, spices, cooked butter glaze and grapefruit. Light-to-midweight, evolved and slightly viscous...delicious. The dried apple skin astringent finish from past bottles is gone...replaced by a lingering creme brulee. Very well done trapeze act between fruit, age worn notes and the fine citric web holding it all together. Needs just a little air. (2/09)
2007 Clos de Tue-Boeuf, Cheverny, La Gravotte - strong sulphury nose fades with a decant and opens to red berried pinot notes, forest, fresh cut celery, some baking spices. Round, bright, decent acidity and soft tannins. Pleasing to drink. As usual for me and pinot, a bit pricey for what it delivers (do these age, by the way?) A final note, as with all the Puzelat wines I've had so far, this one bloomed nicely the more air it received. Very pleasant nose especially. (2/09)
2007 Clos de Tue-Boeuf, Cheverny, La Caillere - same sulphury start..once aired and opening there are more savory hints and underbrush than the Gravotte. More austere as well but richer in umami and a bit more tannic zing on the finish. With airtime, fruit moves forward and overall, this is the more complex wine so far. Another nice wine, though so far, I feel the Puzelat whites deliver better complexity and value, if not the typicity seen here. (2/09)
1998 Clos Mogador, Priorat - not bad, but I've had better (2003, last fall and 2001 awhile back). What I liked about the '03 was that all the parts were working together in unison - it was a syncopated 3-D upward sprialing helix on the palate (looking something like the double hoolahoop jail for bad people in Superman). The '98 just seemed tired and pruney by comparison. Exquisite mouthfeel though. Cloves, roast meat, black olives, stems on the nose...all good stuff, but in the end the pruney fruit puddled up with nothing else to play with it. Not sure I would Audouze the next bottle. Pop, pour, drink now. (12/08)
2002 Chateau de Varrains, Saumur-Champigny - I do like this, though I think it is neither a hoopla/heptune/hipster nor spoofulater CF...it just is what it is: a small red thing. Sour nose, though a bit closed. Palate is a juicy glide through sour cherry and salty brine with just a hint of the ripe. Medium weighted almost oily, but still light footed, well integrated flavors. Add the cut and fine tannins on the finish and the overall mouthfeel is a well done lesson in textures. The wine absolutely rocked when paired with steamed pumpkin slices, for some reason. (10/08)
2003 Chateau Pesquie, Quintessence, Cotes du Ventoux - This clearly is not the '01, which consistently effused an intoxicatingly sexy nose of bestial pheromones and sweaty saddle leather smeared with a primal mash of floral/red berry elixir. Smells which could cause riots in prisons and spontaneous animal wars in jungles. And I miss that. Previous bottles of the '03 unfortunately showed tighter herbal/savory touches and some ripe flavors, but included a significant green streak of bitterness, which is thankfully backing off. Horse manure in it's stead. A step sideways. Some red and black fruit peeking through and tannins are starting to settle, but the wine is more disjointed than ever and probably needs forgetting for another couple years. (Note: I am not sure that this wine imported into Japan is the same cuvee as what makes it to the states. Not much oak here, for one thing. Barnyard in spades for another.) (2/09)
Daishichi Kimoto sake - Junmai Kimoto. Whereas some sakagura in Japan dabble in wild yeast sakes, Daishichi is the only sakagura in Japan to make all of their rice wines exclusively with wild yeasts. They promote and cultivate a wide range of bacterial friends (and their website is fairly entertaining as such, tho something must be lost in the english translations.). 10 generations on, they represent a pinnacle in sake brewing. Try one of their sakes in NY at Sakagura. Seimaibuai (rice polish) 69%, alc. 15.5, NSM +2, acidity 1.5.......pure, clear silver white. Sweet rice mash nose, some floral, touch of alcohol. Soft and rich on entry, loads of length in the mid-palate, buttery, creamy, nutty and dry on the finish. Mineral notes of acidity. Very smooth. Turns out that this offering (the lower level) kicks the ginjo's butt, but that often happens, due to the nature of the rice polish leveling the field. This wine rocks. (2/09)
Daishichi "Kaiden" - Junmai Ginjo Kimoto sake. A step up in price ($26 for 720ml vs the same for 1800ml for the above). Clear white with barely notable gold tint. Soft perfumed oester nose of sweet mash and banana, with umami notes. More refined and rich, first sips are soft, clear brandy like. Strange even. With air though, the wine retreats to a single viscous clear line of sweetness, but little else. Price and refinement in sake mirror the same in the wine world sometimes, it seems. I've tasted both this and the above over the last few days and the entry level Junmai is far more pleasing. Of the two, this may be the one to serve slightly warmed. Slightly. (2/09)
