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2006 Domaine Robert Chevillon Bourgogne Passetoutgrains - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Passetoutgrains (2/6/2010)
Damn, this is good. Red fruit and flowers on the nose, cherries and venison blood in the mouth. Intense, yet light-bodied. Just enough acidity to carry the fruit without coming off as lean, just enough tannin to tickle your mouth a little. Has just enough metallic edge to remind you this is part Gamay. (91 pts.) -
2006 Tenuta Rapitalà Nuar Sicilia IGT - Italy, Sicily, Sicilia IGT (2/5/2010)
At A Voce Columbus in NYC. $42 off list.
Fruit driven, primarily red fruit, verging on a little candied, with decent acidity but a shortage of minerality or complexity. Reminiscent of some CA Pinots. Fine, but not great. (85 pts.)
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2008 Sherwood Estate Pinot Noir - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough (2/3/2010)
Not bad. Not complex, but it’s got some tannin and acid for structure, cranberry and stawberry fruit, and its light and quaffable. Convenient to have a half-bottle closed with a screwcap, useful for rinsing out and using to save other wines in the future. I’d buy again. (84 pts.) -
2008 Weingut Meinhard Forstreiter Grüner Veltliner Grooner Kremser Kögl - Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal (1/28/2010)
Very Grunery, peppery, bright, well-balanced, excellent quaffer. (86 pts.) -
2006 Darcie Kent Vineyards Chardonnay - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Livermore Valley (1/28/2010)
Lemon curd, crisp, but half the bottles smelled musty…TCA? (82 pts.) -
2007 Henry of Pelham Special Select Late Harvest Vidal Niagara Peninsula VQA - Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Niagara Peninsula VQA (1/19/2010)
BTG at Bouley. Fine and a pleasant complement to dessert, but not spectacular. To my mind, it fell between two stools- light bodied, seemingly unoaked, and crisp, like a pleasant dry vidal, but then this was actually fairly sweet (maybe somewhere b/w a typical spatlese and auslese), so it really was a dessert wine. There was nothing technically wrong with it, and the sweetness was fairly balanced by the acidity, but to my palate this didn’t have the intensity or the sweet/acid tension of, say, a german riesling.
Bouley also poured a different vintage than they had printed on their list, which was strange. Not that I know the difference b/w the vintages in Ontario anyways. (86 pts.)
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1998 Patheiger Kaseler Kehrnagel Riesling Eiswein - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (1/16/2010)
Didn’t get a close read on this on day one, since it was a small pour at the end of the night, but three things stuck out: (1) it still had a bit of fizz (2) it’s astonishingly sweet, verging on cloying (3) it was freakin’ delicious.
One day two with my parents, served with custard pie with fried pineapple and caramel sauce: this brings out the pineapple notes in a big way- it’s got pineapple and some stone fruit and hints of citrus, and its deliciously acidic- even when the (very) sweet dessert kills its apparent sweetness, it’s still a delicious drink with honey and mint notes and great acidity. On its own, it’s just a rush of fruit, but in a very good way. Enjoyed tremendously by all. (92 pts.) -
2005 Domaine Michel Lafarge Bourgogne Passetoutgrains - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Passetoutgrains (1/16/2010)
An interesting contrast with the 2006 L’Exception drunk last week. This is much, MUCH less tannic despite coming from the riper vintage, and has a much more pronounced Gamay character- I don’t know the relative percentages in the two cuvees. But I think this is the better wine, at least today and for the near future- it’s still surprisingly vigorous, even “rustic” for a Passetoutgrains, but its much more open and filled with abundant red cherry fruit and minerality. The only downside is that even under argon gas in the fridge, this is very tired by day two- it tastes more “winey” than fruity and when I brought it to my parents’ to complement dinner, my mom asked, “is this one of your old wines?”. Drink up. (87 pts.) -
2002 Digioia-Royer Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny (1/9/2010)
A tale of two wines. Day one, this is awful. It’s way overoaked and smells like coffee hard candy. Still, you can sense the deep sappy fruit I’ve enjoyed in young Digioia-Royer lurking, but its totally overwhelmed by the oak. 84 points tops- my girlfriend doesn’t even finish her glass.
Day two, after a night at room temp under argon. The oak has faded away to the background, and suddenly this is bursting with classic pinot fruit and tons of forest floor, with maybe a sprinkling of brown sugar. A bit advanced for its age (and the color shows it too, with a touch of bricking at the edge) but this is sappy and complex and snappily acidic and as good as any burg I’ve had in the past several months.
If you have this, let it breathe or better still, give it time to digest the oak. This has plenty of fruit so I don’t think it’s going to die anytime soon. (92 pts.)
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2004 Castello Vicchiomaggio Chianti Classico Riserva La Prima - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico (1/6/2010)
Smoky and black- as strong an impression of black licorice as I’ve ever gotten from a wine, along with a slightly bitter fruit that I can’t really place. This has a bit too much oak and the fruit is pretty “sweet”, and its definitely modern styled. But its not hot, not plump, and not at all pruned. It’s got a good minerally bite to it, powdery tannin, and a long and intense aftertaste.
In spite of my usual tastes, I like it. $40 retail , so fair QPR but not cheap. (89 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker