All good ones

Florida Jim

Florida Jim
N/V Gosset, Champagne Excellence Brut:
Lightly yeasty, somewhat nutty, quite dry and altogether nice I am not a Champagne guy but this was pleasant without rough spots and held its bead very well. $30.

2007 Le Colombier, Vacqueyras VV:
This is good; complete, layered, integrated without flab or being over-done in any way; tempting aromas and a strongly flavored, meaty, salty, sappy, profile with a fine finish. As balanced a 2007 southern Rhne as I have had and about $18.

N/V Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde Branco:
Bright, dry, lightly spritzy and transparent; freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and stones; 10% abv and $6 I shall buy a great deal of this.

2008 Montressor, Bardolino:
Lightweight without being thin, concentrated but not lush, lovely balance, juicy fruit and a somewhat dry finish. A good wine for drinking with or without food and candidly, one that appeals to me so much more than many of the heavier, richer reds I have had recently. Charming; 12.5% and about $12.

2005 Patrick Javillier, Pernand-Vergelesses:
Very translucent garnet; dusty rose (reminiscent of lighter nebbiolo), hard-candy, cold stone and whole-cluster aromas with some bottle bouquet; intense flavors of cranberry, herb, and sour cherry with considerable nuance on a beautiful, silky textured delivery with a light tannic grip and a very long, non-drying finish. But most noticeable is an overall spiciness, both on the nose and in the mouth. Shows a little like a Corton with some age on it. Still tight but quite elegant and complex. A pretty spectacular wine; 13% alcohol and $23.
(Aside: one of the great blessings in my life is Diane, a truly wonderful chef, among other things. Tonight she whipped up a gratin of Japanese eggplant, tomato and feta with a fried egg on top, home-made crusty bread and a Caesar salad (from scratch). This wine complimented the meal perfectly and it strikes me that, no one else I know eats like this.
I need to get to the gym very soon . . .)

Best, Jim
 
As balanced a 2007 southern Rhne as I have had ....

that is a very telling statement...It is amazing that the "hype" of this vintage in S.Rhone is so incongruent with the actuality...
Clearly, it is difficult to charactize a "vintage" but years like '98 in N. Rhone and '94 in California seemed to have a bit of validity as "better years"...nearly every '07 Rhone I have had (a handful thus far) has been average to sub-par..

What were they thinking???????
 
I've had Colombier Vacqueyras in earlier years that was pretty decent and not expensive. Colombier has a decent rep, I think, from their N. Rhone wines.
 
I've been trying '07 CdRhone and CdR-Villages here are there. The one wine that has truly impressed me is CdR, Dom. Paul Autard. Unlike so many others I've tried, there's a nice dose of acidity to balance out the fruit ripeness.

All of $11, delivered (to my car trunk...)
 
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