3 Big Noses

C

Christian Miller (CMM)

Christian Miller
Kekfrankos Sopron "Ujra Egyutt" 2007, Pfneiszl (Hungary) - complex aroma with PN-like clovey spice, vanilla, sundried tomato, grapy-cherry fruit, decayed rose; medium-light body, lively acid, interesting slightly sauvage, slightly vegetal fruit quality, fairly long, altogether unique and charming. Excellent with gnocchi and tomato-basil sauce plus grilled zucchini. Apparently Kekfrankos is Blaufrankisch; it must like the neighborhood, this is the best version of the grape that I've ever had. ****

Cotes de Gascogne Gros Manseng Reserve Selection 2009, Domaine des Cassagnoles - remarkable, nearly over-the-top aroma featuring leafy key lime-guava fruit spiked with cardamom-Bay leaf notes; exotic pineapply-guava fruit flavor with a leafy-vegetal tone a bit remniscent of Vignoles; quite good acidity, medium body, some density, fairly long. Wild stuff, it won't win any awards for subtlety but very entertaining. Is it just me, or are the Cotes de Gascogne offering some remarkable values in white wine these days? ****

Syrah Napa Valley Caldwell vineyard 2005, JC Cellars - wild full-blown aroma of intense young Syrah fruit punctuated with pepper and meaty tones; full-bodied, vigorous, meaty blackberry Syrah fruit, some juniper and oak notes, medium-low acid, medium grippy tannins, long finish with a trace of heat. The wine is immense, yet not overripe and pruny/raisined nor harshly alcoholic nor cloying. Wagnerian syrah, a wine for the darkest and gamiest of dishes. Rather overwhelmed a grilled turnip cake in wild mushroom sauce. ***(*)
 
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
Wagnerian syrah, a wine for the darkest and gamiest of dishes. Rather overwhelmed a grilled turnip cake in wild mushroom sauce. ***(*)
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Great description of most of the JC Cellars wines. Not sure how he does it in a way that doesn't accentuate the elevated alcohol levels, but amazing wines for that particular style.

I'm unfamiliar with the Pfneiszl wines but Frank Dietrich is the importer and he has impeccable taste so I don't doubt that this one is among the finest Kekfrankos available. The only Balfster I've had much exposure to is Weninger and their wines are a little difficult to find.

And yes, Kekfrankos = Blaufrnkisch and there are a number of overwhelmingly wonderful Blaufrnkisches made in the Burgenland region of Austria. Favorites include Moric (duh), Heinrich, Achs, Prieler, Tinhof, et al...All are worth seeking out, as it's a grape variety that produces wine that goes inordinately well with food.

-Eden (the proximity of Sopron and the Burgenland bodes well for rapid improvement in wine quality in that part of Hungary)
 
originally posted by Eden Mylunsch:
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
Wagnerian syrah, a wine for the darkest and gamiest of dishes. Rather overwhelmed a grilled turnip cake in wild mushroom sauce. ***(*)
Click to expand...

Great description of most of the JC Cellars wines. Not sure how he does it in a way that doesn't accentuate the elevated alcohol levels, but amazing wines for that particular style.
Click to expand...

I have a very hard time with those wines, I suppose unsurprisingly. Too much too much. Too much wood (way too much), too much alcohol, too much extraction. The whole show overwhelms me. I have the feeling they are made for curb appeal for critics, but that's just a guess.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
originally posted by Eden Mylunsch:
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
Wagnerian syrah, a wine for the darkest and gamiest of dishes. Rather overwhelmed a grilled turnip cake in wild mushroom sauce. ***(*)
Click to expand...

Great description of most of the JC Cellars wines. Not sure how he does it in a way that doesn't accentuate the elevated alcohol levels, but amazing wines for that particular style.
Click to expand...

I have a very hard time with those wines, I suppose unsurprisingly. Too much too much. Too much wood (way too much), too much alcohol, too much extraction. The whole show overwhelms me. I have the feeling they are made for curb appeal for critics, but that's just a guess.
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I feel your pain, but nonetheless ignore it (should I run for office?) What I like about JC syrahs and PS is that despite their size and weight, they are almost never cloying or pruney or oozy (my main gripe with "long hang time" wines, rather than alcohol per se); and he somehow retains the musky-meaty-sauvage character that I prize in Northern Rhone and rarely find in California Syrah.

Interestingly, the one Pinot Noir that I've had from Jeff was almost delicate and light in color and body, successful in a very different way.
 
Thus my caveat of "but amazing wines for that particular style".

It's not your style, it's not my style, but these wines do well in blind tasting wine competitions and with the critics.

When I think about these wines, I usually picture a bunch of high-living, well-fed and quite rotund stockbrokers wearing striped shirts with the sleeves rolled up and with suspenders sitting at around table at a Manhattan steakhouse celebrating the conclusion of some big M&A deal with a blue 32 ounce ribeye and a huge bowl of creamed asparagus in front of them and a Cohiba Esplendido in one hand and a JC Cellars (or Saxum or Alban or SQN) mug in their right hand shouting to each other, "man, THIS is wine!!!"

No harm, no foul. The wines are well made, the drinkers are having a good time, and the wineries remain in business, and all is right with the world. Those guys don't outbid us for the wines we* like and the overall sdwine market remains in balance and all is right with the world.

-Eden (n'estce pas?)

*and it's not like I'm saying that there's a house palate here at Wine Disorder, but the preferences of most of the regular correspondents here tend to be heading into a similar direction, one unlike those sought by people who might participate on other wine boards that shall remain nameless because well, I forgot which ones they were.
 
originally posted by Eden Mylunsch:
Those guys don't outbid us for the wines we* like and the overall sdwine market remains in balance and all is right with the world.

-Eden (n'estce pas?)

*and it's not like I'm saying that there's a house palate here at Wine Disorder, but the preferences of most of the regular correspondents here tend to be heading into a similar direction, one unlike those sought by people who might participate on other wine boards that shall remain nameless because well, I forgot which ones they were.
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Would that it were so, Eden. Alas, those same besuspendered* grandees do clash with our own interests on certain wines: N. Rhone Syrahs and Burgundy, mostly. I've watched the auction prices soar over the past decade for some of my favoritest producers and it hurts, dammit! (I knew them first, after all... well, after TomHill) The way things are going, I'm afraid for the future (as opposed to futures) of Coudert Tardive, too, alas.

Mark Lipton

* I'm angling for this word's inclusion in the next edition of the OED. Use it early and often, and never forget who told ya so.
 
When I think about these wines, I usually picture a bunch of high-living, well-fed and quite rotund stockbrokers wearing striped shirts with the sleeves rolled up and with suspenders sitting at around table at a Manhattan steakhouse celebrating the conclusion of some big M&A deal with a blue 32 ounce ribeye and a huge bowl of creamed asparagus in front of them and a Cohiba Esplendido in one hand and a JC Cellars (or Saxum or Alban or SQN) mug in their right hand shouting to each other, "man, THIS is wine!!!"
Click to expand...

Boy, you really know how to ruin someone's enjoyment of a wine.
 
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