Grosjean 2007 Gamay (Vallee dAoste) Almost everywhere its grown, gamay is an appealing, easy grape, and where its lent complexity, the source is the terroir or meddling winemaking. Not so here, though I think the same is true of many Aoste wines; theres no getting around the fact that this is a difficult wine. Reddish fruit takes on a grey hue as viewed through veils of layered minerality. Yet theres a rough-hewn element as well, one that counters the rocky strata with an unevenly textured chunk of dirt-clad darkness. Its a light wine, but its most certainly not a gentle one. I think age might bring greater clarity here. For now, the intellectual interest alone is enough to recommend this wine, though I cant promise actual enjoyment; that will depend on the taster. (3/09)
Monastero Suore Cistercensi S.O. Trappiste 2006 Coenobium (Lazio) From a bottle thats been open for a little while, which has contrasting effects. On the one hand, the occasional diffidence of the foamy, tanned soil nose is less combative, leaving old stone fruit and the purer version of the soil a little more exposed. On the other, the fight to get at this wine is, in a way, a stand-in for some of the balancing structure that this wine doesnt always have enough of. I like Coenobium a lot (though I liked it even more when it was under $20), but it often feels like a junior, training wheels version of the crazy orange wines that seem to flow like water from Italy these days. (3/09)
Cantina di Venosa 1999 Aglianico del Vulture Carato Venusio (Basilicata) Its not always clear with aglianico at which point in the wines maturity you have encountered it, because the structure and the fruit, which can seem to work at cross-purposes even at the best of times, mature in ways that are largely unlike other, more familiar, grapes. One must be prepared for a certain rusticity and no lack of scraping aggression, usually from the tanninat which point, one will usually encounter one of those beautiful, fully-resolved, almost elegant (for aglianico) bottles that defies all expectations. Here, however, is something a little more standard. The fruits reddish, thinning, and drying, but still appealing if one is willing to embrace fruit-as-dust, while the tannin lingers and scrapes, and still-emerging acidity begins to add its own warbling treble descant. Its appealing, but the appeal is predicated on a disposition to like wines of this type. Drink now? I guess. (3/09)
Cantina di Venosa 2004 Terre di Orazio Dry Muscat (Basilicata) This doesnt work for me at all. It feels like one of those fortified southern French muscats, except that the fortification has replaced the muscat, leaving the wine (which is not fortified) bereft of the necessary aromatics. Smells, tastes, and finishes like lead. (3/09)
Montevina 2005 Zinfandel (Sierra Foothills) 13.5%. Sort of a sangiovese-esque take on zin, with spotlit raspberry/strawberry fruit geysering forth on a crest of acidity. This is neither as brambly nor as spirited (pun intended) as zins from this area usually are. Juicy, tasty, fun, and under $20. Not many of those left, at least among zins worth drinking. (3/09)
Bajoz 2004 Tinta de Toro Joven (Castilla & Len) Theres little reason to think this is still drinking well, but for $3.99 (on closeout) the cost of failure is pretty low. And indeed, the first half-hour or so of this wines uncorked life is a mess of embittered dark red fruit and scraping tannin of the sort common to drink-now wines taken well past their expiration dates. But then, surprisingly, the tannin smoothes a bit, and the fruit hefts up to something a little darker and a lot rounder, and suddenly the wines fully mature and drinking beautifully. Whod have guessed? (3/09)
Costires & Soleil Slectionn par Laurence Fraud 2005 Plan Pgau Vin de Table (Rhne) Muted at opening, then delivering a slow, slow, so slow process of cabernet-ization; by the end of the bottle, it would be the sheerest luck to identify the wines Rhnish origins. Thats not a bad thing its a vin de table for a reason, after all but what isnt quite so good is the way the wine never rises above tediousness, albeit a tedium delivered via sledgehammer. Every single bottle of this wine has been worse than the last one. (3/09)
Yorkville Cellars 2006 Hi-Rollr Red (Yorkville Highlands) This, rather than the usual confected android soup, is the sort of cheap California wine that should be produced in zillion-gallon quantities: a huge burst of easy-to-understand fruit, a little off-dry (or at least, so it seems)round, plush, and fun. Unfortunately, its about twice what I think one should pay for such a wine. At a shade under $20, a price that asks for a certain amount of seriousness, its too goofily simple-minded and sticky. (3/09)
Dog Point 2007 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) Grass and ground-crystal minerality. Modern strength paired with traditional restraint. Suggestions of yellow-green fruit, bold but never aggressive. Theres a lot to like about this wine, and people who dont think they like Marlborough sauvignon should probably give this a try. (3/09)
