2013 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Que Syrah Vineyard. Hazy crimson red with some darkening at the core, doesn’t appear all that maturing. Scorched aspect to the nose, leather, campfire smoke, bell pepper, beef gristle, moments of band-aid, coiled black currant to cherry scents almost an afterthought. Medium to light-bodied, the acidity high enough to get you salivating right off. Big time olive element, spicy and minerally. The violets led florality is there but suffers as a result. Not a “big” wine but an extremely expressive one. Smoked meats then even more minerality. Billows into a huge mouth perfume. Can’t see it getting better and doesn’t need to.
2016 Nalle Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley. Soft glow to the mostly scarlet red liquid, mild deepening to purple in the core. While noticeably ripe, the nose remains taut and unfolds molasses, honey, eucalyptus, damp leather, and as it opens a smokiness, mixed dark berry scents, the fruit able to anchor the whole without hogging the stage. Medium-bodied, you feel it slowly unfurls across the palate, just enough acidity and tannin to give it shape and contour. Lifted eucalyptus, orange blossom, mint element, baking spices, lavender, pretty given its plushness. Here too the plum, cassis, black cherry fruit always remains in the forefront but you never feel it to be dominant. Good resonance at the end. Could see it becoming more “claret” like with age. 88% Zinfandel, 7% Petite Sirah, 5% Carignane.
2014 Fogline Zinfandel Grist Vineyard. Some sediment in the neck, clean pour, dark purple core with scarlet rims, not much bricking per se. Ripely concentrated nose of menthol, ginger, nutmeg spice, coconut oil, presents a heavy floral musk, plum, blackberry, boysenberry scents of great density. Full-bodied, feels like it has a credible acidic spine, tapers off some at the end. Just as floral here with a burst of orange to tangerine citrus, not as spicy, more like cedar or potpourri. Moments of vanilla bean. Even with the sugariness of the plum, black currant, blackberry fruit keeps up a steady flow across the palate. Very good depth of flavor.
2013 Whaler Vineyard Zinfandel Flagship Mendocino. Washed up purple to rust red in color, clear but not shiny. Some menthol lift to the nose but right off you can sense it’s matured and content to sit back and watch the world go by. Scents of raisin, blackberry fruit, mesquite grill smoke, old potpourri, cedar, not much going but to its credit there’s nothing offputting. Medium-bodied, ginger bread, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean dominate the attack. Fleshy and soft, allows the plum/prune to blackberry fruit to soak in fully. Mint, eucalyptus, suggestion of candied oranges. There’s more than enough going on flavor-wise, problem is it feels way too lifeless. Suspect it was a pleasing drop in its youth.
2013 Domaine Le Roc des Anges Côtes du Roussillon Villages Segna de Cor. The dark purple core looks a touch flat, heavy brick red rims, overall does not look advanced. Floral musk, honey, candied oranges and blueberry jam give the nose a nice bounciness, resonant but not heavy. Medium-bodied, silky smooth and fluid, steady presence from attack to finish. Powerful lift in the blueberry, rhubarb, raspberry fruit, ripe and close to honeyed. That candied orange a perfect partner in crime. Smattering of leather, menthol and garrigues. Pretty and easygoing, the type of wine which deserves more attention because you get a lot of pleasure at what’s now a very fair price. Unspecified percentages of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah.
2011 Antoine Arena Patrimonio Grotte di Sole Niellucciu. Deep purple core, opaque, the scarlet to reddish magenta rims have a good deal of saturation. Something like volcanic ash in the nose, tar and merde, finds its way with extra air to develop the dewy black fruit scents. Much more satisfying to drink, the blueberry, boysenberry to strawberry fruit bursts forth energetically. Pleasing citrus patina with rose petal, nutmeg to incense accents. Tacky sort of texture, while it helps extend the flavors it feels annoying after awhile. Maybe clumpy tannin residue. That aside, very accessible and I’d have to assume close to fully matured.
