Joel Stewart
Joel Stewart
2007 de Moor Chablis, "l'humeur du temps", 12% ($28) - What a delight this wine is. From the first sip to the last drops of a bottle that went all too quickly, there's so much going on here. One is forced to just sit back and marvel at it's ability to be delicate, nuanced and cleverly acrobatic all at once. Without ever stepping out of bounds, this wine dances a jig both modern and traditional, throwing fresh sprigs of herbs everywhere and cloaked in concentric rings of citriosity that ripple across the palate in ballad-like waves. Vinous and subtle pit fruit flavors last long after the swallow. All too fine. Nose is reticent at first, but rewards airing. Palate rocks right out of the gate. Hands down the most enjoyable sleigh ride of a white I've had in a while. I can't afford the big boy/girl Chabs, but this I can, and will. Great with deep fried, breaded freshwater minnows.
2006 F. Mikulski, Bourgogne Aligote, Meursault 12% ($21). From 80+ yr. old vines. Apparently the grapes are left on the vine to the point where they are partially dried. (Terroir site notes '05's should be left to age and '06 are tauter, more mineral and typical.) A good follow up to the de Moor. Light gold in glass. Sharp nose, pleasingly pungent - pine, rosemary, seashore air, post-ignition gunpowder, scents reminiscent of both chablis and muscadet, with an additional and intriguing savory cheese note. Palate is also reminiscent of past chabs and muscadets, with subtle distinctions: there is less bitterness here, a softer delivery on the palate overall (though well framed in front, back) and the barest touch of a honeyed note mixed with herbs on the finish....which comes forward with time. Not quite the depth the de Moor brought, but it rocked with 2am ramen, etc. Well done.
2006 Domaine de Mayran Rouge, Lirac Gren/syrah/cinsault/mourvedre in 50/20/20/10 breakdown. 14% ($15). Biodynamic. This stuff shows classic.....yep, classic, flavors and aromas. Classic like Model T Fords, Mustangs, unshaved Playboy mod....er whatever.....
Vineyards are quartz pebbles over red clay and limestone. Visual is deep red to black cherry without going opaque, nose is friendly, but tight: young red berries, furry animal, tree bark and musk. Palate shows good ripeness, but it's cloaked in drying tannins with full brakes on. Deep cherry notes, beasty broth, coffee grounds and tannic persimmon juice on the back end. Drinkable now, but may be satisfying like muscular young CdP in a couple of years. Slightly unctuous, not in a bad way, it still needs to lose a bit of weight and let some of that tree bark soften. Tannin friendly folks will dig it now, but time might deliver a gem, without it becoming a baked fruit thing. This speaks of chilly nights and thoughtful patience and the structure present here reveals that. At this price, it's worth stowing a few away for a bit (at the rate I drink S. Rhones, anyway.) This kills everything in it's path that strives to be a bargain CdR.
2007 Lapierre Beaujolias - Bottle number 15 in last 6 months. Deceptively simple nose again: first whiff is a bowl of chilled black cherries, next is all Burgundian PN forest pine, geranium. Flavorwise, though it was compared to a recent FC Contadino, I can see this is more sour overall and on the attack especially. The mid-palate though shows similar undercurrents of ripeness, pinot-esque-ness and vin naturel aliveness. This wine still captivates me, and despite storage temp warnings being ignored at the seller's source, every bottle of the case + I have bought has been good to better. Today's is still barely open and cold, but easily gluggable. Worked beautifully with thin pork slices and steamed pumpkin, both liberally dosed with turmeric and dried chili powder. Bravo, bravo.
NV Dard et Ribot, H. Souhaut, Les Champs Libres, St. Peray. (12.5%) I do like sparkling wine, but I have no budget for grower champagne, so I make a point of trying sparkling wines from all over. This is a 100% Marsanne bubbly from the Rhone and the oddness of it caught my eye even before I noticed this producer is an LD import. Unfortunately, the musty nose on this points to TCA...not enough to toss the bottle, but enough to put a dampening screen over everything. Beyond the taint, one detects in the nose marsanne walnut notes, which translate directly to the palate...an almost sherried undercurrent, a whisp of gentle pear fruit and a somewhat saline finish with lingering smoky quinine notes. Mousse is ultra soft and a little foamier on the palate than I prefer, but this improves with time when the petillance dies back a bit. I found it both austere and robust...an interesting combo, and while fine when drunk by itself, I think this is looking for the right food....some kind of cheese perhaps. Day two, the last glass shows no signs of the TCA nose, is spiced nuts and resinous notes. Palate has filled out along with acidity, though still very nut-dominant. Maybe this bottling just needs a little more sideways time to gather itself together. Hard to rate, but might try again.
