2017 Linden Riesling Hardscrabble Estate Vineyard (Fauquier County, no AVA noted). Highly reflective and transparent, straw white to yellow in hue. Great smokiness to the nose, granite and mineral shards, almost earthy, lilacs and a touch of orange peel, the apricot, apple, pear scents tactfully by the book. Medium-bodied, uses its sturdy skeleton to best effect, the acidity forces a brisk pace and there’s a certain effervescent scrubbing sensation as well. Only vaguely honeyed, almost all the sweetness found in the attack. Much more floral here and lime and tangerine citrus dominant. Mineral water, quinine more than stony, in keeping with the fresh liveliness. Nectarine, pear, peach, apricot fruit here too a model of restraint. The textural richness achieves nice interplay with the darting flavors. (Composite Cork: Diam5) Winery notes that the vines were planted in 1997.
2005 Petrolo Merlot Galatrona Tuscany. Clean and trim, matured reddish black core with wide brick red rims. Very smoky nose, most like brush fire but there’s enough residual caramel that’s it’s probably more oak than terroir per se, asphalt to volcanic ash shades, the core of black currant to cherry fruit firm if succinct. Medium-bodied, polished, the tannin reduced to a fine sandpapery grit. Fresher vanilla to toffee notes here, the oak proportionate to the sweet cherry, plum fruit. Cedary with more of that ash character, more so than earthy. Finish dries out noticeably and the acidity turns it somewhat sour. That said, a very good if not monumental edition of the bottling. Wouldn’t want to push it more than 2-3 years more.
2000 Poderi Colla Barolo Bussia Dardi Le Rose. Clear, scarlet to purple, orange rims than might fade to yellow with time. Aggressive swirl to the nose, tea leaf, leather, black minerally earth, game meat fat, echoes of cherry and dark berries, not uncouth per se but can’t tell a salad fork from a dinner fork. Medium-bodied, the tannin substantial but luckily polished to a smooth enough surface that it displays a steadily swift pace through the mouth. The candied cherry, raspberry fruit chugs along as best as it can. Smattering of licorice, menthol, makes an impression of oaky wood. Punctuated finish without seeming short. Like a guy reading a book at a dinner party, you suspect it has something to say but you know it’s never going to be said.
2000 Damilano Barolo Cannubi. Reddish black core, sunset red rims with a wide orange halo, stood up for days and still throwing sediment with a careful pour. Nose takes some time to awaken and start throwing off black tea leaf, tar, cedar to black licorice nuances, the red cherry, berry fruit diminished so the tertiary aspects can be maximally enjoyed. Medium-bodied, after a long time the tannins have finally released enough to enjoy the ample black cherry, currant fruit, albeit the latter now has a somewhat roasted character. Tarry and earthy, close to barnyardy at times. That licorice aspect goes a long way and can open the door for rose petal or white citrus. Solidly constructed, at this juncture no expectation it will ever become a suave elderly gentleman. Hasn’t budged much since last sampled in 2010.
1997 Schweiger Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District. Dark core, more black than purple, encircled by heavyset crimson to orange rust hues, throwing a good deal of sediment. The nose still showcases a lot of oak — cocoa, buttered toast, and a whiff of dill — pairs well with the richness of the black currant, plum fruit, touch of cedar, still doesn’t seem fully evolved and have no more to wait on. In the mouth it has clearly shed weight and the acidity has thus come to the fore. Tangy with more of a minerally bite than the nose suggests, cedar, tobacco with less overt oak toast. The mixed dark fruits are starting to trail off. What heft it has chugs fully through the finish. Admire its energy even though it’s sort of foursquare. Last sampled in 2012 when it showed much more youthfully, the tradeoff to today the incorrect choice.
2015 Albert Boxler Chasselas. Flat gold but not watery. Some spice to the nose, undercurrent of warm rubber, stone powder and lime, the fruit not rich nor pungent enough for full tropicality, still decent kumquat, pineapple, mango scents. Medium to- full-bodied, round and tends to push down into the palate more than sink in. Minty, violets, fresh in spite of the weight and the thickness of the pear, pineapple, mango fruit. Acidity high enough to help. A little nuttier once it warms. Not really aggressive, not really uncouth, just was never taught proper manners.
2017 Moss Wood Margaret River Amy’s. As much crimson to it as purple, dark. The comes off as burnt wood, nothing sweet nor creamy about it, plenty of black currant and blackberry fruit but not soft, mildly floral and way in the background a hint of bell pepper. Medium-bodied, polished for maximal approachability, the tannin forestalled until the very end so that all that black fruit gets to shine. Violets, eucalyptus and spiced orange peel rounds it out. As in the nose herbaceousness lingers in the background. Savory finish, lip smacking good. Very good wine and what today counts as a fair price and not anywhere near the ooze monster rep for Australian reds. 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 11% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot. (Screwcap)
2017 Harrington Syrah Sumu Kaw Vineyard. Purple to plum red, deeply hued with minimal saturation, perfect clarity. Although ripe there’s a firm leanness to the nose, dirt caked stone, white grapefruit pith, mountain scrub and pine breeze, the fruit kind of cranberry, blueberry in character. Light-bodied, framed well by the acidity, lots of tang. The same cranberry, red cherry, blueberry fruit sour and snappy. The citrus pronounced through the finish. Good pacing but doesn’t feel polished. Same stoniness but maybe it’s the general numbing of the palate after awhile. Youthful, it’s compact leanness may help it the most in the long haul. (Composite Cork)
2018 Thivin Côte de Brouilly. Bright ruby violet, crystal clear with a polished surface. Taut nose of cranberry, sour cherry fruit, stone and hay, the more you sniff the drier your nostrils feel. Light-bodied, linear and close in character to the nose. The tannin seems on the aggressive side. Much more citrusy here, close to dominant. Red fruited with same emphasis on cranberry, cherry to rhubarb. Stony, no greenness found. No nonsense, every movement accounted for. If the fruit can hold on against the tannin could turn into something more elegant.
2002 Daniel Bocquenet Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Saint-Julien. Dusky sunset red on the main, some purple to the core, clean enough. Offputting aroma of shoe polish at first, merde, the cherry, blackberry scents throw one punch and then walk away. Medium-bodied, feels like any youthful tannin has resolved, adequate supporting acidity. The black cherry, blackberry, almost red currant fruit there, just pales next to the tarry earth, ferrous qualities. Definitely benefits from air time, tempers the rusticity. Not 100% certain this bottle didn’t get roughed up a little in its youth. Still, it generally does get its ducks in a row after a couple of hours time.
At a dinner party had sips of a 2016 Cirq Pinot Noir Bootlegger’s Hill. Was not my cup of tea at first but over the course of the evening became less obvious and firmed up, brought the fruit into better focus. Wouldn’t buy it myself but didn’t feel put upon to drink it. At the same time we had a 2017 Peay Pinot Noir Pomarium which sort of met the Cirq in the middle. Started out a touch too lean and over time fattened up and showed a willingness to please. More floral. I’d probably take the Peay over the Cirq 8 times out of 10. Interesting to track them against each other over 3-4 hours. Felt validated in not spending much coin personally tout court on Californian Pinot Noir, but happy to drink on someone else’s dime.