2007 Clos de Tue-Boeuf, Cheverny, La Gravotte - strong sulphury nose fades with a decant and opens to red berried pinot notes, forest, fresh cut celery, some baking spices. Round, bright, decent acidity and soft tannins. Pleasing to drink. As usual for me and pinot, a bit pricey for what it delivers (do these age, by the way?) A final note, as with all the Puzelat wines I've had so far, this one bloomed nicely the more air it received. Very pleasant nose especially. (2/09)
2007 Clos de Tue-Boeuf, Cheverny, La Caillere - same sulphury start..once aired and opening there are more savory hints and underbrush than the Gravotte. More austere as well but richer in umami and a bit more tannic zing on the finish. With airtime, fruit moves forward and overall, this is the more complex wine so far. Another nice wine, though so far, I feel the Puzelat whites deliver better complexity and value, if not the typicity seen here. (2/09)
1998 Clos Mogador, Priorat - not bad, but I've had better (2003, last fall and 2001 awhile back). What I liked about the '03 was that all the parts were working together in unison - it was a syncopated 3-D upward sprialing helix on the palate (looking something like the double hoolahoop jail for bad people in Superman). The '98 just seemed tired and pruney by comparison. Exquisite mouthfeel though. Cloves, roast meat, black olives, stems on the nose...all good stuff, but in the end the pruney fruit puddled up with nothing else to play with it. Not sure I would Audouze the next bottle. Pop, pour, drink now. (12/08)
2002 Chateau de Varrains, Saumur-Champigny - I do like this, though I think it is neither a hoopla/heptune/hipster nor spoofulater CF...it just is what it is: a small red thing. Sour nose, though a bit closed. Palate is a juicy glide through sour cherry and salty brine with just a hint of the ripe. Medium weighted almost oily, but still light footed, well integrated flavors. Add the cut and fine tannins on the finish and the overall mouthfeel is a well done lesson in textures. The wine absolutely rocked when paired with steamed pumpkin slices, for some reason. (10/08)
2003 Chateau Pesquie, Quintessence, Cotes du Ventoux - This clearly is not the '01, which consistently effused an intoxicatingly sexy nose of bestial pheromones and sweaty saddle leather smeared with a primal mash of floral/red berry elixir. Smells which could cause riots in prisons and spontaneous animal wars in jungles. And I miss that. Previous bottles of the '03 unfortunately showed tighter herbal/savory touches and some ripe flavors, but included a significant green streak of bitterness, which is thankfully backing off. Horse manure in it's stead. A step sideways. Some red and black fruit peeking through and tannins are starting to settle, but the wine is more disjointed than ever and probably needs forgetting for another couple years. (Note: I am not sure that this wine imported into Japan is the same cuvee as what makes it to the states. Not much oak here, for one thing. Barnyard in spades for another.) (2/09)
Daishichi Kimoto sake - Junmai Kimoto. Whereas some sakagura in Japan dabble in wild yeast sakes, Daishichi is the only sakagura in Japan to make all of their rice wines exclusively with wild yeasts. They promote and cultivate a wide range of bacterial friends (and their website is fairly entertaining as such, tho something must be lost in the english translations.). 10 generations on, they represent a pinnacle in sake brewing. Try one of their sakes in NY at Sakagura. Seimaibuai (rice polish) 69%, alc. 15.5, NSM +2, acidity 1.5.......pure, clear silver white. Sweet rice mash nose, some floral, touch of alcohol. Soft and rich on entry, loads of length in the mid-palate, buttery, creamy, nutty and dry on the finish. Mineral notes of acidity. Very smooth. Turns out that this offering (the lower level) kicks the ginjo's butt, but that often happens, due to the nature of the rice polish leveling the field. This wine rocks. (2/09)
Daishichi "Kaiden" - Junmai Ginjo Kimoto sake. A step up in price ($26 for 720ml vs the same for 1800ml for the above). Clear white with barely notable gold tint. Soft perfumed oester nose of sweet mash and banana, with umami notes. More refined and rich, first sips are soft, clear brandy like. Strange even. With air though, the wine retreats to a single viscous clear line of sweetness, but little else. Price and refinement in sake mirror the same in the wine world sometimes, it seems. I've tasted both this and the above over the last few days and the entry level Junmai is far more pleasing. Of the two, this may be the one to serve slightly warmed. Slightly. (2/09)