What did you drink tonight?

2010 Pithon-Paillé Anjou Bonnes Blanches 12.59%
Nice enough.
2007 L’Anglore (Eric Pfifferling) Tavel Rosé 14.0%
Awesome aromatics compromised by oxen (plastic cork let in some; moo!).
2011 Yvon Métras Beaujolais 12.0%
As good as an entry level Bojo gets, practically perfect in every way.
2011 Ganevat Plein Sud (Trousseau) 11.5%
Great fruit, compromised by slightly annoying CO2 (shudda shaken it) and much more annoying yeasty aftertaste. Refermented?
2005 Saint Nicolas (Thierry Michon) Plante Gate Fiefs Vendéens Brem 12.5%
Old vine PN, great Atlantic fruit, compromised by the incomprehensible romance of new barriques. Much prefer the Cuvée Jacques, from younger vines, therefore raised in older barrels. Naturalish winemakers who use new barriques should be sent to Clockwork Orange reeducation camp.
2010 Pithon-Paillé Coteaux du Layon 4 Vents 13.35%
Started weird, with a disagreeable bitterness, but settled down with blue cheese. Do not disturb.
 
Rosé 14.0%
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At least you are in great company with all sorts of delightful New York wine consuming personalities who, despite their admirably fine taste, mysteriously reach out for bottles with that particular configuration.
 
This (like Dettori) was deeply discounted, and other bottles have been excellent (unlike Dettori), so I overlook the colossal abv from the sweltering latitude.
 
originally posted by .sasha:
Rosé 14.0%
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At least you are in great company with all sorts of delightful New York wine consuming personalities who, despite their admirably fine taste, mysteriously reach out for bottles with that particular configuration.
Click to expand...

Quick, grab Clark Smith before he gets away.
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
originally posted by .sasha:
Rosé 14.0%
Click to expand...

At least you are in great company with all sorts of delightful New York wine consuming personalities who, despite their admirably fine taste, mysteriously reach out for bottles with that particular configuration.
Click to expand...

Quick, grab Clark Smith before he gets away.
Click to expand...

I will need to spend a lot more time than I have, on that other thread, to get the reference.
 
"I have contributed to making cleaner wines by developing tools to remove excessive alcohol, volatile acidity, dry tannins, Brettanomyces character, and vegetal aromas. ... Alan Goldfarb remarked that my 12.9% 'Faux Chablis' exhibited more terroir character but was less authentic than its hot, bitter original 14.8% version."

And:

"If a vineyard does not yield perfect alcohol balance, it should be torn out, a celebrated Natural Wine advocate recently proclaimed, thereby condemning in a few keystrokes all the vineyards of France."
 
Tonight it's 2012 Donkey and Goat Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, pretty, pinot nose with some flint, in the mouth it is all about acid. Really. Great with food. Abrupt finish. [edit to add: The wine gained a bit with air and the finish lengthened.]

Also had a bottle of 2001 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva, lots of wood here but it is forgivable. Great balance, elegant on the tongue with little red berries.

Oh and the '97 Pinon Vouvray Tradition is enough to make one forget all about Huet. Rich and alive. Will last forever.
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
Also had a bottle of 2001 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva, lots of wood here but it is forgivable. Great balance, elegant on the tongue with little red berries.
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Is that the "904" Rioja Alta ?
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:

Oh and the '97 Pinon Vouvray Tradition is enough to make one forget all about Huet. Rich and alive. Will last forever.
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It will indeed, except when it is premoxed, and then you are a very sad guy.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
originally posted by Kay Bixler:

Oh and the '97 Pinon Vouvray Tradition is enough to make one forget all about Huet. Rich and alive. Will last forever.
Click to expand...

It will indeed, except when it is premoxed, and then you are a very sad guy.
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a premoxed 97 Tradition is very sad indeed, but if the immortal 02 ever goes there, I will go postal and publicly ban Francois & Daughter from my Olympic edition vodka tastings.
 
originally posted by .sasha:
originally posted by SFJoe:
originally posted by Kay Bixler:

Oh and the '97 Pinon Vouvray Tradition is enough to make one forget all about Huet. Rich and alive. Will last forever.
Click to expand...

It will indeed, except when it is premoxed, and then you are a very sad guy.
Click to expand...

a premoxed 97 Tradition is very sad indeed, but if the immortal 02 ever goes there, I will go postal and publicly ban Francois & Daughter from my Olympic edition vodka tastings.
Click to expand...

Somehow I am out of my '02 Pinon Tradition, which is a real shame as now I don't have much '02 Vouvray left for my niece since my almost six cases of '02 Huet demi are wonky.
 
2004 Pacalet Chambolle-Musigny 12.5% smelled exactly like Gof4 Morgon and was acidic and bitter before food. With grub (to avoid repeating the word food) it became increasingly better and better until the last drop was the very best. But, sadly, another piece in favor of the notion that carbonic diminishes grape and terroir differences, though how much of that is a user illusion is, as usual, up for grabs.
 
2007 Plouzeau Ante-Phylloxera was lean and mean the first day, aggressively demanding food to draw flavor into the empty spaces between its stern structural elements. The second day was an oenous love-fest, structure now padded with slightly luscious texture and oozing rich cherry fruit. Purely delish.
 
2008 Les Granges Baudry -- Lovely balance, and satisfies one's curiosity as far as "what's under the covers of all that fruit these days" is concerned. If you've ever had an old "off vintage" of Haut-Brion served to you by Jeff Connell, you'll know what I mean.

Hard to tell from this whether one is to age Granges, but an interesting question nevertheless. I guess not, given the alternative of the Domaine bottling. This 2008 was more interesting a couple of years ago, and it's not as if a tremendous spectrum of dirt is on display as the fruit migrates from secondary to tertiary.

But I think this is an important bottle. As excellent as 2009 and particularly 2010(*) are, they do make you wonder if they will ever satisfy the complexity requirement - being too dense and primary when young, and coming up a little short in the dirt department by the time the fruit mellows out. A younger version of this 2008, as well as the 2006 at the age of 3-4, and most likely the 2011 (??? I have not tasted it yet) would do the trick.

(*) not that I would ever turn down a glass of the 2010, at any stage
 
Matthiasson Tendu, both red and white. from litre bottles under crown caps. meant to be everday wine and ,i think ,the first release.
delicious wines. i will buy again in quantity to keep my mitts off my more age worthy wines.
 
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