2010 Joseph Roty Bourgogne Rouge. Plum purple core with mild bricking at the rims, clear but not all that shiny. Smoky nose with a dusty stone underpinning, pleasing array of cherry, cranberry to raspberry fruit scents, more lift than thrust, dried orange peels, moderate general funk. Medium-bodied, smooth any tannin from its youth resolved. Average acidity, dry enough to truncate the finish some. Same red fruit profile, semi-sour, probably sweeter in its youth. Accents of citrus, potpourri, once in awhile cedar. Satisfying, if I had to guess its apex was 2-3 years ago. But should hold in current state for another 2-3 years too.
2005 Château Le Chatelet Saint-Emilion. Fiery red to orange rims, rust red hues lighten the purple core, even stood up for days there’s a fine sediment throughout. The nose initially marred by merde and band-aid but given a little time it blows off in favor of heavyset plum, cassis fruit that gets close to prunish surmaturité, cedar and pressed flowers but the fruit likely cloaks most of the tertiary aromas. Full-bodied, soft, not sure what kind of tannin it had in its youth but all resolved now. Floral and chocolaty, ginger, cedar, all the accessories lean towards sweet. Slight bitterness at the end. But there’s still abundant plum, black currant, cherry fruit and any annoyance is smoothed over soon enough. 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc.
2006 Dupéré Barrera Côtes de Provence Très Longue Macération. Gauzy reddish purple, the rims fat crimson red. Sort of wooly nose, camphor, pressed flowers, some muddy earth but not barnyardy, the dark berry fruit scents have lost freshness and thus difficult to register. Full-bodied with a soft, velvety texture and here the berry, cherry fruit has no problem soaking in fully. Milk chocolate, lavender, nutmeg, definitely enjoys its inherent sweetness. Feels like it could have been decently tannic in its youth, ground down now. Attack is great, finish much less so. Interesting, pleasurable texture, too monochrome. Unspecified percentages of Syrah, Mourvèdre.
2005 Château de Villegeorge Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois Superieur. Dark, opaque purple core, thin brick red rims, displays vigor and a youthful hue. Well-stuffed nose of cherry compote, cassis, blackberry jam, menthol, tobacco leaf, lowkey earthiness, showing curiously primary. Medium-bodied, the contours are clear if round, residual tannin helps it develop shape. Smoky tang, more of that tobacco wrapper to coffee bean. More chocolate and even caramel than cedar. A note of bell pepper flits about the perimeter and you almost wish it would step forward to engage the fruit. Orange peel and that menthol-like aspect round it out. Not sure what to make of it, a solid drinker, given its modest pedigree expected further advancement. 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot.
2015 Clos de Gamot Cahors. Basic purple core, scarlet red rims, nothing of real note. A few accents of citrus and balsam liven up the nose, succinct red cherry, red currant fruit scents, turns more floral as it dissolves. Medium-bodied, semi-sappy, coats more than clings. Tannin on the soft side, doesn’t lack posture but no military precision. Consistent array of the same cherry, currant to blackberry fruit, ripe without sweetness. Cedar, leather, tea leaf, not all that earthy. Playing its cards close to its vest, suspect if it let you in more you’d like what you find. Textbook old school style, just miss that older school Cahors dollop of Tannat (noting this is 100% Malbec). I seem to have bad luck with this producer.
2017 Guillaume Gilles Vin de France Les Peyrouses Blanc. Sort of worn gold hue but balanced out by a high luster and shine, consistent core to rims. Heavily honeyed nose, tangerine citrus, yellow apple, pear to green melon scents, nutty, great general fullness, perhaps not as floral as expected. Full-bodied, tangy mouth entry with a good deal of that mandarin orange to tangerine citrus, aided by just enough acidic framing to hold excess sweetness at bay. Nuttier with a yeasty undercurrent, molasses and cinnamon stick. Same array of apple, pear fruit, kind of cidery at times, melon verging on sweet pineapple. At the end of the day it is very ripe and likely sweet enough to turn off some folks. Probably great with a baked ham. Unspecified percentages of Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier.
