Descombes 2006 Brouilly (Beaujolais) Fiercely acidic. Raspberry, cranberry, and underbrushbut this is like trying to drink from a spiked metal helmet. Liquefied iron arrives somewhere within the finish. A little brett, too? Impossible to ignore, screeches for food, and while I like it, I think it will need to be addressed as Mistress Descombes in the future. (3/10)
Granger 2006 Chnas (Beaujolais) Soil-infused red cherries, squared-off and solid. Starts nice, gets better. Really quite impressive by the time the bottles drained. (3/10)
Ollivier Domaine de la Ppire 2008 Muscadet Svre & Maine Sur Lie (Loire) Ripe shells, rounded bones. The dryness here is a fulsome dryness, and that makes all the difference in a wine that can, at times, be spare in the tune of void. I like this for drinking now, though Im sure theres no real hurry either. Classic Muscadet as it should be, rather than is, and the price is absurdly low for the quality. (3/10)
Goyard Domaine de Roally 1999 Mcon-Villages Tradition (Mcon) Vivid and beeswaxy, commencing in a linear fashion, growing rounder and fleshier around the waist, and then tapering again into the finish. Dry honey, chalk, crystals. After an hour or so, theres a hint of butter. A really, really good wine, and my best bottle of this yet. (3/10)
Castro Ventosa El Castro de Valtuille 2007 Bierzo Mencia Joven (Northwest Spain) Aromatic, like freshly-crushed handfuls of dried flowers and dried berries, but with a weird imbalance between stridency and abruptness. It screeches forth at volume 11, and thenpoof. Too much intensity up front, not enough to sustain later on. (5/10)
Amesguren Ameztoi 2008 Getariako Txakolina Rubentis (Northwest Spain) Full of leafy floaters Im assuming tartrates, but note that they dont settle very quickly and showing no signs of fatigue despite the precipitation. All the strawberry/strawberry leaf and zippy, fizzy punch are still present and vibrant. I often feel that this should be ladled from a large, ice-filled bowl rather than cooped up in a bottle. And I meant that affectionately. (3/10)
Casa de la Ermita 2005 Jumilla Dulce Monastrell (Levant) From 375 ml. I keep trying this wine, and it never gets more appealing than it does intriguing: dusty tannin, black fruit, syrupy texture and sweetness, and the rough, stony animalism that signifies the variety. It doesnt work for me. (3/10)
Lustau East India Solera Sherry (Jerez) Very, very, very sweet. No surprise there. Sticky nuts, caramelized and ensyruped, taking on the character of liquid toffee. What more is there to say? You either want something like this or you dont. (4/10)
Granger 2006 Chnas (Beaujolais) Soil-infused red cherries, squared-off and solid. Starts nice, gets better. Really quite impressive by the time the bottles drained. (3/10)
Ollivier Domaine de la Ppire 2008 Muscadet Svre & Maine Sur Lie (Loire) Ripe shells, rounded bones. The dryness here is a fulsome dryness, and that makes all the difference in a wine that can, at times, be spare in the tune of void. I like this for drinking now, though Im sure theres no real hurry either. Classic Muscadet as it should be, rather than is, and the price is absurdly low for the quality. (3/10)
Goyard Domaine de Roally 1999 Mcon-Villages Tradition (Mcon) Vivid and beeswaxy, commencing in a linear fashion, growing rounder and fleshier around the waist, and then tapering again into the finish. Dry honey, chalk, crystals. After an hour or so, theres a hint of butter. A really, really good wine, and my best bottle of this yet. (3/10)
Castro Ventosa El Castro de Valtuille 2007 Bierzo Mencia Joven (Northwest Spain) Aromatic, like freshly-crushed handfuls of dried flowers and dried berries, but with a weird imbalance between stridency and abruptness. It screeches forth at volume 11, and thenpoof. Too much intensity up front, not enough to sustain later on. (5/10)
Amesguren Ameztoi 2008 Getariako Txakolina Rubentis (Northwest Spain) Full of leafy floaters Im assuming tartrates, but note that they dont settle very quickly and showing no signs of fatigue despite the precipitation. All the strawberry/strawberry leaf and zippy, fizzy punch are still present and vibrant. I often feel that this should be ladled from a large, ice-filled bowl rather than cooped up in a bottle. And I meant that affectionately. (3/10)
Casa de la Ermita 2005 Jumilla Dulce Monastrell (Levant) From 375 ml. I keep trying this wine, and it never gets more appealing than it does intriguing: dusty tannin, black fruit, syrupy texture and sweetness, and the rough, stony animalism that signifies the variety. It doesnt work for me. (3/10)
Lustau East India Solera Sherry (Jerez) Very, very, very sweet. No surprise there. Sticky nuts, caramelized and ensyruped, taking on the character of liquid toffee. What more is there to say? You either want something like this or you dont. (4/10)