Trying to give up on exhaustively detailed tasting notes. After 20+ years of such, time to rest on accumulated knowledge [sic] and just enjoy. Here’s a few I tasted through October so far.
2002 Méo-Camuzet Marsannay. Youthful appearance. Spicy nose, smoky, red fruit, more thick than precise. Tannin is resolved, acidity props it up. Incense, tea leaf, licorice, mix of red and dark fruits. Long finish and comes across as still youthful. Totally over-delivered.
2017 Lapalu Côte de Brouilly. I suspect starting to shut down a little. High-toned nose of pomegranate, cranberry, rhubarb supported by white grapefruit notes, gently floral. Medium-bodied, taut and wiry, vibrates the tongue. Acidity high but not arch. More sour red fruit but laid on velvety texture. Violets. Pretty in a muscular fashion. Give it 5-7 years?
2000 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape Sélection Reflets. Light filminess, the purple core now a mixture of reds and browns. Big medicinal lift to the nose in spite of the lower alcohol content, wooly and leathery, rawhide and beef jerky, yellow raisin, fig, red cherry, you’d be hard pressed to call the nose fruity. Medium-bodied, electric acidity really energizes the mouth and it’s savory as hell. More grapefruit, lemon here. Nothing profound but if you let it open up it’s got kick left.
1999 Smith Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Rouge. Cedary nose, decent bit of oak left, strong red currant to red cherry fruit scents, spicy lift at the end. Medium-bodied, velvety and sour at once, here the oak shows dill and minimal creaminess. Level of turbulence brings suggestion of alcoholic heat but not really there. To me, the fruit isn’t going to last until this finds its balance and fully integrates the oak.
1999 Léoville Barton Saint-Julien. Cedar and leather filled nose, tobacco, a bit too green, lots of oak left, coconut flakes and vanilla, not underfruited but hard to get to it. Full-bodied, much sweeter here with candied plums and cherries, blackberries. The oak sweetens it further. Tobacco and cedar more than all else. Very dry finish, the fruit suddenly vanishes. A little oaky for one’s taste, but better to drink now than wait.
2017 Domaine Saint-Cyr Beaujolais La Galoche. No sulfur added. Dark violet to ruby red. Very fruity nose with some poop as well, very typique, no sense of terroir though. Full-bodied, layered, very ripe but sour, acidity really helps. Floral, honey, no funk. Not “pretty” at all but a good value and could be a regular buy.
2004 Breton Chinon Beaumont. The nose has a lot of fart and Band-Aid scents, then leather, plum, black currant fruit, earthy, no bell pepper. Medium-bodied, sour, lots of acidity, tannin resolved. Sour red currant, red cherry to blackberry fruit, high-toned. Here too there’s shoe polish and flatulence but less dominant. More bell pepper here due to unstable nature. Grapefruit too. Has aged some but there is the question of whether or not this was retarded by the synthetic closure. Takes some getting used to and air time helps.
2015 Joseph Dorbon Trousseau Arbois Vieilles Vignes. Brickish red with orange tinted rims. Jammy nose of strawberry, raspberry, cherry fruit, earth and baking spices, thick. Full-bodied, not a light and cleansing rendition of the grape, layered and close to overripe.
2015 Domaine du Pélican Arbois Savagnin Ouillé. Shiny gold if somewhat dilute, fills glass nicely. Toasty nose, coconut flakes, fried butter, not sure if oaked, pineapple, guava, nectarine scents. Full-bodied, lays heavily on the tongue even though acidity has pop. Almost same profile as the nose but fruit richer and maybe sweeter. Kind of dusty residue at the end. More floral here with mixed citrus too. Empties out some at the finish, flavors lack complete length. Another good not great wine.
