Florida Jim
Florida Jim
2007 E. Vatan, Sancerre Clos la Nore:
13% alcohol; with goat cheese and crackers, the best possible of pairings; I have written about this wine several times suffice to say, it is wonderful.
Third day: recorked and put in the fridge and then allowed to come to cool room temp. on the third day: more of everything considerably more complex, more flavors, more aromas, more depth and more length this wine continues to impress; it tastes of Sancerre and not just sauvignon blanc. A truly great wine with years of development ahead.
1999 Dom. Drouhin, Pinot Noir Louise:
13% alcohol and, from what I hear, a pretty rare bottle; this has all the pieces grand cru concentration and intensity, seamless integration, great depth and acidity, terrific aromas and flavors, and an almost endless finish it may be the single clearest expression of New World pinot I have tasted . . . but, it has no sense of place (other than New World). I have immense admiration for the building blocks of the wine and marvel at the way they fit together so perfectly, and yet, I find nothing here that excites emotionally. A technological wonder, sans soul.
2005 Foreau, Vouvray Sec:
13.2% alcohol; counter-point to the above wine not only an extraordinary wine from the technical standpoint but also so evidently of its place and producer as to be all but unmistakable; bone dry but juicy, acidic yet smooth, full flavored but with lots of cut, lively and nervous in the mouth but deep and long. As good as the AOC will ever do at the sec level.
2005 Dom. Chignard, Fleurie Les Moriers:
12.5% alcohol; maybe my favorite wine of the past several years has been the 05 Vissoux, Poncie a Fleurie that takes my breath and this is very close and may, given time in the cellar, exceed the 05 Poncie. It is more angular (at the moment) but it is also deeper and more complex. The texture alone is enough to throw me into OMG mode. I suspect that this will become one of the very best red wines I have ever had. Sensational now with grilled chicken my remaining bottles will stay in the cellar.
(Aside: I have had varied experience with aging wine; often, time as meant little or no difference; occasionally, it has meant a wine that could not hold up; rarely, it has delivered a wine that is so substantially different and engaging that I thought the wait was worth it. I can see something in this wine that gives me considerable confidence in saying hold; the wait will be worth it.)
Best, Jim
13% alcohol; with goat cheese and crackers, the best possible of pairings; I have written about this wine several times suffice to say, it is wonderful.
Third day: recorked and put in the fridge and then allowed to come to cool room temp. on the third day: more of everything considerably more complex, more flavors, more aromas, more depth and more length this wine continues to impress; it tastes of Sancerre and not just sauvignon blanc. A truly great wine with years of development ahead.
1999 Dom. Drouhin, Pinot Noir Louise:
13% alcohol and, from what I hear, a pretty rare bottle; this has all the pieces grand cru concentration and intensity, seamless integration, great depth and acidity, terrific aromas and flavors, and an almost endless finish it may be the single clearest expression of New World pinot I have tasted . . . but, it has no sense of place (other than New World). I have immense admiration for the building blocks of the wine and marvel at the way they fit together so perfectly, and yet, I find nothing here that excites emotionally. A technological wonder, sans soul.
2005 Foreau, Vouvray Sec:
13.2% alcohol; counter-point to the above wine not only an extraordinary wine from the technical standpoint but also so evidently of its place and producer as to be all but unmistakable; bone dry but juicy, acidic yet smooth, full flavored but with lots of cut, lively and nervous in the mouth but deep and long. As good as the AOC will ever do at the sec level.
2005 Dom. Chignard, Fleurie Les Moriers:
12.5% alcohol; maybe my favorite wine of the past several years has been the 05 Vissoux, Poncie a Fleurie that takes my breath and this is very close and may, given time in the cellar, exceed the 05 Poncie. It is more angular (at the moment) but it is also deeper and more complex. The texture alone is enough to throw me into OMG mode. I suspect that this will become one of the very best red wines I have ever had. Sensational now with grilled chicken my remaining bottles will stay in the cellar.
(Aside: I have had varied experience with aging wine; often, time as meant little or no difference; occasionally, it has meant a wine that could not hold up; rarely, it has delivered a wine that is so substantially different and engaging that I thought the wait was worth it. I can see something in this wine that gives me considerable confidence in saying hold; the wait will be worth it.)
Best, Jim