Villa Maria Private Bin 2007 Riesling (Marlborough) As the years have passed and the need to shave margins to maintain a price point on the incredibly popular Private Bin sauvignon blanc have slowly chipped away at the value proposition of that wine, this has become Villa Marias secret budget star. No, it wont put you off your rziger Wrzgarten (or even your Pegasus Bay), but it will bring you exactly what the grape promises: clear light shone on rock, pristine apple, a nice bite of acidity, and a little fillip of stony/acidic bitterness on the finish. Its simple and direct, and one could and frequently will do far, far worse. (3/09)
Monastero Suore Cistercensi S.O. Trappiste 2006 Coenobium (Lazio) From a bottle thats been open for a little while, which has contrasting effects. On the one hand, the occasional diffidence of the foamy, tanned soil nose is less combative, leaving old stone fruit and the purer version of the soil a little more exposed. On the other, the fight to get at this wine is, in a way, a stand-in for some of the balancing structure that this wine doesnt always have enough of. I like Coenobium a lot (though I liked it even more when it was under $20), but it often feels like a junior, training wheels version of the crazy orange wines that seem to flow like water from Italy these days. (3/09)
Cantina di Venosa 1999 Aglianico del Vulture Carato Venusio (Basilicata) Its not always clear with aglianico at which point in the wines maturity you have encountered it, because the structure and the fruit, which can seem to work at cross-purposes even at the best of times, mature in ways that are largely unlike other, more familiar, grapes. One must be prepared for a certain rusticity and no lack of scraping aggression, usually from the tanninat which point, one will usually encounter one of those beautiful, fully-resolved, almost elegant (for aglianico) bottles that defies all expectations. Here, however, is something a little more standard. The fruits reddish, thinning, and drying, but still appealing if one is willing to embrace fruit-as-dust, while the tannin lingers and scrapes, and still-emerging acidity begins to add its own warbling treble descant. Its appealing, but the appeal is predicated on a disposition to like wines of this type. Drink now? I guess. (3/09)
Cantina di Venosa 2004 Terre di Orazio Dry Muscat (Basilicata) This doesnt work for me at all. It feels like one of those fortified southern French muscats, except that the fortification has replaced the muscat, leaving the wine (which is not fortified) bereft of the necessary aromatics. Smells, tastes, and finishes like lead. (3/09)
Montevina 2005 Zinfandel (Sierra Foothills) 13.5%. Sort of a sangiovese-esque take on zin, with spotlit raspberry/strawberry fruit geysering forth on a crest of acidity. This is neither as brambly nor as spirited (pun intended) as zins from this area usually are. Juicy, tasty, fun, and under $20. Not many of those left, at least among zins worth drinking. (3/09)
Bajoz 2004 Tinta de Toro Joven (Castilla & Len) Theres little reason to think this is still drinking well, but for $3.99 (on closeout) the cost of failure is pretty low. And indeed, the first half-hour or so of this wines uncorked life is a mess of embittered dark red fruit and scraping tannin of the sort common to drink-now wines taken well past their expiration dates. But then, surprisingly, the tannin smoothes a bit, and the fruit hefts up to something a little darker and a lot rounder, and suddenly the wines fully mature and drinking beautifully. Whod have guessed? (3/09)
Costires & Soleil Slectionn par Laurence Fraud 2005 Plan Pgau Vin de Table (Rhne) Muted at opening, then delivering a slow, slow, so slow process of cabernet-ization; by the end of the bottle, it would be the sheerest luck to identify the wines Rhnish origins. Thats not a bad thing its a vin de table for a reason, after all but what isnt quite so good is the way the wine never rises above tediousness, albeit a tedium delivered via sledgehammer. Every single bottle of this wine has been worse than the last one. (3/09)
Yorkville Cellars 2006 Hi-Rollr Red (Yorkville Highlands) This, rather than the usual confected android soup, is the sort of cheap California wine that should be produced in zillion-gallon quantities: a huge burst of easy-to-understand fruit, a little off-dry (or at least, so it seems)round, plush, and fun. Unfortunately, its about twice what I think one should pay for such a wine. At a shade under $20, a price that asks for a certain amount of seriousness, its too goofily simple-minded and sticky. (3/09)
Dog Point 2007 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) Grass and ground-crystal minerality. Modern strength paired with traditional restraint. Suggestions of yellow-green fruit, bold but never aggressive. Theres a lot to like about this wine, and people who dont think they like Marlborough sauvignon should probably give this a try. (3/09)
Villa Maria Private Bin 2007 Riesling (Marlborough) As the years have passed and the need to shave margins to maintain a price point on the incredibly popular Private Bin sauvignon blanc have slowly chipped away at the value proposition of that wine, this has become Villa Marias secret budget star. No, it wont put you off your rziger Wrzgarten (or even your Pegasus Bay), but it will bring you exactly what the grape promises: clear light shone on rock, pristine apple, a nice bite of acidity, and a little fillip of stony/acidic bitterness on the finish. Its simple and direct, and one could and frequently will do far, far worse. (3/09)