What a great chance to have a E Pepe white, even if young. Total Berserker moment because I chose the resto (Mary Lane in Greenwich Village) because it had this bottle.
From CT notes:
Restaurant setting. Deep gold color. Bruised green apple if that makes any sense, toasted pine nuts, a hard to define umami and a sharp sea brine minerality at the finish that comes across as almost liqueur-like. An initial funkiness on the nose that diminishes with time and after about a half hour integrates with everything else. Extremely food friendly and not just with fish and seafood - even paired well with pork involtino.
Popped a magnum of this last night, had 1/3 bottle left over, so stuck it in the fridge. Actually showing better today. Matchstick nose with green apple peal and ripe yellow fruits and peach pit. Solid but not necessarily complex.
1994 Dominus…made cellarring this wine for close to 30 yrs.(.probably 28-29 yrs), since purchase worthwhile…Outstanding, clearly my WOTY, shared with my SIL, magnificent aromatics, smooth as silk on the palate, everything fully integrated, no sense of imminently going OTH, while glorious now, wd not be surpised if it continues to please through 2030…Everything I had hoped for
Cortes de Cima Pinot Noir Alentajeno 2015
Brownish and oxidized.
Wine and Soul Pintas Character 2018
Not my usual culprit but pretty good with a tourtière. Black and red berries, sweet pie spices and a cool mineral (slate) note. On the palate, it’s velvety without being plush, the tanins are fine and powdery and the medium acidity is appropriate. It showed a little heat on the first glass but I didn’t notice it again from that point forward. Some cool herbal notes on the finish. Good wine.
I remember having that Pinot at age 4 and already found it developing unfavorably. The wines from Cortes de Cima being produced nowadays by Hans and Carrie Jorgensen’s daughter, Anna (I think her first vintage was 2021) are some of the most exciting in the entire country. The only thing they have in common with the parents’ wine is the name: Anna ripped out a huge percentage of the vineyards, revolutionized the viticulture, and transformed the winemaking from a New World inspired approach to a non-interventionist style. Even the labels are different, except for Incógnito. What’s most impressive is that Cortes de Cima was already a strong brand; she didn’t have to save a failing business, but put these transformations into place purely out of conviction.
I don’t find myself drinking much red wine from that low altitude Cima Corgo terroir, like the Vale de Mendiz where Wine & Soul are located - along with Quinta do Noval and so many other staples. Not that the wines aren’t good, but I generally find wines from the Baixo Corgo and Douro Superior to be more interesting. A lot of would be port grapes are going into the Cima Corgo top tier reds, and for better or worse it shows.
La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Reserva Selección Especial 2010
Still nowhere close to ready for my taste. Coconut and dill are still too present. It’s got enough structure to go through the wood with time though. Next one in 10 to15 years?
Day 3 of really liking the 2024 Kobayashi Marsanne-Roussanne.
Similar profile and definitely more acidic in a good way than the previous vintage. I like textured/mouthfeel with these wines but think my main note about the 2023 was that it wasn’t acidic enough.
What a beauty. Could be mistaken for a GC. Powerful without weight. Unmistakable HN purity, elegance and delicacy. Pale red colour. Floral sous bois and spice nose. The palate which is supberbly detailed with pale red fruits, forest floor and more spice. Mouthfeel is silky with fine grained tannins and a fresh lift from the acidity. This is a very complete mature wine that is wonderful drinking right now. 2006 does not get a lot of love but this is top notch bottle. Yum!
Really nice. Good length and density; lots of acidic cut; chiseled citrus and chalk; framed with tasteful toasty oak that has a larger textural impact than flavor impact. Really good white burg in a non reductive but very taut and mineral style — something that is hard to come by in OR where I do most of my chard drinking.
Sandalwood, five spice, orange peel, bright raspberry and cherry, high acid, still some pretty grippy tannin. Good but needs more time, I am coming to the view that Jadot reds need a ton of time. Good bottle of wine for sure but not knocking anyone’s socks off right now. Improved over dinner so this may be one to call ahead for a long decant if you’re drinking in a restaurant setting.
Wow. From a bottle with bottom neck fill. Ordered for the benefit of my father in law who is a Napa drinker, this was stellar and probably top 5ish WOTY for me. Tobacco, curry powder, damp healthy garden dirt, licorice, beef broth, cocoa powder, deep deep red and black fruit. Mouth coating depth and extraordinary persistence. Loads of bright acidity to balance out the rich and palate staining power of the wine. This is in fighting shape and in no danger of going over the hill. Truly a special bottle.