2008 Puzelat Cheverny Rouge. (12.5%) I take it this is predominantly gamay...or at least it comes off like it. Sweet grapey nose and a pleasant palate...fruit forward enough, light, decent acidity and overall easy to enjoy. Never mind that the Lapierre Beaujolais '07 was had for $13 compared to the Puzelat's $21, the Lapierre is by far the more rewarding wine even if it were priced the same. More gumption, silkier texture. Still, this (like the blancs) responds well to leaving open awhile. The wine opens and develops a more interesting citric acidity on day two. Not bad at all, but I'll still take Lapierre's bojo over this.
2008 Puzelat Touraine Sauvignon. (12.5%) White gold in glass. Reticent nose of lime, herbal and pine notes, green apple mixed with a whiff of feline markings. Initially, it's sort of a two staged affair, with lower register flavors of ripe marmalade, honey and tobacco engaging first and then propelled further by pulses of grapefruit and lemon. Over time, the trend is toward merging, though the back end continues to hold fairly distinct and adds pleasant punctuation (I find the acidity and it's gem-like facets one of the strong points in Puzelat whites, and this too does not disappoint). This wine is pretty nice, but so far, it's not beating the P'tit Blanc for either QPR or complexity and at $21 here compared to $16 there, I'll take the blend. See below. Plastic cork. (1/10)
2008 Puzelat, Le P'tit Blanc du Tue - Boeuf, Touraine. (13%) This wine's been open a few days and has kept fine in the fridge, in fact, it might be the better for it. Pine needles and a perfumey, herby Puzelat blanc nose that leans toward sauv.b and crushed seashell.....vibrant ripe grapefruit on the palate with some subtle savory notes underneath and a startlingly long lemony finish. It's full where you want it to be and shored up with grip and acidity elsewhere. At $16 this delivers a lot of pleasure, maybe even more than that. Need more. Plastique. (1/10)
2006 Domaine de L'Ecu, Cuvee Guy Bossard, Muscadet Severe et Maine. (12%) It's been awhile since the last bottle of this and only one left to store away as an experiment. Nose has gotten far riper it seems since last year..this is richer, deeper, floral, candied fruit with a touch of crushed nuts. Palate shows an interesting dance between the seashore salty air minerality I know and deeper savory even tobacco-like notes, dried pear and walnutty finish I can't place with this wine. As a wine, it's fine, as a Bossard muscadet, hmmm. Passive, but shallow cellar and a hot summer, I wonder.....(Bottle #2 - Less so, but still showing some oxidized notes and a candied or marmalade note which is not in character. I think this one is less so, but still cooked.) T'was a good run on this vintage, but this was a wine that did better in it's youth. Au revoir, Guy.
1999 Calabretta, Etna Rosato, VQPRD, Sicily (14%) - Compared to the rosso 2000, this aged rose is a trickier wine to like. It comes out of the gates smelling gorgeous, but tasting thin of fruit, heavy on acidity and bitter on the finish. The wine fleshes out somewhat, keeping it's lovely nose of tar and cherry mostly, then earth and leather. I'm not sure about the release date, so this may just be a shelf hanger purchase...but I can live with it, and I do....over a few days. Finally, it dawns on me that, given the thin orange color, the highly bricked look, the smell and taste of the wine, that this could possibly pass as a 40 yr. old Barolo. Not a great one, nor even a good one, but passable as such. Tar, roses and leather are here in spades and textbook perfect. Given that nero mascalese is sometimes compared to nebbiolo, I thought this wine made a clear illustration of that point....despite it being a few years past it's best. Note: 3 days later, the wine was still holding, and showing just a hint of fruit that was missing before. I still think the wine probably had more potential 5 years ago.