2017 Gilles Berlioz (Domaine Partagé) Roussanne Vin de Savoie Chignin-Bergeron Les Fílles. Deep golden color, luminescent glow, attractive. Fresh and fruity nose of peach, red apple, apricot to melon, touch waxy, glimmer of orange peel. Full-bodied, acidity perhaps on the low side. Plenty of thrust from the heft. Baking spices play up the melon, apricot, pear to apple fruit. Has that cellar aged fruit feel. Blockish finish. Could be simple due to youth, will find out down the road.
2012 Joseph Dorbon Arbois Cuvée des Moyne Vieilles Vignes. Light amber in color, decent clarity and shine. Very doughy nose, lemon zest, baking spices, good freshness for this type of wine. Medium-bodied, very strong acidity cleanses and more than compensates for the yeasty, doughy element. More lemon than orange marmalade, spicy. Layered apricot, peach, pineapple fruit. Takes awhile to warm up to it and it needs to warm up too but in the end very good wine. 80% Chardonnay, 20% Savagnin.
1998 Domaine du Closel Savennières Clos du Papillon. Bronzed but not entirely, some yellow, dull. Lanolin infused nose, grapefruit and sour orange citrus, peach pit, milky, really needs to warm to open fully. Firm mouth feel, acidity going strong, albeit some doughy to almost milky notes. Quince, apricot, passion fruit, quite tropical. Mint, dough, lactose, and sour grapefruit all present. This bottle seems to be showing more fruit than one from last year. Finish squarish, can see why some would consider this past prime.
2003 Clos Floridene Graves Blanc. Full amber in color, looks like an aged Sauternes. Nose of apricot paste, candied orange peel, toffee and then a briny sea mist, almost smoky, unclear what tertiary development might be left. Full-bodied, acidity maybe better than expected. Some doughy, yeasty notes to go with the toffee but this actually moderates as it opens and warms. Brighter tangerine, lemon citrus. Not a great wine but it was worth the gamble to lay it down, not sure if popping it open sooner would have caught it fresher given the oakiness. Unspecified percentages of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon.
2002 Domaine du Closel Savennières Clos du Papillon. Clear liquid but pure orange nose, looks exactly like an “orange wine.” Nose of orange marmalade, toffee, wet stone, tea leaf, and peach cobbler, more rich and lazy than bestowed with tertiary aspects. Full-bodied, there’s some acidity under there breaking a sweat but little happening. Spicy like ginger, same marmalade element. Fruit mashed together into a soup of apricot, peach, pear and melon. No spine. Bitter, nutty finish. Most would call it oxidized, just tired generally speaking.
1997 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate. Purple to red magenta, saturated. At first the nose is stony, chalky with a saline touch, cigar ash, then turns to black fruit scents, hint of creamy oak but just a hint. Medium-bodied, taut and very acidic and perhaps more than tannic. The oak is still high-toned, mellows out on second day, hint of green but really it’s tobacco leaf and tar. Blackberry, cherry fruit, the core basics. Good thrust through the finish. Not ready yet but getting there.
2016 Halcón Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard. Scarlet to brickish red, looks advanced right out of the gate. Nose throwing a lot of creamy oak, then baking spices and a smattering of red fruits, maybe more compact than devoid. Medium-bodied, creamy texture with emphasis on caramel, vanilla fudge. Sweet and sour berry fruit, opposite of the nose, dominant. Ginger spice. Too monochrome right now, feeling doubtful it comes around to something more interesting.
2017 Bedrock Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County. Deep purple bruise, scarlet red rims. Nose of vanilla cream, caramel, bell pepper, and cedar, incipient tobacco, well fruited, more dark and black fruits. Full-bodied, tannic but hard to tell if it’s wood tannin. Oak very prominent. Good wine not great, probably well-priced for what you get.
2018 Bedrock Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma Valley. Flat, no shine, but has a soft glow to the washed yellow gold hue. Sweet, juicy nose of powdered sugar, tangerine to lime citrus, pear, apricot, melon fruit, no cut to it. Medium-bodied, has some sourness and decent acidity but here too arguably too soft. Very ripe melon, pear, peach to cherry fruit, albeit dries up at the finish. Pink grapefruit and then lime touches. Feels a bit alcoholic and close to hot. Blockish and not light on its feet.
