Jean-Franois Mrieau Touraine Bulles (Loire) 80% chenin blanc, 20% chardonnay, sparkling. A little bigger than average Loire sparklers, a little gauzier than the best Loire sparklers. Chalk and aspirin, yes. A hint of honeysuckle? If so, its dried outmore like bee pollen, really, with a little bit of the wax in the mix as well. Id call this more ptillant than sparkling, but its delicacy is here a virtue, allowing a very quiet wine to state its case. Nice. I wouldnt really go beyond that, but nice is definite. (4/09)
Lustau Almacenista Oloroso Pata de Gallina Juan Garcia Jarana 1/38 (Jerez) Rich brown spices tinged with molasses, slow-baked stone fruit, fuzzy earth tones, and a certain gelatinousness. The wine comes in rolling waves, but those of a receding tide; the spaces in between are a little bare, leaving only a thick film of sweetness in their wake. Ive always said that I appreciate sweeter styles of oloroso, and this is quite good (albeit probably not quite worth its tariff), but it would be better with a little less covering sugar. (4/09)
Chteau de Beaulon Pineau des Charentes Vieille Rserve Ruby 10 (Cognac) Like a ruby Port open just a few hours too long, this is a sweet collection of reddish berries transitioning to syrup, a persistent but not unpleasant throb of oxidation, and a little bit of warming burn that never affixes itself to any particular moment in the tasting experience. Its quite appealing if you like this sort of thing, and while its not particularly serious, Im not sure its meant to be. (4/09)
Casa de la Ermita 2006 Jumilla Blanco Dulce (Levant) 500 ml. Sweet, perfumed, and muscatty, leaning towards its riper orange blossom expression. (I should say that I dont know that the wines actually made from muscat. It tastes like it is, though.) As the wine aerates, it grows more tropical, but never really develops into anything Id call lushor, for that matter, complex. Theres a steady-state density akin to light fortification, as well, though Im fairly certain that the wine is not fortified; its appealing rather than heated, and adds some welcome texture to a pretty but otherwise simple wine. (4/09)
TreR Nocino (Emilia-Romagna) Very spicy-sweet, like one of those hundred-year barrel-aged stickies from Australia. The texture is of something balsamic. Theres not all that much actual walnut aroma, though the skin bitterness of the nut is certainly present. And it finishes in or perhaps on fire. I like the idea, but the alcohols just too dominant for my tastes. (4/09)
Lustau Almacenista Oloroso Pata de Gallina Juan Garcia Jarana 1/38 (Jerez) Rich brown spices tinged with molasses, slow-baked stone fruit, fuzzy earth tones, and a certain gelatinousness. The wine comes in rolling waves, but those of a receding tide; the spaces in between are a little bare, leaving only a thick film of sweetness in their wake. Ive always said that I appreciate sweeter styles of oloroso, and this is quite good (albeit probably not quite worth its tariff), but it would be better with a little less covering sugar. (4/09)
Chteau de Beaulon Pineau des Charentes Vieille Rserve Ruby 10 (Cognac) Like a ruby Port open just a few hours too long, this is a sweet collection of reddish berries transitioning to syrup, a persistent but not unpleasant throb of oxidation, and a little bit of warming burn that never affixes itself to any particular moment in the tasting experience. Its quite appealing if you like this sort of thing, and while its not particularly serious, Im not sure its meant to be. (4/09)
Casa de la Ermita 2006 Jumilla Blanco Dulce (Levant) 500 ml. Sweet, perfumed, and muscatty, leaning towards its riper orange blossom expression. (I should say that I dont know that the wines actually made from muscat. It tastes like it is, though.) As the wine aerates, it grows more tropical, but never really develops into anything Id call lushor, for that matter, complex. Theres a steady-state density akin to light fortification, as well, though Im fairly certain that the wine is not fortified; its appealing rather than heated, and adds some welcome texture to a pretty but otherwise simple wine. (4/09)
TreR Nocino (Emilia-Romagna) Very spicy-sweet, like one of those hundred-year barrel-aged stickies from Australia. The texture is of something balsamic. Theres not all that much actual walnut aroma, though the skin bitterness of the nut is certainly present. And it finishes in or perhaps on fire. I like the idea, but the alcohols just too dominant for my tastes. (4/09)