Florida Jim
Florida Jim
Wine impressions - 12-31-18
Bubbles:
N/V Schramsburg, Blanc de Blanc - crisp, clean, lovely bubbly and even good much later when the bubbles fade. Great balance and good wine, even still.
N/V Roederer Estate, Brut - $20 and so much better than its price point that it is hard to believe. Krug? No. Delicious? Yes.
Whites:
2014 Louis Michel, Vaudesir - enjoyed over two nights and I’m left with the clear notion that this requires aging. Lovely wine with plenty of extract and lots of nuance but still coiled with baby fat and not yet of a piece. Good today but immense potential.
2005 Louis Jadot, Corton-Charlemagne - rich and full aromatically and in the mouth, velvet texture, slightest hint of aging decay, good acidity - a big, mouthful of wine that comes very close to being cloying.
2010 Luneau-Papin, Muscadet L d’or Cuvée Medailee - no cloy here; brilliant nose of negative ions (like inhaling near a fountain), citrus and spring water; much the same in the mouth with electric acids and youthful layers. Shows young and intense and not yet a pointe.
2015 Domaine Finot, Verdesse - pretty rare stuff with slight RS, pretty fruit and an overall pleasant flavor profile. Not great but good.
2016 Domaine Belluard, Savoie Les Alpes - Gringet from the high country that is brisk but deeper and rounder than expected. A wine one has difficulty putting down. Tasty.
2017 Edmunds St. John, Heart of Gold - Vermentino and Grenache Blanc blend; a wine I buy every year and will continue to - lovely nose, crisp but not austere, complex and long. This year is a touch richer than last. 11.1% abv. And the best $22 you’ll spend this year . . . or next.
2016 Albert Bichot, Pouilly-Fuisse, Les Clos - bearing no resemblance whatever to domestic Chardonnay, this is light and airy with pretty white fruit flavors and a distinct tang. A wine mostly in the treble register.
Reds:
2009 Calluna, Merlot aux Reynauds - has come into its own; the complexity is amplified and it reminds me of nicely aged Pomerol. A complete wine, with ebbs and flows throughout the evening. ‘Hard to believe this is domestic. Quite good.
2015 Dirty and Rowdy, Mourvèdre Antle Vineyard - this vineyard always shows the high tones in Mourvèdre; at first it’s almost sweet-tarts but morphs into bright pomegranate-like aromas and flavors. Light weight, mouthwatering and grippy, it’s still young and it whispers to me of the Jura. If there is any “grail” in the wine world according to me, it is expressive light red wine - here ya go. And 12.5 abv - yipee ki ya, melon farmer!
2010 Julien Guillot, Bourgogne Cuvée des Vignes du Maynes Cuvée Auguste - bright, crisp, lightweight and expressive. Not a vineyard or producer I am familiar with but charming with dinner.
2017 Edmunds St. John, El Jaleo - delicate, complex nose; mid-weight, slightly earthy flavors with a peppery edge and bright acidity; almost hidden structure - a balanced, integrated wine that is good now and shows promise of development. Ole!
1965 Vega-Sicillia, Unico - great complexity but the fruit is a bit tired. Still, delighted to have a chance to try this.
Best, Jim
Bubbles:
N/V Schramsburg, Blanc de Blanc - crisp, clean, lovely bubbly and even good much later when the bubbles fade. Great balance and good wine, even still.
N/V Roederer Estate, Brut - $20 and so much better than its price point that it is hard to believe. Krug? No. Delicious? Yes.
Whites:
2014 Louis Michel, Vaudesir - enjoyed over two nights and I’m left with the clear notion that this requires aging. Lovely wine with plenty of extract and lots of nuance but still coiled with baby fat and not yet of a piece. Good today but immense potential.
2005 Louis Jadot, Corton-Charlemagne - rich and full aromatically and in the mouth, velvet texture, slightest hint of aging decay, good acidity - a big, mouthful of wine that comes very close to being cloying.
2010 Luneau-Papin, Muscadet L d’or Cuvée Medailee - no cloy here; brilliant nose of negative ions (like inhaling near a fountain), citrus and spring water; much the same in the mouth with electric acids and youthful layers. Shows young and intense and not yet a pointe.
2015 Domaine Finot, Verdesse - pretty rare stuff with slight RS, pretty fruit and an overall pleasant flavor profile. Not great but good.
2016 Domaine Belluard, Savoie Les Alpes - Gringet from the high country that is brisk but deeper and rounder than expected. A wine one has difficulty putting down. Tasty.
2017 Edmunds St. John, Heart of Gold - Vermentino and Grenache Blanc blend; a wine I buy every year and will continue to - lovely nose, crisp but not austere, complex and long. This year is a touch richer than last. 11.1% abv. And the best $22 you’ll spend this year . . . or next.
2016 Albert Bichot, Pouilly-Fuisse, Les Clos - bearing no resemblance whatever to domestic Chardonnay, this is light and airy with pretty white fruit flavors and a distinct tang. A wine mostly in the treble register.
Reds:
2009 Calluna, Merlot aux Reynauds - has come into its own; the complexity is amplified and it reminds me of nicely aged Pomerol. A complete wine, with ebbs and flows throughout the evening. ‘Hard to believe this is domestic. Quite good.
2015 Dirty and Rowdy, Mourvèdre Antle Vineyard - this vineyard always shows the high tones in Mourvèdre; at first it’s almost sweet-tarts but morphs into bright pomegranate-like aromas and flavors. Light weight, mouthwatering and grippy, it’s still young and it whispers to me of the Jura. If there is any “grail” in the wine world according to me, it is expressive light red wine - here ya go. And 12.5 abv - yipee ki ya, melon farmer!
2010 Julien Guillot, Bourgogne Cuvée des Vignes du Maynes Cuvée Auguste - bright, crisp, lightweight and expressive. Not a vineyard or producer I am familiar with but charming with dinner.
2017 Edmunds St. John, El Jaleo - delicate, complex nose; mid-weight, slightly earthy flavors with a peppery edge and bright acidity; almost hidden structure - a balanced, integrated wine that is good now and shows promise of development. Ole!
1965 Vega-Sicillia, Unico - great complexity but the fruit is a bit tired. Still, delighted to have a chance to try this.
Best, Jim
