Willi Schaefer 2004 Riesling 01 05 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) The best bottle so far, with a vibrant prickle and a windswept stone quality. The fruit lingers, but never asserts itself, leaving the rocky face bare. Tasty, though very, very light-bodied. (11/08)
Willi Schaefer 2004 Riesling 01 05 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) Actually, this is even better than the last one, with more minerality and faceted angles of structure. Light but persistent, and a lot of fun to drink. Oops, its gone! (12/08)
Truro 2007 Chardonnay Appellation unknown. Rather wretched, with wiry, bone-and-skin oak residue bittering up a big, fruitless void. Ugh. (12/08)
Truro 2006 Winemakers Blend Maritime Red Appellation unknown. A merlot/zinfandel blend. Quite drinkable, with spicy, fun fruit at moderate volume and, other than a touch more Hawaiian Tropic SPF 4 than might be necessary, no sharp corners, mean streaks, and no unnecessary layers. No complexity either, but what do you want from a Cape Cod wine (or wherever the grapes are actually from, since the bottle doesnt deign to say)? (12/08)
Easton 2002 Barbera (Shenandoah Valley) 14.5%. Receding under a looming shark bite of coconut and vanilla, and though the neon red fruit holds for the moment, its not getting any better, and soon theres going to be maraschino and heat left in its wake. So drink up. (12/08)
Marietta 2005 Zinfandel (Sonoma County) 15.3%. Stylistically and varietally anonymous, but I dont think this wine has aspirations to anything else. A bit heavy and alcohol-laden, and though the latter isnt expressed as heat so much as it is sheer palate-deadening weight, Ive certainly tasted brawnier and more whiskey-like wines. Theres a good deal of fruit, of both small- and large-berry varieties, but they too are rather gravity-stricken. Maybe some age might help, but Im not convinced it has the structure to support it. (12/08)
Heidi Schrck 2006 Muscat (Austria) Actually 40% gelber muskateller, 40% sauvignon blanc, and 20% muscat ottonel. Quite reduced (under screwcap), and offensively stinky when first opened; this takes a good long while to blow off, and Im not sure it ever quite abandons the wine. Nor am I a fan of the blendthe sauvignon has all its sharp edges filed off by the muscat, while the muscat delivers a pale shadow of its usual aromatic exuberance thanks to the guillotine effect of the sauvignon blanc. Is there a point to this wine? (12/08)
Vajra 2005 Dolcetto dAlba coste & fossati (Piedmont) Tastes natural, and you may interpret that however youd like; Im not interested in defending the concept. But theres freshly-harvested red fruit, acidity, a light but insistent buzz of sandpapery tannin, and some friendly, well-trodden earth, all wrapped up neatly but not too prettily in an old wooden crate aged by many decades in the sun. Nice wine. (12/08)
JL Chave 1999 Ctes-du-Rhne Mon Coeur (Rhne) Just a smidge past fully mature, Id say, with a lovely old wood, old smoke, old fruit, and old leather jacket aroma laden with a significantly autumnal reddish-brownness. The fruit has, as it so often does in older wines, rounded into a petite core of sweetness, but it retains a good deal of appeal. The wine eventually loses its battle against oxygenan hour or so and the cracks are readily apparentbut it shows surprising quality while it lingers. Id never have guessed it would last this long, as it seemed rather blocky and dull-witted in its youth. (12/08)
Righetti 2004 Campolieti Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso (Veneto) Starting to show the desiccated layer of rot that eventually dominates many of its Amarone uncles, but right now its just a pleasantly complexing element, alongside concentrated strawberry jam, andwell, OK, thats it. Its a highly drinkable Valpolicellasluggable, slurpable, gluggable, and all those other words that turn wine into a childrens boxed juice drinkwith a little edge (not just the dry rot, but also a prickle of heat), but I wouldnt hold it any longer. (12/08)
Willi Schaefer 2004 Riesling 01 05 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) Actually, this is even better than the last one, with more minerality and faceted angles of structure. Light but persistent, and a lot of fun to drink. Oops, its gone! (12/08)
Truro 2007 Chardonnay Appellation unknown. Rather wretched, with wiry, bone-and-skin oak residue bittering up a big, fruitless void. Ugh. (12/08)
Truro 2006 Winemakers Blend Maritime Red Appellation unknown. A merlot/zinfandel blend. Quite drinkable, with spicy, fun fruit at moderate volume and, other than a touch more Hawaiian Tropic SPF 4 than might be necessary, no sharp corners, mean streaks, and no unnecessary layers. No complexity either, but what do you want from a Cape Cod wine (or wherever the grapes are actually from, since the bottle doesnt deign to say)? (12/08)
Easton 2002 Barbera (Shenandoah Valley) 14.5%. Receding under a looming shark bite of coconut and vanilla, and though the neon red fruit holds for the moment, its not getting any better, and soon theres going to be maraschino and heat left in its wake. So drink up. (12/08)
Marietta 2005 Zinfandel (Sonoma County) 15.3%. Stylistically and varietally anonymous, but I dont think this wine has aspirations to anything else. A bit heavy and alcohol-laden, and though the latter isnt expressed as heat so much as it is sheer palate-deadening weight, Ive certainly tasted brawnier and more whiskey-like wines. Theres a good deal of fruit, of both small- and large-berry varieties, but they too are rather gravity-stricken. Maybe some age might help, but Im not convinced it has the structure to support it. (12/08)
Heidi Schrck 2006 Muscat (Austria) Actually 40% gelber muskateller, 40% sauvignon blanc, and 20% muscat ottonel. Quite reduced (under screwcap), and offensively stinky when first opened; this takes a good long while to blow off, and Im not sure it ever quite abandons the wine. Nor am I a fan of the blendthe sauvignon has all its sharp edges filed off by the muscat, while the muscat delivers a pale shadow of its usual aromatic exuberance thanks to the guillotine effect of the sauvignon blanc. Is there a point to this wine? (12/08)
Vajra 2005 Dolcetto dAlba coste & fossati (Piedmont) Tastes natural, and you may interpret that however youd like; Im not interested in defending the concept. But theres freshly-harvested red fruit, acidity, a light but insistent buzz of sandpapery tannin, and some friendly, well-trodden earth, all wrapped up neatly but not too prettily in an old wooden crate aged by many decades in the sun. Nice wine. (12/08)
JL Chave 1999 Ctes-du-Rhne Mon Coeur (Rhne) Just a smidge past fully mature, Id say, with a lovely old wood, old smoke, old fruit, and old leather jacket aroma laden with a significantly autumnal reddish-brownness. The fruit has, as it so often does in older wines, rounded into a petite core of sweetness, but it retains a good deal of appeal. The wine eventually loses its battle against oxygenan hour or so and the cracks are readily apparentbut it shows surprising quality while it lingers. Id never have guessed it would last this long, as it seemed rather blocky and dull-witted in its youth. (12/08)
Righetti 2004 Campolieti Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso (Veneto) Starting to show the desiccated layer of rot that eventually dominates many of its Amarone uncles, but right now its just a pleasantly complexing element, alongside concentrated strawberry jam, andwell, OK, thats it. Its a highly drinkable Valpolicellasluggable, slurpable, gluggable, and all those other words that turn wine into a childrens boxed juice drinkwith a little edge (not just the dry rot, but also a prickle of heat), but I wouldnt hold it any longer. (12/08)