NV Keush Armenia Vayots Dzor “Origins Méthode Traditionelle Brut.” Very pale straw hue with muscular pétillance that comes close to filling the glass, oddly there isn’t much foam across the surface. The nose is fairly clean and leans heavily on green apple, pear fruit scents, lightly stony with a bit more of a honeyed nature, really not that much going on but by the same token nothing bad going on either. Medium-bodied, not as foamy as would have been expected visually. But no lack of foam either. Adds some red cherry, berry flavors here. The stony, chalky aspect more pronounced, which is appreciated. Finishes somewhat sour, close to full lack of toastiness. Very much on par with inexpensive cremants and basic blunt French sparklers. 70% Voskehat, 30% Khatouni.
2016 Shaw and Smith Shiraz Adelaide Hills. A kind of reddish clay hue permeates the whole thing, lightening the purple core, it’s just dark enough to evade transparency. There’s a pervasive smokiness to the nose, mix of kindling wood and charred meat fat, ripe black currant to plum fruit, gently mentholated, some roasted coffee bean but not that oaky, overall seems pretty dialed down, nothing bombastic. Light to medium-bodied, leaning towards the acidic style of Syrah. Here more oak cream shows but probably due to its general lack of heft. Softly peppery with the grapefruit burst missing in the nose. Decent amount of grill fat, meatiness. Not overfruited. Checks a bunch of boxes but it never hits that extra gear for me. (Screwcap)
2019 Bedrock McDowell Valley Gibson Ranch Heritage. Layered scarlet-purple pools into the glass but there is yet a measure of transparency to it, utmost cleanliness. At first the nose welcomes you with a blast of fart, settles down into raspberry, cherry, blueberry fruit, menthol, baking spices, orange to tangerine citrus, nothing out of the norm but it fits together nicely. Medium to full-bodied and densely packed, as juicy as it is comes across as straitjacketed. This not due to a surfeit of tannin nor acidity, both of which are proportionate. Sourly ripe red and blue berry fruit with cherry mixed in. Good stony earthiness, freshly tilled and fecund. Light herbaceous patina. Here finding the citrus more tart lemon. Attractively unadorned. Chewy finish. Reaches down deep to give you just a little bit more. While not profound wish I had a bottle or two more. Unspecified percentages of Grenache, Trousseau Noir, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Peloursin.
2019 Bedrock Lime Kiln Valley Enz Vineyard. Fully transparent purple to scarlet, rust red, mildly washed out rims. Nose of sun parched stone and sand, thankfully the oak cream is dialed back enough to let this aspect show, sinewy red berry to red cherry fruit, tobacco ash, cleansing burst of menthol, quite active nostril presence. Medium-bodied, framed well by tannin, pucker softened a little by creamy oak. Same sandy, stony profile, the Mataro brings a dry wooliness. The fruit shades darker here, more depth even with some green apple punctuation. Peppery finish helps mask a semi-hollow mid-palate. Sour citrus there too. I think this needs 2-3 years to find its sea legs but more than that may risk too much fruit loss for optimal balance. Distinct personality. Approximately 70% Mataro, 20% Zinfandel, 10% Cabernet Pfeffer, touch of Malbec.
2019 Sandlands Contra Costa County “Red Table Wine.” Warm ruby-violet with a “staring into the sun” sort of gauziness, fully transparent. Sandy earth and crumbled stone fill the nose, falls short of getting you to sneeze, cranberry, rhubarb, blueberry fruit scents, beef jerky and fried lemons, doubles down on the intensity of what’s there rather than stretch for more complexity. Light-bodied, pretty gosh darn tannic so it feels weightier. Same fruit array, dazzling tartness, adds notes of Granny Smith apple. Here that cured, charred meat element grows in stature. The lengthy fruit presence eventually hands off to a dry, earthy finish. Was okay with it at first but each sip won me over a little more. 65% Carignane, 35% Mataro.
1997 Etude Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. Decent amount of purple left in the core, then strong bricking with a sunset brightness, fine clarity, barely threw any sediment. The nose displays a roasted earthiness, nothing like oak char, then witch hazel, finally settling into cedar, sandalwood incense, dried tobacco and moderate plum, black currant fruit scents, no powerhouse but not faded either. Medium-bodied, some tannic astringency yet and feels acidic as well. Spicy with dried orange peel, anise, and something more like lavender than eucalyptus. All that cedar too. Decanting helped and I’d say put more bounce in the black fruit’s step. Given relative lightness solid length on the finish. I’d put this behind the previous June 2019 sampling, especially in terms of fruit intensity. Which to me means drink up.
