Cazottes Domaine des Terrisses 2007 Gaillac (Southwest France) On one of the various wine fora a few weeks ago, someone asked if pyrazines were considered a flaw in Bordeaux. That the question was even asked made me a bit sad for a moment. A wine with the cabernets in it, and pyrazines are now considered a flaw? Must we eradicate beautiful greenness from every single wine on the planet, not stopping until everything tastes like low-acid zinfandel? Well, the question says a lot about Bordeaux in 2010, but for those who might experience a similar shudder, there are wines like this: not only green-edged, but expressing a fair amount of pured Kermit at the core, as well. But not, in what is unfortunately a decreasingly popular sense, underripe. Justyou know, green, and all the better for it. The tannins are a little scrappy and edgy, the acid prominent, theres peppercorn and dark, rough, undereducated fruit, and the finish feels like it might want to start a little barroom brawl rather than drift slowly into the night. What precedes is a long-form, convoluted way of saying that I like this a lot. (11/10)
Ilarria 2007 Iroulguy (Southwest France) Chewy, rebellious fruit, dark and a little wild. Peppercorns and espresso (not the oaky kind), wet black soil and logarithmic structure. Luscious. Ageable, but probably not too long. (8/10)
Ilarria 2008 Iroulguy Ros (Southwest France) There are only a few ross that I think really benefit from aeration, but this is one: papery, walled-in, a Forbidden City of a wine at first opening, this takes several hours to get going. The end result is still no easy-drinking ros, but roughly-textured creek bed rocks with the bite of sharp, wild red fruit that one picks alongside a sub-Alpine trail, slightly underripe but all the more refreshing for it. Still, in the end, it doesnt amount to much more than reasonable goodness. The houses other wines are, I think, better. (8/10)
Pascal GrosNor 1999 Bandol (Provence) The odd match of maturing, meaty/liquorous fruit and an incisored bite of tannin that typify Bandol in its adolescent stage. Its not young any more, but the hurry to get to it will very much depend on how much one craves animal juice. Its forceful for a Bandol, wrapping itself in a few more layers of herbed foil than might be normal at this stage. I like it, but Ill like it more in a decade, I suspect. (8/10)
Hugues Beaulieu Les Costires de Pomerols 2009 Coteaux du Languedoc Picpoul de Pinet (Languedoc) As reliable a bargain wine as there is these days, crisply green and succulent, driving its sharp point home with one sharp thrust and then letting it rest. Uncomplicated and amenable. (9/10)
Ich Chteau dOupia 2007 Minervois (Languedoc) I really did not care for this wine at release, and was suspicious about what Id find. My fears were unfounded; its as classic an Oupia Minervois as any other, dark and soil-browed, with the faintest tinge of an herbal licorice to the dark fruit and meat-roasting spices. I dont know that Id call the wine expressive, but it does express somethingand quite clearly, too. (9/10)
Comte Pierre de Colbert Chteau de Flaugergues 2009 Languedoc Cuve Rose (Languedoc) Is it just my imagination, or are the Languedoc ross now littering American shelves getting sweeter? Not that I really mind so much, but while it increases the cocktail appeal, it doesnt help much when it comes to matters culinary. Crushed handfuls of berries, strawberry leaf, and lingering sucrosityI dont know how much, if any, residual sugar is actually in this, but the wine is certainly softer and prettier than it needs to be. On the other hand, I suppose this is preferable to the overly alcoholic imbalance that used to plague Southern French ross (and still does, to be honest). (8/10)
Duffort Chteau La Moutte 2009 Ctes de Provence Ros Grande Rserve (Provence) Grows as it airs, tinting its peaches green throughout. Nice. Not really more than that, but still nice. (8/10)
Leon Barral 2004 Faugres (Languedoc) Warm fruit, earthen and well-rested, enveloping and just in the right position between rural gentility and a more modern, almost culinary appeal. Nice wine. I wouldnt really go beyond that. (9/10)
Michelland Domaine de la Raltire 2005 Cteaux dAix en Provence cul-sec! (Provence) Light, appealing red fruit with space and air within, some peanutty spice, and a little wash of funk and stink. As seems appropriate, given the name. The finish is stronger and more full-throated than what precedes it. (8/10)
Ilarria 2007 Iroulguy (Southwest France) Chewy, rebellious fruit, dark and a little wild. Peppercorns and espresso (not the oaky kind), wet black soil and logarithmic structure. Luscious. Ageable, but probably not too long. (8/10)
Ilarria 2008 Iroulguy Ros (Southwest France) There are only a few ross that I think really benefit from aeration, but this is one: papery, walled-in, a Forbidden City of a wine at first opening, this takes several hours to get going. The end result is still no easy-drinking ros, but roughly-textured creek bed rocks with the bite of sharp, wild red fruit that one picks alongside a sub-Alpine trail, slightly underripe but all the more refreshing for it. Still, in the end, it doesnt amount to much more than reasonable goodness. The houses other wines are, I think, better. (8/10)
Pascal GrosNor 1999 Bandol (Provence) The odd match of maturing, meaty/liquorous fruit and an incisored bite of tannin that typify Bandol in its adolescent stage. Its not young any more, but the hurry to get to it will very much depend on how much one craves animal juice. Its forceful for a Bandol, wrapping itself in a few more layers of herbed foil than might be normal at this stage. I like it, but Ill like it more in a decade, I suspect. (8/10)
Hugues Beaulieu Les Costires de Pomerols 2009 Coteaux du Languedoc Picpoul de Pinet (Languedoc) As reliable a bargain wine as there is these days, crisply green and succulent, driving its sharp point home with one sharp thrust and then letting it rest. Uncomplicated and amenable. (9/10)
Ich Chteau dOupia 2007 Minervois (Languedoc) I really did not care for this wine at release, and was suspicious about what Id find. My fears were unfounded; its as classic an Oupia Minervois as any other, dark and soil-browed, with the faintest tinge of an herbal licorice to the dark fruit and meat-roasting spices. I dont know that Id call the wine expressive, but it does express somethingand quite clearly, too. (9/10)
Comte Pierre de Colbert Chteau de Flaugergues 2009 Languedoc Cuve Rose (Languedoc) Is it just my imagination, or are the Languedoc ross now littering American shelves getting sweeter? Not that I really mind so much, but while it increases the cocktail appeal, it doesnt help much when it comes to matters culinary. Crushed handfuls of berries, strawberry leaf, and lingering sucrosityI dont know how much, if any, residual sugar is actually in this, but the wine is certainly softer and prettier than it needs to be. On the other hand, I suppose this is preferable to the overly alcoholic imbalance that used to plague Southern French ross (and still does, to be honest). (8/10)
Duffort Chteau La Moutte 2009 Ctes de Provence Ros Grande Rserve (Provence) Grows as it airs, tinting its peaches green throughout. Nice. Not really more than that, but still nice. (8/10)
Leon Barral 2004 Faugres (Languedoc) Warm fruit, earthen and well-rested, enveloping and just in the right position between rural gentility and a more modern, almost culinary appeal. Nice wine. I wouldnt really go beyond that. (9/10)
Michelland Domaine de la Raltire 2005 Cteaux dAix en Provence cul-sec! (Provence) Light, appealing red fruit with space and air within, some peanutty spice, and a little wash of funk and stink. As seems appropriate, given the name. The finish is stronger and more full-throated than what precedes it. (8/10)