Since I've been gone

1999 Dujac, Chambolle-Musigny:
Saturated cork; when first opened, not worth drinking (very acidic and shrill); after about an hour, very nice, balanced and characteristic Chambolle. Nothing here to excite but plenty to enjoy.

2003 Tardeau-Laurent, Gigondas:
Well beyond expectations; young, very slightly rustic but true to its place, no overt wood and excellent sustain. Not marred by the vintage and quite more than either the producer and vintage would suggest. Superb with steak.

2004 Rhys, Pinot Noir Home Vineyard:
Deep garnet; 13.4% alcohol; spicy, soft red fruit nose with a crisp element and a hint of earth – reminds me of good Clos des Lambrays; whole cloth in the mouth with exquisite balance; flavors follow the nose with some black fruit and cut, good grip and real breed, a spherical impression; very long, finish. First sniff and I knew – something wonderful this way comes – I am sitting here trying to remember any CA pinot I have enjoyed more and nothing comes to mind. Maybe that’s my memory but then, maybe it’s not. Many years left in the cellar.
Oh my!

1999 Hamacher, Pinot Noir:
Dark ruby: 13% alcohol; more truffled then the preceding wine (but really, this is an embarrassment of riches); this has darker fruit with mushroom/truffle nuances, some earth and is a bit more reticent; more rustic in the mouth but with so much intense flavor – all of which echoes the nose – big grip and a slightly drying but medium length finish. Not as fine as the Rhys but every bit as interesting and engaging. Many years to peak.

1999 Juge, Cornas Cuvée C:
The Burgundy of Cornas; translucent color; light aromatics of olive, earth and red fruit; elegant in the mouth and almost attenuated, balanced, still pretty youthful fruit; some length. Not it’s best showing but a respite from all the other heavy CA syrahs on the table.

2000 Raveneau, Chablis Montée de Tonnerre:
What has been, for the past several years, an acidic, angular chardonnay as turned into a fresh, lyrical Chablis; lovely outdoorsy scents of flowers, earth and mineral; medium weight, seamless and fresh in the mouth, quite lively and balanced; excellent length. Nine years makes all the difference.

2008 Grey Stack, Chardonnay Wagner Family Vnyd.:
I like the acid structure here and the wood is not overdone but there just isn’t enough fruit at the moment to make this worth opening. If you’re drinking red wine and need to clean your palate, dandy – absent that, leave this alone for at least a couple years.

1994 Vincent Arroyo, Petite Sirah Reserve:
Young, fresh, clean, dark in demeanor and it seems as though it were bottled yesterday – except, it is integrated, not drying on the finish and, to be honest, decent – no more than that, but decent.
Marginally better by the end of the evening.
After a couple days in the fridge, nothing has changed.
(Aside: It is the rare petite sirah that is worth cellaring. If you don’t like them when you taste them, cellaring isn’t going to help much. And if you do like them up front, drink ‘em. Every lifetime or so Ridge will do one that should be cellared until you grandchildren are grown and it will be special – and wonder of wonder- it will have actually developed. But in 40 years of drinking wine I have run across exactly one of those. With petite sirah, it seems to me that what you see is what you get – and always will.)

2005 Tete, Juliénas Clos di Fief:
Just delightful; fullish but without weight, clean but true to terroir and a fine grained texture that drives through to a long, lovely finish. Pretty damn spectacular and in no way as closed as I’d have guessed. Yum!

2002 Clos de la Roilette, Fleurie:
Closed at first but with time it opens nicely although not completely; firm, rich, structured and not at all typical of the AOC; long and tannic. Needs time, patience and food.

1999 Belle Pente, Pinot Noir Cuvée Mystére:
A combination of over-ripe and under-ripe grapes and it doesn’t work; reminds me of a motor-sailer – they were all the rage when I was sailing but the truth was, they did neither well. And at this age, this isn’t going to get better. ‘Last bottle.

