Nice wine and (mostly) nice country music

S

SteveTimko

Steve Timko
At the wine tasting last night at Washoe Wine Co. Matt the owner was in the mood for country music. So we got Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Roger Miller from his iPod over the sound system. And you know what? The wines generally matched the music well. There's something about being an Okie from Muskogee that matches well with pinot funk.
We got John Denver, too. Well, everyone has their weaknesses. There was an Italian that I can't remember, but all in all it was a good line up for $15.

2004 Domaine les Pallires Gigondas - France, Rhne, Southern Rhne, Gigondas (10/17/2008)
Kermit Lynch makes a nice Cotes du rhone but I've been less than impressed in the past with his Gigondas, the two or three times I've tried it. This wasn't a great vintage in the Southern Rhone but this wine is showing pretty well right now. The nose was red fruit and some Asian spices. On the palate, mostly chocolate and darker red fruits, some nice earthiness and a streak of anise on the finish. The finish was medium. This is a wine that would go with a wide variety of foods. A Kermit Lynch import (duh!).
2004 Domaine Ostertag Pinot Noir "E" - France, Alsace, Haut-Rhin, Alsace AOC (10/17/2008)
Well, it didn't completely suck like so many Alsace pinot noir. While it wasn't offensive, it was notably bland. Not much of anything going on. A little bit of spiciness. Raspberry flavors. Balanced. Short finish Might be hard to pick out in a blind tasting. Heavier than Burgundy or Sancerre rouge. Schleret still makes the best Alsace pinot noir that I've tasted.
2006 Allan Scott Pinot Noir - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough (10/17/2008)
Lots of pinot funk on the nose. Also some candy smells. Nice cherry and earthy flavors. Balanced. Not much oak. Decent finish. I liked this wine a lot.
2006 Bergstrm Riesling Dr Bergstrom - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (10/17/2008)
I wasn't impressed with this wine and I was surprised to see so many positive notes on CellarTracker! I got the sweetness on the nose along with some white fruits. On the palate, more pear but not very intense. Seemed a little flabby. The acidity wasn't there to balance the sweetness. Also, the alcohol was rated at 12.5 percent and while it didn't seem out of balance it seemed like a bigger bodied wine than that. Seeing all the positive notes I'd like to try it again but I liked Belle Pente much better.
2006 Franois Pinon Vouvray Cuve Tradition - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (10/17/2008)
A nice wine. Initially I got nothing on the nose and it took several minutes of swirling in the glass to get the wine to open up, but eventually I got the crushed rocks and flowers on the nose. Very nice. On the palate, a nice zippy acidity but balanced by being just off dry. Tastes of green apple, some melons and a little bit of honey. Nice finish. Shows why chenin blanc is such a nice grape. A Louis/Dressner import.
 
"Kermit Lynch makes a nice Cotes du rhone but I've been less than impressed in the past with his Gigondas,. . ."

uh, kermit lynch doesn't make pallieres gigondas. this property is owned and run since about 1999 by the same mr. brunier of vieux telegraphe.

also, while 2004 isn't "great" by those that make such proclamations, it is pretty damn good, and because the proclaimers have dubbed 2005 to be great, 2004 is a vintage of good value.
 
originally posted by robert ames:
"Kermit Lynch makes a nice Cotes du rhone but I've been less than impressed in the past with his Gigondas,. . ."

uh, kermit lynch doesn't make pallieres gigondas. this property is owned and run since about 1999 by the same mr. brunier of vieux telegraphe.

also, while 2004 isn't "great" by those that make such proclamations, it is pretty damn good, and because the proclaimers have dubbed 2005 to be great, 2004 is a vintage of good value.
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Uh, part ownership associates him with the wine. I don't know that he "makes" the Cotes du Rhone either.
 
originally posted by Joe Perry:
Rawhide?
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Close, but not quite. Haggard, Roger Miller and Hank Williams didn't much play the chickenwire joints (Hag might have, had he started out in the South rather than in the Bakersfield/Oildale circuit).

Oddly enough, the places I played where the performers were protected from flying bottles were all blues clubs in small rural towns, although the performers I backed up never drew that sort of crowd. The fact that we were traveling musicians made a difference and they showed us a little more respect that they did the local players. It's just part of paying one's dues.

FWIW, Kermit is a partner with the Bruniers in Pallieres, and although he's not necessarily there picking grapes or racking barrels, he's integrally involved in major decisions regarding the Domaine. I'll be opening a bottle of the 1999 tonight - this was the first vintage they had control over from the harvest. I wasn't knocked out by it on release (good, not exceptional) but I'm anxious to see how (or if) it's developed over the past couple of years.

I tasted the 2006 Ostertag Fronholtz Pinot Noir about a year ago when Andre was in town and I liked it quite a lot - good structure, appropriate acidity and a lot of Pinot Noir character. I've got a bottle stashed somewhere but will let it rest for awhile. He's also involved in the PN project in Chile that sounds interesting. I don't recall its name or when the wine is going to be released, but it's cool climate and biodynamic and he's done a lot of research into which clones are most appropriate for the region, so I have high hopes for it.

-Eden (but then, I'm optimistic by nature about a lot of things)
 
originally posted by SteveTimko:
2004 Domaine les Pallires Gigondas - France, Rhne, Southern Rhne, Gigondas (10/17/2008)
Kermit Lynch makes a nice Cotes du rhone but I've been less than impressed in the past with his Gigondas, the two or three times I've tried it. This wasn't a great vintage in the Southern Rhone but this wine is showing pretty well right now. The nose was red fruit and some Asian spices. On the palate, mostly chocolate and darker red fruits, some nice earthiness and a streak of anise on the finish. The finish was medium. This is a wine that would go with a wide variety of foods. A Kermit Lynch import (duh!).
Click to expand...

Steve,
We had a bottle of this in Michigan this summer, and my impressions were much the same. I had expected a more restrained, mannered wine from the combined efforts of KL and the Bruniers, but it struck me more as foursquare GSM. I'll have to try it in another vintagte before making a categorical assessment, but it didn't wow me at all.

Mark Lipton
 
In the past, the Cotes du Rhone (and Gigondas, too, I believe) with the Cotes du Rhone label were produced by Chateau Trignon. The Pallieres Gigondas is a totally different animal, and as Eden mentioned, is a joint project between KL and the Bruniers of Vieux Telegraphe fame. The Pallieres is made in a more structured style, like VT, and really repays aging. I really liked the '99 on release, but it's not ready yet, IMO.

While the new owners of Trignon decided to work with another importer, Kermit hasn't given up trying to sell a good Cotes du Rhone bottled under his label. The 2006 Cypress Cuvee, a blend of roughly 50/50 Grenache and Syrah (from an unknown Gigondas producer) is bigger, sturdier and a bit more rustic than the CdRs made by Trignon, but I like it better.
 
The Pallires Gigondas I've tried have all definitely been young, within a few years of the vintage. So maybe I haven't given it a fair shot.
I loves the Gigondas, though. I've got a 1998 Santa Duc hiding from me somewhere in my 34-bottle wine refrigerator.
 
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