2006 Rhys Alesia Syrah Fairview Ranch (USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands)
Drinks fairly well, though better on night two. Mostly up front fruit and tanni on the first night. After 24 hours open it fleshes out and gains some meaty, smoky elements that make the overall package much more interesting.
2009 Jean-Paul Thevenet Morgon Vieilles Vignes (France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon)
Typically ripe in the 2009 Beaujolais mold, but more transparent than most of the top wines. This moves more towards the red fruit side of the spectrum, and seems more like Beaujolais, less like village Burgundy. Very easy to drink, especially on a sunny spring afternoon.
2004 Lingenfelder Freinsheimer Goldberg Riesling Spätlese halbtrocken (Germany, Pfalz)
Subtle - perhaps too subtle for its own good. I like the freshness of the fruit, but it has no mid-palate or finish, just some pretty up front flavors and then gone. Disappointing.
I’m not sure how much air the Thevent got, but it really sings after a few hours. IMHO, this is the top Morgon from '09 that I’ve sampled including all the usual suspects. Amazing depth and complexity. It’s got intensity but is not overwhelming, even bording on elegant right now. With bottle age, I’m thinking this will provide great satisfaction and awe when inserted blind in Burg tastings.
I’ve done the whole ripe Beaujolais in a blind tasting with Burgs several times, and the Beaujolais always stick out like crazy. I think the Thevenet is a lovely wine, and a few years down the road I am looking forward to a Morgon flight in a tasting with it, the Brun, Foillard and Bugaud all side by side. I won’t show them with Burgundies.
I’m not suggesting the ringer until the fat is gone. As I indicated, “with bottle age”. In it’s current state it would certainly stick out. We also had all the wine you mentioned plus Lapierre & Drouhin. For me it really showed the success of the vintage. I wouldn’t call these wine overly ripe. Ripper than previous vintages, but not unbalanced. The Brun is a far cry from ripe. The Drouhin was the ripest.