2000 Louis Michel, Chablis Vaudesir:
– “Blame it on the bossa nova” –- so maybe it was the company or the fact that we were in the park at a party or that the evening had turned from warm to cool – but whatever it was . . . : Denise sat down and took a taste and said “this is what I need;” Diane told me this was one of her favorites; Doc perked right up; and, I, just thought about how good the world can be when everything aligns. Not the flesh of the Clos but such an ethereal nose – flowers, spring water, flint, fresh air – well beyond my miserly capacity to describe; in the mouth, plenty of cut, flavors that follow the nose with layers of nuance, depth, breadth but an utterly weightless delivery – refreshing in a way that I don’t think many wines are – and a very long, detailed finish. The butterfly that lands on your shoulder when you least expect it.
Oh my, oh my, oh my!

2006 Overnoy, Arbois-Pupillin:
Once again, the poulsard that comes across as ripe and rich without any turn toward the atypical; a terrific, translucent gem that makes people take notice and eschew other wines just to taste it again. A wine that you don’t expect to find universal favor – and you are wrong. Yum and then some.

2007 Dönnhoff, Reisling Qba (AP 34 08):
Fresh and beautiful; off-dry, mineral underpinnings and some length.

1996 Allemand, Cornas Reynard:
The cure for what ails me; all Cornas on the nose but not the tannic beast it can be in the mouth; complex, balanced and elegant with olive, red fruit and earth tones; all of one piece and still a bit of grip on the finish. Maybe not at peak but as close as it will ever need to be for me.
Ahhh, I’m better now.

2006 Navarro, Pinot Noir Methode A L’Ancien (375):
I bought these at the winery thinking it would be nice to have small bottles of pinot to drink now. I’m beginning to think I’d be better served aging these for a couple years. After a couple of bottles, I find that they are very full flavored although not in an overblown way. Just well-concentrated and structured 13.7% wine. Good now, likely better later.

2006 Edmunds St. John, That Old Black Magic:
Co-ferment of syrah and grenache; bright nose reminiscent of CdR; plenty of cut in the mouth with firm flavors and an integrated structure. If I were guessing, I’d say this may be trying to get some sleep. Hold?

2001 Dönnhoff, Riesling Spatlese Oberhäuser Brücke:
As pretty a Nahe wine as I have had; fabulous aromatics of cherry pits, flowers and spring water; much the same in the mouth with perfect balance and a sense of depth and reserve; long, lingering finish. It doesn’t get much better. Oh my!

2002 Huet, Le Mont Demi-Sec:
With a Thai curry dish, outstanding. The sugary sensation of its early years is gone, replaced by a more mineral driven, barely off-dry profile with some nice notes of wool and herbs playing at the sides. Had it not been for the previous wine, I might have laid on the hype a bit more but there is no mistaking - this is a lovely wine.

2007 Westerhold Family Vnyds., Syrah:
As good a young syrah from CA as I’ve tasted. The new oak is entirely soaked up, the saline quality this wine has is evident and it’s beginning to show some dark fruit complexity that I often get in more modern Cornas. The textures are smooth but the structure has grip, the wine is bright and round at the same time and I am falling in love with this wine. Bravo.

Best, Jim

Jim - As always I love your notes. Curious about the Westerhold. I see that Russell makes it. What is the abv and price point?

The 2000 Raveneau, Chablis Montée de Tonnerre sounds absolutely fantastic…wow. Next time, share with me!

Thanks for the note on that Rhys Home Vineyard. Not a lot of those floating around.

Nice notes as always Jim.
The Rhys Home is a special wine. We had one of Bob Fleming’s stash back in May.
A treasure really.
Thanks for the ESJ note, just picked up a couple of those.

Not released yet.
ABV is high; price will likely also be. Surprisingly balanced though.
They have a website at: http://www.westerholdwines.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Best, Jim

Thanks for the notes Jim. I thought the most interesting was the Westerhold.

Forgive my memory, but did you get a chance to taste it out of barrel? Bottle?
I’m not much of a full throttle syrah guy but I thought this wine crossed-over from that to something with some under-pinnings of old world flavors and textures. Which for me, is pretty much the ultimate mix.
Best, Jim