2000 Antonelli Sagrantino di Montefalco. Opaque black core, dense sunset rims of red, orange to yellow. Rich nose of sandalwood, cedar, leather, powdered chocolate and potpourri, plum notes but mostly prune to date scents, completely matured while retaining forward momentum. In the mouth it’s full-bodied, lots of menthol, pressed flower, camphor lift. Tangy citrus, lots of cedar and leather, not quite earthy nor rough and tumble, the tannin punches hard but no longer in the driver’s seat. Layers of fruit, plum and cherry, just a hint of prune here, much fresher. Comes across as on the back end of the plateau with minimal danger of falling into oblivion soon. Showed better than previous bottles, most recently in 2011.
2009 Il Chiosso Ghemme Terre Moreniche. Rust red throughout, a tad darker in the core, beginning to show orange at the rims. Leaves, tree bark give the nose a more roughhewn quality, there’s some licorice and lavender to pretty it up, cherry liqueur nuance, lacks lift and sustained aromatics. Medium-bodied, squares its shoulders right off, no shyness about flexing both the acidity and tannin. Sappy texture though, clings to the tongue. Honey and orange glaze, anise seed, mid-palate offers a floral musk. Tart profile to the well ripened cherry, blackberry fruit. Puts on more weight with air but finish still a touch short. Credible but slightly disappointing.
2014 Angelo Germano Barolo Trevigneti. Immaculately clean red rose to rust color,orange to yellow tinted rims, great surface shine. The nose disturbed by a low flying if steady amount of barnyard merde, slowly unveils white grapefruit pith, black tea leaf, anise and a modest amount of cherry, red berry fruit scents. Medium but close to light-bodied, tannin helps it avoid seeming ephemeral. Mostly tastes like a cherry Jolly Rancher, which is not the worst thing in the world for a basement bargain Barolo. Incense, anise, tree bark, the citrus element drops off a bit. Steady on the whole, trails off a touch at the end. What’s there is integrated and on the same page. If there’s such a thing as an everyday Barolo this is a decent candidate.
2018 Vincent Wine Company Gamay Noir Willamette Valley. Plum red to purple, slight gauziness, warm glow. Smoky and minerally nose then penetrated by rhubarb pie and strawberry preserves, leather and a hint of autumn leaves, so forceful and penetrating it is a challenge to register. Medium-bodied, velvety texture and pushes out against the cheeks. The acidity is a touch wild but it fits the general profile, probably helps to bring out tar, cowhide, barnyard elements. The blueberry, strawberry fruit tart and tangy. Dried orange pulp, maybe camphor. To me it has the good type of turbulence and holds your attention easily to the end. If Gamay can be a “bruiser,” this might be on the list.
2012 Mouton Noir Pinot Noir Oregogne Willamette Valley. Lightly hued and very transparent, purple inflected scarlet core switching to more straight-up brick at the rims. Ripe nose of strawberry, raspberry fruit, cinnamon to ginger spice, floral musk and witch hazel, tends towards feeling bottom heavy. Full-bodied, plush and round, covers the entire palate with ease. Can’t quite say it’s tannin but something kind of squeezes it into a semi-erect posture. Darker fruit, blackberry as much as those red berries, close to cherry. Cola, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, to lilacs or lavender. Air time does not change it much. Gears gum up through the finish, lasts well but without fluidity. Being generous, could be in a dumb phase.
2018 Vincent Wine Company Pinot Blanc Willamette Valley. Dull worn gold, pools deeply into the glass. Spicy nose, minty with notes of orange sherbet, more subtle pear, melon to apricot fruit scents, rich presence in the nostrils. Full-bodied, well layered here too, oily texture. Ginger, coriander spice, lemon to tangerine citrus, Brazil nuts. Acidity level is credible and prevents it from getting too gluey. Golden apple, pear, apricot fruit. Stays savory to the end, no issue with excess sweetness. Floral and minty finish, tries real hard to develop a lifting perfume but too dense.
2018 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc Stellenbosch. Pale yellow straw core, green flecks at the edges. Offers a ripe nose of melon, apricot, tangerine to lime pulp, powdered sugar, fairly simple, if inoffensively so. Medium-bodied, has little acidity, more of that general sweetness, same array of citrus and fruit. Nothing close to grassy, thus there’s little chance for counterbalance. Full, broad finish. Entirely predictable in a user friendly way. Used to drink this throughout the 00’s to very good result. 2007 was the most recent vintage I’ve had until this. Not how I remember it. (Screwcap)