2019 Sandlands Zinfandel Mokelumne River Kirschenmann Vineyard. Gentle glow to it, fades from purple to a darkish ruby-scarlet, fine clarity. Well concentrated nose of blueberry, pomegranate, cherry to raspberry fruit, sort of stony to sandy underpinning, mild touch of lemon, gingerbread, simple and direct and pleasing in its own way. Medium-bodied, sappy cling to the palate. Has sufficient tannin to prevent this from becoming a bother. More by way of savory garden herbs here, the citrus turns to a sweeter naval orange. Licorice to menthol inflection. Fruit put on weight as it opened. Mild bitterness at the finish. In the final analysis has the fruit intensity many would associate with the grape variety but not the weight. So kind of depends on if “big” matters or not when it comes to enjoying a Zinfandel.
2017 Ser Winery Cabernet Pfeffer Cienega Valley Wirz Vineyard. Has a sort of rusty red cast to it, transparent but hazy, interesting to look at. There’s an earthiness to the nose at at times something like warm rubber, red cherry to red berry scents, mildly floral, ginger root, lifts well with an airy dissolve. Light-bodied but it has plenty of sappy grip on the palate. Moderate tannin, rightsized for the level of fruit, which skews blacker here. Peppery, the element missing from the nose. Plus provides a good jolt of white grapefruit to naval orange citrus. Does lose most of the florality, though. Leathery finish, turns chewy in spite of the lighter body. Appreciate the way it shapeshifts now and then so you can’t get complacent with it. (Screwcap)
2015 Idlewild Nebbiolo Mendocino Fox Hill Vineyard. Transparent, washed out tea rose color shading towards rust orange, has more glow to it than you’d think given the lightness of hue. Nice burst of black licorice through the nose, leather and tea leaf, quiet strawberry to raspberry fruit, a creamy oakiness throws it off balance, too heavy for the other elements. Light-bodied, the tannin gives it good posture without being too much. Unfortunately, here the oak is even more ponderous and there’s little way for the primary material to put up a good fight. Citrusy with a modicum of tarriness, the licorice is gone and the fruit with a tenuous grip. It’s literally like chewing on planks. That said, it wasn’t sink fodder either, I’d just drink now rather than hope for the better.
1995 Château Branaire-Ducru Saint-Julien. Not much purple left in the core, it’s all fiery reds and oranges now, regardless of hue looks vigorous. Openly knit and pungent nose with pleasing lift, array of cedar, cocoa crisp, bell pepper, gravelly earth, clove, camphor and a thorough mix of blackberry, blueberry, raspberry to cherry fruit scents. Medium-bodied and light of touch, finding the tannin resolved without leaving it unstructured. Minerals, pencil shavings, black earth, meat stew herbs, and cedar massage the Bordeaux pleasure nodes. Barest glimmer of herbaceousness adds more snap. What’s most pleasantly surprising is how buoyant the fruit is. Flavors slightly trail off at the finish but there’s a freshly scrubbed tingle left behind. To my palate, this is killing it. 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc.
NV Champagne Demière-Ansiot Avize “Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut.” Quite pale straw color with a broad diffusion of hyperactive minuscule bubbles swirling about. Fresh and direct nose, no nonsense, green apple to peach fruit, lemon citrus, light breadiness as well as florality, stony but overall there’s more than enough “give” to it to increase aromatic length. Light-bodied, tightly coiled pétillance keeps it churning on the tongue. Much more floral here, less citrusy in favor of a thing honeyed patina. Ripe fruit contributes to a round bulge in the mid-palate. Toastier through the finish and aftertaste. There’s nothing dramatically unique about it, just a balance of tact and joviality for general enjoyment, a Champagne to be shared among friends.
2015 Château Larrivet Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan. Vibrant ruby-violet hue of good darkness, as expected plenty of youthful vigor. Fresh cedar and tobacco fill the nose, does show a healthy dose of creamy vanilla and caramel scented oak, good spiciness, the mixed currant to cherry fruit proportionate to the whole, nothing too ripe nor fruity about it, becomes more herbaceous as it opens. Medium-bodied, the long and sinewy tannin threads it together without tightening the weave too much. Here you get the gravelly earth and stony foundation, helps reduce the herbaceous, bell pepper presence while leaving the tobacco alone. There’s a hard candied concentration in the same mixed red and black fruits, softens the mouth entry. The oak less overt, likely crushed in large part by the tannin. Long, tingly finish. While quite young now not unapproachable, particularly with a decant. 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc.