2002 Pikes Riesling Clare Valley. Matured golden color, falls short of bronzed, layers into the glass. Some toffee to the nose, but gas slick as well, not much fruit, some tangy mixed citrus, all secondary or tertiary now. Medium-bodied, acidity still going strong. The diesel fumes dominate, more doughy than toffee or caramel, likely aided by dry texture. Pineapple, guava, nectarine, passion fruit dry but not lean, just compact. Nice teeth ratting quality through an extended finish. Just past peak but it was a very high peak.
2002 Best’s Riesling Great Western. Deep gold, not dark, hint of orange along the rims. The nose is all over the place, toasty, petrol, bubblegum, mineral dust, apple, peach, pear fruit scents, steady but never crests. Medium-bodied, stretches out well and more than most peers. As a result, the lack of angularity helps it coat the tongue. Even toastier here, really crazy, like buttered toast at a diner. Savory pulverized stone and mineral dust. Ripe peach, apricot fruit with a touch of red apple. The petrol most present at the end. Acidity is so-so. Apparently needed that extra decade in the cellar. (Under Screwcap)
1999 Castello dei Rampolla Vigna d’Alceo. Deep purple core, rims run red magenta to brick red, still saturated. Floral nose, mint, leather, has oak but not toasty, blackberry, blueberry to plum scents, garden herbs, good piercing quality. Medium-bodied, tannic with solid acidity too. Earthy with leather supplement then floral. A little too much oak, dries it out. But the fruit should arguably outlast the oak. No greenness. Either not ready yet or going nowhere. Filled out, smoothed out some on day two.
2015 Pietro Cassina Coste della Sesia Severina. Garnet red to orange in color, spotless, fully transparent. Stony, hard edged nose with dollops of orange peel, pressed flowers, red cherry fruit, not lean but unyielding. Medium-bodied, tannins softer than expected and the cherry, blackberry fruit sweeter than expected. Stony and close to minerally. A bit hyperactive. Still, the solid fruit helps carry it and there’s no real flaws. Priced correctly for what you get, might improve with 3-4 more years in bottle.
2001 Prager Grüner Veltliner Weissenkirchen Hinterkirchen Smaragd. Dark gold color but not bronzed,. Smoky nose, touch minerally and oily, echo of green pea, rose water, subtle doughiness, the tropicality of youth has faded, more settled into itself than matured. Medium-bodied, fluid and secure in the direction it wants to take. Pronounced yeasty, doughy element. Pink grapefruit to lime citrus lends sparkle. Here there’s white pepper and more green herbaceousness. Herbaceous swipe at the end reawakens the experience. Still, not sure it is better than in its youth.
2018 Linden Rosé Virginia. Super pale pink, arguably as much yellow, like onion skin. Big floral bouquet in the nose, close to minty, bright cherry to raspberry fruit, a dusting of stone, more pure than complex. Light-bodied while firm, sturdy acidity and a hint of tannin at the end. More stony to even chalky here. Gains more traction as it warms. Cherry, raspberry pear fruit, little bit of apple. Citrusy finish. Not sure if preferable colder or nearer room temperature. 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Petit Verdot, 12% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. (Composite Cork: Diam5)
2017 Linden Sauvignon Blanc Hardscrabble Estate Vineyard Virginia. Pale old gold color, flat, not too shiny. Floral nose, mint, pink and white grapefruit, hint of chili pepper, not all that fruity. Medium-bodied, strong grip with broad acidity, probably the Sémillon. Touch herbaceous, countered by powdered sugar and pink grapefruit. Apricot, melon, apple fruit. More brute power than keenly edged or refreshing. Probably better with food than sipping on its own. 79% Sauvignon Blanc, 21% Sémillon. (Composite Cork: Diam5)