Cellar goodies

[Florida Jim]

2001 Gulfi, Nero dAvola Neroccarj:
Considerable sediment; big wine but not overdone; milk chocolate and dark fruit on the nose, slightly tart dark fruit in the mouth and plenty of length. Still shows most on its primary side but has more depth and complexity than at release and maybe the beginnings of secondary development. Will hold a long time; not your typical nero.

1999 Hirtzberger, Riesling Smaragd Singerriedel:
For those who know Austrian wine it will be no surprise that I think this is great wine a fine producer, superb terroir and a terrific vintage. What may surprise though, is the elegance and freshness here there is nothing outsized, angular or muted; it is as though it were bottled yesterday at the peak of its aging curve. Depth, balance, precision and above all focus like a beam of light that has been minutely adjusted to fit the taster alone. When a wine is this centered and pure, all the other stimuli around wanes; its a beautiful thing.

1999 Bizot, Vosne-Romane VV:
Sauvage nose with a raw meat, olive, curry spice core surrounded by red fruit expansive and intriguing; slightly attenuated in the mouth but delivering the same kind of experience as the nose, moderate concentration and intensity; excellent length. We surmise that this bottle still needs time in the cellar but we also finish it over the course of dinner. 12.5% abv.

Best, Jim

 

[Aaron]

originally posted by Florida Jim:
12.5% abv.

Ha. In a ripe year, even. God bless our homegrown Pinot producers who routinely end up with 14.5+ alcohol percentages. I remember seeing 14.5% abv in Burgundy, on a Dujac - once (guess which vintage?)

A while back I was at a trade tasting going through the wines from Brewer-Clifton. We had an exchange that escalated from my polite stylistic inquery to a defensive "high alcs are necessary for our wines to be well-balanced," culminating essentially with "thanks-for-tasting-now-please-go-the-fuck-away-I-don't-care-if-your-throat-burns."

I'm sure he was right. Just like I'm sure those wines'll taste great in 15 years.

 

[Claude Kolm]

originally posted by Aaron:

originally posted by Florida Jim:
12.5% abv.

Ha. In a ripe year, even. God bless our homegrown Pinot producers who routinely end up with 14.5+ alcohol percentages. I remember seeing 14.5% abv in Burgundy, on a Dujac - once (guess which vintage?)

Actually, alcohols in 1999 were not exceptionally high. It is 1997s, 2000s, and some (but by no means all) 2003s where you find elevated alcohols.

 

[Aaron]

Claude,

Would you say then that 1999 falls near the median for ripeness (and I would presume, final abv)? I'm thinking it has to have exceeded such vintages as 2004, 2001, 1998, etc. Or am I off? I've always thought of 1999 as producing riper-than-average wines.

 

[Claude Kolm]

originally posted by Aaron:

Claude,

Would you say then that 1999 falls near the median for ripeness (and I would presume, final abv)? I'm thinking it has to have exceeded such vintages as 2004, 2001, 1998, etc. Or am I off? I've always thought of 1999 as producing riper-than-average wines.

Yeah, I'd say I'd call it close to median. 2002 and 2005 were somewhat riper than 1999, but not like the aforementioned 1997 and 2000 and some 2003s, while the ones you cite were not quite as ripe as 1999 (1998 may be about the same). Talking physiological ripeness. The enormous yields in 1999 would have played a part in keeping alcohols lower than they otherwise would have been.

 

[Aaron]

Thanks, sir. You are an absolute wealth of information.

 

[Lou Kessler]

Jim, didn' we have the 2001 version of this same wine from Hirtzberger when you were here a short time ag?

 

[Yixin]

The 99 Burgs strike me as ripe-sweet, not ripe-alcoholic.

 

[VLM]

originally posted by Aaron:

originally posted by Florida Jim:
12.5% abv.

Ha. In a ripe year, even. God bless our homegrown Pinot producers who routinely end up with 14.5+ alcohol percentages. I remember seeing 14.5% abv in Burgundy, on a Dujac - once (guess which vintage?)

A while back I was at a trade tasting going through the wines from Brewer-Clifton. We had an exchange that escalated from my polite stylistic inquery to a defensive "high alcs are necessary for our wines to be well-balanced," culminating essentially with "thanks-for-tasting-now-please-go-the-fuck-away-I-don't-care-if-your-throat-burns."

I'm sure he was right. Just like I'm sure those wines'll taste great in 15 years.

Funny you should mention that.

Physiological maturity is a red herring.

I recently had a Brewer-Clifton that was just a terrible as the last one I had.

That line about balance insults my intelligence.

 

[Aaron]

Yeah, that was about my reaction, too. Even in a distributor portfolio tasting where there's always a plethora of shit being dispensed, that comment stuck out. I was debating whether to really lay my cards on the table and tell him what I thought of his attitude, the wines, his shirt/tie combo, etc., but I probably would have been frog-marched outta the tasting in full-view of colleagues and competitors. Flipped a coin and decided against it. Besides, I still had the elegant, terroir-driven wines of K Vintners to look forward to! Would have been a crime to miss those...

 

[Rahsaan]

originally posted by VLM:
I recently had a Brewer-Clifton that was just a terrible as the last one I had.

That 95 Jamet sounds tough. Is that a common issue with 95 Cote Roties right now? I was thinking of opening a 95 Gasse soon, with memories of some lovely 95 Verset and Clape last year (yes I know, different appellation).

 

[John McIlwain]

[/quote]

I recently had a Brewer-Clifton that was just a terrible as the last one I had.

That line about balance insults my intelligence.
[/quote]

What the fuck were you doing drinking a Brewer-Clifton?

 

[Thor]

Look's like John's been hired by Terroir.

I agree with the spirit of his question, though.

 

[Ignacio Villalgordo]

Bizot has been making quite a decent portfolio of bio wines for some years now. Pitty about prices going too steep

 

[Florida Jim]

originally posted by Ignacio Villalgordo:
Bizot has been making quite a decent portfolio of bio wines for some years now. Pitty about prices going too steep

They were still tolerable when the '99's were released. I haven't bought any since.
Best, Jim

 

[John McIlwain]

originally posted by Thor:
Look's like John's been hired by Terroir.

I agree with the spirit of his question, though.

Listen, I'm a wine store jockey who sells plenty of spoofilated crap with the best of them, but Brewer-Clifton seems fit for date rape and people with head injuries exclusively.

 

[John McIlwain]

That was offensive both to people with head injuries AND date rape victims.
I apologize to both demographics.

Best,
John

 

[Christian Miller (CMM)]

Talking physiological ripeness.

Uh-oh, there's that phrase again. Ironically, that's the claim made by many of the ultra-long hangtime brigade in California, they're just waiting for physiological maturity. Apparently, all those delicious, complex wines we had been making were from grapes that weren't ripe.

 

[Thor]

Apparently, all those delicious, complex wines we had been making were from grapes that weren't ripe.

Well, you joke, but that is in fact the contention of some of the grape jockeys in your neck of the woods. It is in fact their related contention that most of the delicious, complex European wines were, and are, from grapes that were/are similarly unripe, and that only they, now, are achieving actual ripeness. I used to have a file of quotes from the usual suspects, but I think it's on a different computer. But you don't need me to tell you who they are or what they said, I shouldn't think. Most of them still post to various fora and would be happy, I think, to repeat the contention.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

Have any of them explained why they believe ripeness to be synonymous with goodness?