2018 Domaine du Pélican Jura Arbois “En Barbi.” Straw yellow-green hue with a buffed up shine, pools into the glass well too. Very toasty, to me borderline acrid nose, minerally, oily stone, apple/pear skin, fried lemons, really intent on aggressively penetrating your nostrils. Medium-bodied, hyperactive, acidic and close to angular. Just as toasty and minerally here. Extremely lemony. Full array of apricot, peach, cherry to red apple fruit. Turns lightly creamy through the finish. Can go the long term. 1.5 liter bottle.
NV Champagne Doyard Vendémiaire “Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Brut” (Base 2014). Light white to golden straw color, fine brilliance, mild visual mousse. Vinous nose, sharp edged, green apple and pear, apricot and strawberry, some lemon peel as well, needs to warm some to show much minerality and brioche, overall it’s understated. Light to medium-bodied, aggressive pétillance right out of the gate, throws it slightly off balance. Tart in spite of the richer here orchard fruits. Strong lemon to naval orange presence. Moderate chalkiness but leans more towards minerality. Nicely lingering finish. 1.5 liter bottle. (Disgorged 05/02/2020)
2019 Lionel Faury Saint-Joseph. Deep purple core with thin rubyish rims, solid appearance. Dense, blustery nose of plum, cassis, blackberry fruit and a healthy dose of violets, touch gamey and leathery but there’s so little sense of movement it’s hard to parse things out, brief interlude of white grapefruit, the florality basically saves the nose. Medium-bodied, moderately tannic, at least enough to rain on the parade as it were. Plenty of iodine, beef blood and leather. Lavender and violets more of a minor presence here. No lack of fruit. Nothing wrong with it, hits all the basic buckets but taken together as a whole finding it too lean and ungenerous for my taste.
2009 Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Clavoillon. The golden hue remains youthful enough if with a somewhat flat surface. Curiously mute nose of butterscotch, mint and lemon peel, hint of wet stone, close to zero fruit presence, peach pit and such at best. Medium-bodied, shows more flesh here albeit fills itself out mostly with oak nuances such as caramel, butterscotch, molasses. Still, remains delicate of touch and shows breeding. Almost a note of bubblegum prior to the cherry, apricot, pear fruit. Acidity steady but not spectacular. Didn’t discern much evolution when given air time. 1.5 liter bottle.
2005 Pépière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie Clos des Briords “Cuvée Vieilles Vignes.” For its age has held onto its yellow straw hue well and avoided going full amber, clear if not particularly shiny. The nose retains traces of oily stone and seashells, however, the yeastiness has substantially taken over, touch of pulped lemons, fruit virtually absent. Medium-bodied, shows nice firmness and a moderate amount of forward thrust. Honeyed and doughy, yes, but the stony and chalky side comes through well. Noticeably floral, a trait found in its youth as well. Acidity blunt while the wine isn’t as hard and unyielding as it once was. Here getting apple, pear, apricot fruit. Something like a note of custard at the finish. Got a lot more lemony as it opened. One of the best aged Muscadet wines of recent memory.
2020 Patrick Piuze Chablis “Terroir de Courgis.” Fairly deep straw gold color, consistent core to rims, pools deeply into the glass. Nice flinty edge to the nose, chalky, even smokier as it warms, paucity of fruit, some green apple or pear at best, leanness tends to impede lift. Light to medium-bodied, acidity is strong and feels natural, pairs well with the general dusty mouthfeel. Credible appearance by lemon to lime citrus. Chalky but more so minerally, ferrous. Attenuated pear, apricot, apple fruit with a hint of cherry. Displays good energy and carves out a lengthy finish but wish it had a little more girth around the middle.
2020 Philippe Raimbault Sancerre “Apud Sariacum.” Shiny and moderately deep golden straw color, straight down the middle appearance. Oily nose, the ripeness of the apricot, peach, melon scents diminishes any latent smokiness, turns out more chalky to stony instead, not discerning a meaningful citrus presence. Medium to full-bodied, soft and quite fruity if not closed to honeyed in sweetness, persists full through the finish. Still, it does have that oiliness which here gets close to smoky. Gooseberry, pear added to the aforementioned. Based on experience with long ago previous vintages of the bottling lacking cut and thus disappointing. Too ripe for thirst quenching freshness but totally drinkable as an aperitif or such.
