Two 2003s

Y

Yule Kim

Yule Kim
Last night, my friends bought me a bottle of 2003 Radikon Jakot. This was my first bottle of "orange" wine and I was surprised I liked it as much as I did. I've heard repeatedly that this was "challenging" wine, but it was fairly gulpable to me. It had a lovely light texture, polished tannins, and left just a hint of tingling bitterness on the finish. Granted, it was austere, but in a very good way, suggesting hints of fruit, maybe melon, perhaps pear? Actually, a friend of mine, who probably liked it the most out of all of us (and he is primarily a Napa Cabernet drinker), kept calling it "spiked orange gatorade," solely because of its dark, cloudy amber hue. But, because of that description, I kept picking up hints of orange, which I'm sure was just a product of my imagination.

But, whatever, great wine, and looking forward to trying Radikon's other wines, perhaps Bea's Santa Chiara, and if I'm lucky (and with a rich enough friend) perhaps some Gravner.

I also opened a 2003 Leroy Bourgogne (negociant) and it was disappointing, but not in the way you probably think. I was expecting it to taste like overripe, over-amped Cali pinot, but instead, it was surprisingly green. One friend thought it smelled like asparagus and the other friend referred to it as an herb garden and "spiked V8" (that would be the Napa Cab fan). I wouldn't go that far, but it was far more "savory" than I expected. It grew on me as the night waxed on, especially with food, and in many ways it reminded me of the Guion Bourgueil I had at Ten Bells several weeks ago. But, it didn't remind me of Burgundy, so, while not a bad wine, it was a disappointment.

All in all, a good night, and I'm happy to jump on the orange wine band wagon.
 
Good read.

I like orange wines in their place. I have tried quite a few and the ones you name are my favorites. I also attended a tasting of many orange wines and found out that they are not suited to be done side by side but rather, need food. Overall, I like their individual character - something completely different - to borrow a line.

The 2004 Leroy Bourgogne (Domaine) started pretty green also but as now come to a point where the green does not overwhelm. Maybe a little time is good for them.

Best, Jim
 
originally posted by Yule Kim:
Two 2003sLast night, my friends bought me a bottle of 2003 Radikon Jakot. This was my first bottle of "orange" wine and I was surprised I liked it as much as I did. I've heard repeatedly that this was "challenging" wine, but it was fairly gulpable to me...
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Maybe the challenging part refers to off-bottles? I.E. when funky flavors kick in?
 
I've never had an "off-bottle" of 2003 Jakot, though I have experienced variation.

I have gone through about two cases of the 500ml version of this. It is a great wine.
 
originally posted by Nicolas Mestre:
I've never had an "off-bottle" of 2003 Jakot, though I have experienced variation..
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Do you find it challenging?

My comment was more about orange wines in general (if one can say that). I agree with Yule that they are easy to drink and don't see why they would be challenging (but then I am not a fan of describing wine as 'challenging' or 'intellectual', although that may be thread drift).
 
Thread drift . . .

The subject of variation is of interest to me.
When we buy a case of wine X, do we expect all bottles to be the same (not identical but very much the same wine)?
I think we do.

Of course, those who buy a single bottle, have no perspective to work with here - I usually buy at least 6 of whatever I buy. The idea being, to track it over time and in different environments.
The more I follow this buying pattern, the more fascinated I am by that one bottle that is so entirely different that it is fair to say, its not the same wine.

With orange wines, it seems this phenomena happens more often.
It is, I think, one of the reasons I am so enamored of them.
Uniqueness is its own reward but it also makes for a bottle that can be truly flawed - not such a great reward.

Wine as a living thing is a challenging concept.

Best, Jim
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
Wine as a living thing is a challenging concept.
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Especially when opening bottles for guests!
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Yes, I have the same problem with plums. You just never know how one will show. Too hard, too soft, bruised, exceptionally juicy, not juicy enough.

I am still trying to figure out whether I should stop serving plums to my house guests.

I'll let you know what I end up deciding!
 
There's an expression in Arabic "the time of apricots," referring to the brief moment when this fruit is just ripe, used for anything of fleeting duration. In the inane trivia department.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Rahsaan:
Wine as a living thing is a challenging concept.
Click to expand...

Especially when opening bottles for guests!
Click to expand...

Yes, I have the same problem with plums. You just never know how one will show. Too hard, too soft, bruised, exceptionally juicy, not juicy enough.

I am still trying to figure out whether I should stop serving plums to my house guests.

I'll let you know what I end up deciding!
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hilarious nonetheless
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
Yes, I have the same problem with plums. You just never know how one will show. Too hard, too soft, bruised, exceptionally juicy, not juicy enough.

I am still trying to figure out whether I should stop serving plums to my house guests.

I'll let you know what I end up deciding!
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You can always open the plums in advance. Take a taste and then decide how you want to proceed.

I find that works well with most red fruits.
 
I doubt I'd describe that particular Radikon as "challenging." Maybe for Tom Troiano or eBob refugees. But Radikon's 2003s where, across the board, about the least-"challenging" orange wines I've encountered. Not bad, but not what they're capable of, either. Orange training wines, perhaps. Ultimately softer and more plushy-fluffy than I prefer.

You should definitely explore further.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
There's an expression in Arabic "the time of apricots," referring to the brief moment when this fruit is just ripe, used for anything of fleeting duration. In the inane trivia department.
Click to expand...

Waqt al-barqq? I hadn't heard that expression before. I've only heard of the Egyptian Arabic, f al-mishmish, literally "in the apricot season", which refers to the short apricot season and is used as a reply to impossible promises. Where's this other expression used?
 
Fi al-mishmish is the expression I had in mind. I understood it to mean what I said, but your interpretation is much better. My experience is in Egypt.
 
The assumption that wines from hot vintages like 2003 are going to turn out ripe and New Worldy is a puzzlingly persistent myth... as you've noticed with the Leroy, the opposite tends to be true: the heat shuts down the vine and the result, rather than overripe fruit, is clearly underripe. This has described a good number of '03 Burgundies and tons of '03 Bordeaux.
 
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