Not, not a misprint: these are the faint recollections of some wines consumed during a three-week trek through the desert Southwest, thankfully avoiding the fires still plaguing NM, which took in various National Parks as well as San Diego* and Las Vegas. What follows is necessarily sketchy, but more just notes of what proved memorable, for better or worse.
Total Wine in Las Vegas: visited owing to its proximity to REI and our need to depart town quickly. BevMo in a nutshell, but careful shopping produces a few decent wines.
2010 Grande Cassagne Rosé from the Costières de Nîmes proved to be the ideal rosé for an evening meal of ribs on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon: temperatures rapidly dipping into the low 60s kept the wine cool enough that the alcohol (14% IIRC) wasn't too obtrusive and helped keep us warm. At that temperature, the wine was appealingly minerally with the expected strawberryish fruit and crisp acidity.
2004 Weinbach "Clos des Capucins" Pinot Blanc was the standout selection at a surprisingly good dinner in a restaurant outside of Zion National Park. Vibrant, steely, dry, with a backdrop of fruit. Really, really nice and, no, it's wasn't the Réserve Personnelle.
2009 Freie Weingärtner Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Terrassen was its usual herbaceous and lithe self. Not overly complex, but a nice GV for drinking out of steel Sierra Club cups at elevation.
2007 Au Bon Climat "La Bauge Au-dessus" Pinot Noir was singing with our dinner at Downey's in Santa Barbara, our refuge from the 120° temperatures encountered in Death Valley. Smoky, light on its feet, deeply fruity with lovely balance. I do like Jim Clendennen's wines, and I'm glad I have some of them in the cellar, though I don't know if they'll be any better than their little sibling was on that night.
2001 Cottanera Mondeuse "L'Ardenza" was the best selection to be had from the extensive wine list at Terra Rossa at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, a list with pages devoted to the wines of Gaja and Antinori. The decision was made clear when they proved to be out of the Travaligni Gattinara, too. Mondeuse from Etna? Decanted 15 minutes before it was served to us, it was intensely tarry, dark, filled with raspberry fruit and very acidic, later taking on a pronounced note of licorice. Had I been served it blind, I would have guessed an Amador County Zinfandel of the finest quality. As it was, what I presume to have been its oak treatment has, at age 10, integrated to the point at which it's become quite seamless. Interesting and appealing, if not likely to give Frank Peillot sleepless nights.
Mark Lipton
* Yes, I know that San Diego isn't in the desert Southwest, but we did have to attend a meeting there in the midst of our swing through the area.
Total Wine in Las Vegas: visited owing to its proximity to REI and our need to depart town quickly. BevMo in a nutshell, but careful shopping produces a few decent wines.
2010 Grande Cassagne Rosé from the Costières de Nîmes proved to be the ideal rosé for an evening meal of ribs on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon: temperatures rapidly dipping into the low 60s kept the wine cool enough that the alcohol (14% IIRC) wasn't too obtrusive and helped keep us warm. At that temperature, the wine was appealingly minerally with the expected strawberryish fruit and crisp acidity.
2004 Weinbach "Clos des Capucins" Pinot Blanc was the standout selection at a surprisingly good dinner in a restaurant outside of Zion National Park. Vibrant, steely, dry, with a backdrop of fruit. Really, really nice and, no, it's wasn't the Réserve Personnelle.
2009 Freie Weingärtner Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Terrassen was its usual herbaceous and lithe self. Not overly complex, but a nice GV for drinking out of steel Sierra Club cups at elevation.
2007 Au Bon Climat "La Bauge Au-dessus" Pinot Noir was singing with our dinner at Downey's in Santa Barbara, our refuge from the 120° temperatures encountered in Death Valley. Smoky, light on its feet, deeply fruity with lovely balance. I do like Jim Clendennen's wines, and I'm glad I have some of them in the cellar, though I don't know if they'll be any better than their little sibling was on that night.
2001 Cottanera Mondeuse "L'Ardenza" was the best selection to be had from the extensive wine list at Terra Rossa at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, a list with pages devoted to the wines of Gaja and Antinori. The decision was made clear when they proved to be out of the Travaligni Gattinara, too. Mondeuse from Etna? Decanted 15 minutes before it was served to us, it was intensely tarry, dark, filled with raspberry fruit and very acidic, later taking on a pronounced note of licorice. Had I been served it blind, I would have guessed an Amador County Zinfandel of the finest quality. As it was, what I presume to have been its oak treatment has, at age 10, integrated to the point at which it's become quite seamless. Interesting and appealing, if not likely to give Frank Peillot sleepless nights.
Mark Lipton
* Yes, I know that San Diego isn't in the desert Southwest, but we did have to attend a meeting there in the midst of our swing through the area.