2016 Cave de Roquebrun Saint-Chinian-Roquebrun “Terrasses de La Rocanière.” Translucent purple core with vibrant crimson red rims, looks the part of a rustic country wine. Gamey nose with accents of burnt grill fat and tarry earth, counterbalanced well by a burst of white grapefruit, lavender is there but seems to be fading, the mixed black fruit scents fare better. Medium-bodied, fleshy enough to achieve good palate coverage while there’s no lack of biting tannin either. The florality much more expansive here. And the grapefruit’s sourness extends the finish. Relatively clean, minor moments of cow pattie. About what you’d expect from a regional cooperative for under $20. Not said as a slight. 60% Syrah, 20% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre.
2011 Trimbach Riesling Alsace “Cuvée Frédéric Émile.” Well-layered golden color, solid block appearance, youthful. Nose bursting with rubber, enough so to staunch the smokiness, then lemon curd, mint, and rose petals to lesser extent, the mutter of fruit seems besides the point. Medium-bodied, muscular with blunt acidity. Quite lemony, combined with the dusty, dry mouthfeel it starts to come off as soft drink-esque. The firmness keeps the rubberiness in check. Yellow apple, pear, kiwi, apricot fruit of moderate resonance. Spiciness builds through the finish. While there’s a lot going on it could use a tighter weave and sense of direction. Time might positively address this.
2013 Domaine d’Aupilhac Languedoc “Lou Maset.” Quite clear and transparent runs from a pale violet to youthful brick red rims. Smoky nose that’s heavy on leather, charred game and damp underbrush, takes a good while for the mixed berry fruit to unwind. Medium-bodied, very dry as in drying out. The paucity of plum, blackberry to raspberry fruit makes the tannin stick out too much. Tobacco ash, ashen soil, twigs, all dry, dry, dry. Hints of licorice and lavender on the 18th hole. Did get better with time but, that said, not close to the bottle consumed May 2020. Which could be chalked up to bottle variation as much as any general pronouncement on the wine. 40% Grenache, 40% Cinsault, 10% Mourvèdre, 10% Carignan.
2020 Famille Dutraive Chénas “Les Perelles.” Transparent with a mild gauziness, runs from violet through to watermelon red/pink, shiny, bouncy glass presence. Wet matchstick, shoe polish welcome you to the nose, wasn’t really patient with it as slowly the tart red berry fruit and lemon citrus began to show, something like volcanic ash in tandem with more “normal” stony brown dirt. Medium-bodied, the acidity helps set it broadly, full palate coverage. Merde, sour white grapefruit, coal tar, twigs and leaves give it heft. The fruit here shades blueberry, raspberry with strawberry in supplement. Would characterize the overall experience as turbulent more than volatile, a bumpy ride. Allowing for the problems the producer has faced in recent years, my enjoyment of Dutraive has been in decline since liking their 2015 efforts.
2008 Palari Sicilia “Faro.” Still holding onto a purple core whereas further out sunset intensity reds and oranges hold sway, fine clarity and barely threw any sediment, if any. Decanted to deal with what was correctly anticipated to be a merde and molten tar filled nose, afterwards a bounty of candied red berry to blackberry fruit, molasses coated ham, camphor, dried sage, forest floor pine needles, actually surprised at how quickly it cleaned up its act. On the palate it’s medium-bodied, the tannic netting has some give, to the advantage of that candied berry fruit. Lemon citrus gives it a twist. Licorice, bread dough, tar, Indian mukhwas, cola bean.There is a mild maderized quality to it. Since my first experience with the bottling, the 1999 tasted in 2002, it has genially perplexed me. Unspecified percentages of Nerello Mascalese, Nocera, Cappuccio, Galatena, etc.
2016 Sesti Brunello di Montalcino. Clean violet core segues seamlessly to ruby, rust red hue, immaculate clarity. Zippy candied cherry lifts the nose, some raspberry too, slowly decides to move onto leather and underbrush with touches of black licorice and fennel, very nice purity. Medium-bodied, good tannic skeleton with some give to it. Savory herbs, anise, leather lend it bottom and anchors it well. The cherry, raspberry, blackberry fruit is of moderate girth, just enough to stand up to the tannin. Needs time with the question of the fruiting lasting long enough. 1.5 liter bottle.
