N/V Marques de Monistrol, Cava Brut Selección Especial:
This continues to impress; solid bead, clean, pure flavors, no off tones and a dry freshness that enlivens the palate. Charming bubbly for $10.
N/V Segura Viudas, Cava Brut Reserva:
Very much like the preceding wine but ever so slightly sweeter. Good for about $7.
N/V Roederer Estate, Brut Anderson Valley:
A pretty wine with a good bead and a dry delivery; some flavor and quite fresh. About $15.
N/V Gruet, Sparkling Wine Rosé:
A bubbly with character; good bead, refreshing overall profile with lots of flavor and nuance. I’d be happy with this anytime. 100% pinot noir, 12% abv and about $15.
(Aside: I don’t drink a lot of sparkling wine and these were had over the holidays. I liked the Gruet best for its full flavors and the Marques second for its bone-dryness.)
2007 Louis Michel, Chablis Montmain:
Clean and tart; a wine of depth, individuality, excellent balance and length. It screams Chablis and cuts almost any food it is served with. At 13% and about $20 (screwcap) it’s a no brainer.
2007 Louis Michel, Chablis Forêts:
Richer and fuller than the Montmain but every bit as much cut and steeliness. The closer it gets to room temp. the more open and accessible it becomes. 13% and about $20 (real cork).
(Aside: both of these Chablis reminded me of young Raveneau wines; they are tight and angular and obviously need time – but they are also fine examples of their typicité and have excellent concentration and intensity.)
2005 Cantine Antonio Caggiano, Tarì:
Aglianico from Campania that smells very good – sort of nebbiolo meets ripe cabernet; in the mouth its like berry infused Baker’s chocolate – not much chocolate flavor, no sweetness, somewhat grainy/tactile and with a distinct bitterness – really not much fun by itself. But with poached chicken in tomato sauce with feta, this wine is extraordinary; the drying bitterness is barely noticeable and the flavors resound against the red sauce. One of the most dramatic synergies of food and wine I have encountered. About $25.
2005 Patrick Javillier, Pernand-Vergelesses:
My second bottle of this in the past two weeks; a clear, place driven expression of pinot that is elegant on the palate and aromatic in the glass. Shows none of the vintage’s “big-ness,” good balance and moderate complexity. 13% and $25.
Best, Jim