2000 Calabretta, Etna Rosso, VQPRD, Sicily (14%) - Ruby red, with orange bricking. This wine sings in the glass like wetting your finger and running it around the rim. A recent release, yet balancing youthful ripeness with secondary notes like a precocious Bacchus. One wonders how this might evolve with another decade on it. Plenty of fruit and structure to go much further...the usual Barolo tar and roses, leather and cinnamon...lovely nose and a refreshingly youthful palate to follow it up. Here we were, running out of wine last night to go with over-flavored lamb and beef (Spottswoode and Nickel+Nickel) and the second half of a decanted bottle of this was hauled out of the kitchen and poured into empty glasses. Following such a molasses-fest, this wine jovially cleaned palates and clocks, right and left....demonstrating that a wine not need to be big to be voluminous. At $30, this is redonkulous.
2006 F. Mikulski, Bourgogne Aligote, Meursault 12% ($21). From 80+ yr. old vines. Apparently the grapes are left on the vine to the point where they are partially dried. (Terroir site notes '05's should be left to age and '06 are tauter, more mineral and typical.) A good follow up to the de Moor. Light gold in glass. Sharp nose, pleasingly pungent - pine, rosemary, seashore air, post-ignition gunpowder, scents reminiscent of both chablis and muscadet, with an additional and intriguing savory cheese note. Palate is also reminiscent of past chabs and muscadets, with subtle distinctions: there is less bitterness here, a softer delivery on the palate overall (though well framed in front, back) and the barest touch of a honeyed note mixed with herbs on the finish....which comes forward with time. Not quite the depth the de Moor brought, but it rocked with 2am ramen, etc. Well done.
2006 Domaine de Mayran Rouge, Lirac Gren/syrah/cinsault/mourvedre in 50/20/20/10 breakdown. 14% ($15). Biodynamic. This stuff shows classic.....yep, classic, flavors and aromas. Classic like Model T Fords, Mustangs, unshaved Playboy mod....er whatever.....
Vineyards are quartz pebbles over red clay and limestone. Visual is deep red to black cherry without going opaque, nose is friendly, but tight: young red berries, furry animal, tree bark and musk. Palate shows good ripeness, but it's cloaked in drying tannins with full brakes on. Deep cherry notes, beasty broth, coffee grounds and tannic persimmon juice on the back end. Drinkable now, but may be satisfying like muscular young CdP in a couple of years. Slightly unctuous, not in a bad way, it still needs to lose a bit of weight and let some of that tree bark soften. Tannin friendly folks will dig it now, but time might deliver a gem, without it becoming a baked fruit thing. This speaks of chilly nights and thoughtful patience and the structure present here reveals that. At this price, it's worth stowing a few away for a bit (at the rate I drink S. Rhones, anyway.) This kills everything in it's path that strives to be a bargain CdR.
2007 Lapierre Beaujolias - Bottle number 15 in last 6 months. Deceptively simple nose again: first whiff is a bowl of chilled black cherries, next is all Burgundian PN forest pine, geranium. Flavorwise, though it was compared to a recent FC Contadino, I can see this is more sour overall and on the attack especially. The mid-palate though shows similar undercurrents of ripeness, pinot-esque-ness and vin naturel aliveness. This wine still captivates me, and despite storage temp warnings being ignored at the seller's source, every bottle of the case + I have bought has been good to better. Today's is still barely open and cold, but easily gluggable. Worked beautifully with thin pork slices and steamed pumpkin, both liberally dosed with turmeric and dried chili powder. Bravo, bravo.
NV Dard et Ribot, H. Souhaut, Les Champs Libres, St. Peray. (12.5%) I do like sparkling wine, but I have no budget for grower champagne, so I make a point of trying sparkling wines from all over. This is a 100% Marsanne bubbly from the Rhone and the oddness of it caught my eye even before I noticed this producer is an LD import. Unfortunately, the musty nose on this points to TCA...not enough to toss the bottle, but enough to put a dampening screen over everything. Beyond the taint, one detects in the nose marsanne walnut notes, which translate directly to the palate...an almost sherried undercurrent, a whisp of gentle pear fruit and a somewhat saline finish with lingering smoky quinine notes. Mousse is ultra soft and a little foamier on the palate than I prefer, but this improves with time when the petillance dies back a bit. I found it both austere and robust...an interesting combo, and while fine when drunk by itself, I think this is looking for the right food....some kind of cheese perhaps. Day two, the last glass shows no signs of the TCA nose, is spiced nuts and resinous notes. Palate has filled out along with acidity, though still very nut-dominant. Maybe this bottling just needs a little more sideways time to gather itself together. Hard to rate, but might try again.