2019 Montepeloso Costa Toscana “A Quo.” Consistent garnet-violet hue throughout, clean with a healthy glow to it. Nose of damp stony earth and Genoa salami, nice nix of edgy blackberry, red currant, boysenberry, red cherry fruit, adds in cracked leather and grill smoke, fat, oak treatment seems minor, overall strikes me as close to hyper-aggressive. In the mouth it’s light-bodied and compact, feels more impelled by acidity than tannin, mouthwatering. Strong hard candy nature to the fruit. Here the dominant trait is a minty, mentholated touch. But the acrid earth and meatiness no doubt there. More astringent pucker than I’d prefer at the end. To its credit, given the sort of wacky blend it more or less works. 30% Montepulciano, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese, 10% Marselan, 10% Alicante. (Composite Cork: Diam5)
2018 Uccelliera Rosso di Montalcino. Dullish red scarlet with a dollop of purple in the core, pretty much normal looking. There’s a damp forest quality to the nose, really billows upwards, then you get candied cherry, raspberry fruit scents, leather and a wafting florality. In the mouth it’s light to medium-bodied, the tannin definitely gives it more presence. Licorice and sage, combined with the same candied red fruit it comes close to seeming sweet before the tannin clamps down again and the leather, tree leaves and twigs come into play. Even with air time there’s something hard and resistant about it so to me it requires food to put any quantity down.
2020 Vincent Wine Company Pinot Noir Willamette Valley. Deep ruby-violet core which stays transparent, consistent through to the flushed rims. Dry earthiness, tarriness to the nose, met equally by ripe, semi-candied raspberry, cherry fruit scents, touch of nutmeg or cinnamon as well as lemon peel, overall comes across as in need of further integration. In the mouth it’s fairly dry and tannic, about medium-bodied. The smokiness takes up most of the finish and retronasal lingering. Fruit more subdued here, probably due to that tannin. Stony, inert poor dirt and some twigginess. Chewy enough to warrant pairing with heavier dinner fare, maybe something well sauced. Would give it another year or two to try and soften but not much more. (Composite Cork)
1985 Graham’s Vintage Port. Yellow brownish with a vestige of purple yet, needed to be super careful as throwing a decent bit of sediment. The nose is quite nutty with notes of marzipan and pressed flowers, doesn’t have sufficient body to balance out the alcohol which makes the fumes run hot. Light-bodied, drinks as much as a tawny as a vintage port. Bitter with the same pronounced nuttiness. Golden raisin, date, peach pit flavors, crests in the mid-palate and then trails off. Rose petals. It feels weird saying it but this is kind of an over the hill port. Unspecified percentages of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão, etc.
2018 Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon Stellenbosch. The purple core just pushes into opacity whereas the scarlet, red clay rims vibrantly transparent, looks like “Cabernet.” Smoky, gamey nose with a minty edge, the oak is toasty with roasted mocha to coffee bean notes, plum, black currant fruit, what they call “spicebox,” all of it forms a huge swirling cloud emphasizing power over subtlety. Surprisingly light-bodied, gives it an open, transparent feel, like an x-ray where you see the skeleton. Tannin is fine, structures more than pounds away. Some wood tannin along with that cocoa, coffee roast. Palpable herbaceous streak which to me evokes bell pepper (which isn’t a problem). Spicy, mesquite smoke, some cedar, candied orange peel. Good sappiness and grip to the fruit. If someone said they didn’t like it I wouldn’t argue but this is hitting a lot of the right buttons for me. (Composite Cork)
2018 Kloof Street Swartland “Rouge.” Bright and shiny washed out violet core to garnet red, highly buffed surface, pretty. The nose has a breezy feel to it that at moments leaves it hollow, otherwise you get notes of cigar leaf, pickle brine, stone, red berry fruit, and toffee. Light-bodied, right off the degree of caramel and vanilla is way too much for me and I’d consider the wine unbalanced as a result. That out of the way, there is a fetching bouncy quality to the red fruits and its slimness keeps it moving at a refreshingly brisk pace. Smoky, evokes the hiss of steam rising off of hot asphalt after a rain, some tea to tobacco leaf. Semi-astringent finish. I basically stopped buying South African wine after tiring of getting splinters. But feel enough time has passed to revisit so here we are. 51% Tinta Barocca, 38% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 4% Cinsault, 1% Carignan. (Screwcap)