2008 Puzelat Cheverny Rouge. (12.5%) I take it this is predominantly gamay...or at least it comes off like it. Sweet grapey nose and a pleasant palate...fruit forward enough, light, decent acidity and overall easy to enjoy. Never mind that the Lapierre Beaujolais '07 was had for $13 compared to the Puzelat's $21, the Lapierre is by far the more rewarding wine even if it were priced the same. More gumption, silkier texture. Still, this (like the blancs) responds well to leaving open awhile. The wine opens and develops a more interesting citric acidity on day two. Not bad at all, but I'll still take Lapierre's bojo over this.
2008 Puzelat Touraine Sauvignon. (12.5%) White gold in glass. Reticent nose of lime, herbal and pine notes, green apple mixed with a whiff of feline markings. Initially, it's sort of a two staged affair, with lower register flavors of ripe marmalade, honey and tobacco engaging first and then propelled further by pulses of grapefruit and lemon. Over time, the trend is toward merging, though the back end continues to hold fairly distinct and adds pleasant punctuation (I find the acidity and it's gem-like facets one of the strong points in Puzelat whites, and this too does not disappoint). This wine is pretty nice, but so far, it's not beating the P'tit Blanc for either QPR or complexity and at $21 here compared to $16 there, I'll take the blend. See below. Plastic cork. (1/10)
2008 Puzelat, Le P'tit Blanc du Tue - Boeuf, Touraine. (13%) This wine's been open a few days and has kept fine in the fridge, in fact, it might be the better for it. Pine needles and a perfumey, herby Puzelat blanc nose that leans toward sauv.b and crushed seashell.....vibrant ripe grapefruit on the palate with some subtle savory notes underneath and a startlingly long lemony finish. It's full where you want it to be and shored up with grip and acidity elsewhere. At $16 this delivers a lot of pleasure, maybe even more than that. Need more. Plastique. (1/10)
2006 Domaine de L'Ecu, Cuvee Guy Bossard, Muscadet Severe et Maine. (12%) It's been awhile since the last bottle of this and only one left to store away as an experiment. Nose has gotten far riper it seems since last year..this is richer, deeper, floral, candied fruit with a touch of crushed nuts. Palate shows an interesting dance between the seashore salty air minerality I know and deeper savory even tobacco-like notes, dried pear and walnutty finish I can't place with this wine. As a wine, it's fine, as a Bossard muscadet, hmmm. Passive, but shallow cellar and a hot summer, I wonder.....(Bottle #2 - Less so, but still showing some oxidized notes and a candied or marmalade note which is not in character. I think this one is less so, but still cooked.) T'was a good run on this vintage, but this was a wine that did better in it's youth. Au revoir, Guy.
1999 Calabretta, Etna Rosato, VQPRD, Sicily (14%) - Compared to the rosso 2000, this aged rose is a trickier wine to like. It comes out of the gates smelling gorgeous, but tasting thin of fruit, heavy on acidity and bitter on the finish. The wine fleshes out somewhat, keeping it's lovely nose of tar and cherry mostly, then earth and leather. I'm not sure about the release date, so this may just be a shelf hanger purchase...but I can live with it, and I do....over a few days. Finally, it dawns on me that, given the thin orange color, the highly bricked look, the smell and taste of the wine, that this could possibly pass as a 40 yr. old Barolo. Not a great one, nor even a good one, but passable as such. Tar, roses and leather are here in spades and textbook perfect. Given that nero mascalese is sometimes compared to nebbiolo, I thought this wine made a clear illustration of that point....despite it being a few years past it's best. Note: 3 days later, the wine was still holding, and showing just a hint of fruit that was missing before. I still think the wine probably had more potential 5 years ago.
2000 Calabretta, Etna Rosso, VQPRD, Sicily (14%) - Ruby red, with orange bricking. This wine sings in the glass like wetting your finger and running it around the rim. A recent release, yet balancing youthful ripeness with secondary notes like a precocious Bacchus. One wonders how this might evolve with another decade on it. Plenty of fruit and structure to go much further...the usual Barolo tar and roses, leather and cinnamon...lovely nose and a refreshingly youthful palate to follow it up. Here we were, running out of wine last night to go with over-flavored lamb and beef (Spottswoode and Nickel+Nickel) and the second half of a decanted bottle of this was hauled out of the kitchen and poured into empty glasses. Following such a molasses-fest, this wine jovially cleaned palates and clocks, right and left....demonstrating that a wine not need to be big to be voluminous. At $30, this is redonkulous.
