Yellow/light gold.
Roasted peach/nectarine, orange marmalade, burnt sugar nose. Great.
Deep, balanced, fresh. Strong acidity cuts through considerable sweetness beautifully. Long, roasted botrytis finish suffuses the palate. FK.
$? Courtesy of Tony Vickers.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Grange des Peres, Vin de Pays de l'Herault 2006
Deep red.
Vinturi - great, subtle nose of woodsmoke, herbs, grilled red fruit, fresh earth. Sumptuous.
Round with some textural sweetness immediately buffered by strongish acidity and moderate tannin. Really expressive in the mouth too. Tanzer's "inner-mouth" action. Beautifully refined, no fat. Taut. RFG. Long, subtle finish.
$60? Gift from Mr. Milic @ FnB in Scottsdale. The proprietor here did stints with Francois Coche-Dury and Chave if I'm not mistaken. Pretty good mentors... Not sure of the blend, but I think it is Syrah and maybe some Cabernet? Whatever. It rocks.
Vinturi - great, subtle nose of woodsmoke, herbs, grilled red fruit, fresh earth. Sumptuous.
Round with some textural sweetness immediately buffered by strongish acidity and moderate tannin. Really expressive in the mouth too. Tanzer's "inner-mouth" action. Beautifully refined, no fat. Taut. RFG. Long, subtle finish.
$60? Gift from Mr. Milic @ FnB in Scottsdale. The proprietor here did stints with Francois Coche-Dury and Chave if I'm not mistaken. Pretty good mentors... Not sure of the blend, but I think it is Syrah and maybe some Cabernet? Whatever. It rocks.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Tensley, Syrah, Tierra Alta Vyd., Santa Barbara County 2006
Red.
Vinturi - muted nose - licorice, wood spices, fig, steak sauce.
Round and mouth-filling with an unexpected sweetness. Definitely seems to have residual sugar and it doesn't fit in well with strong underlying acidity. Unfortunate, as I've enjoyed other Tensley bottlings quite a bit. Probably just a tough vintage/weird lot problem..
$22 from Time Market in Tucson.
Vinturi - muted nose - licorice, wood spices, fig, steak sauce.
Round and mouth-filling with an unexpected sweetness. Definitely seems to have residual sugar and it doesn't fit in well with strong underlying acidity. Unfortunate, as I've enjoyed other Tensley bottlings quite a bit. Probably just a tough vintage/weird lot problem..
$22 from Time Market in Tucson.
Mas Carlot "Les Enfants Terribles" Costieres de Nimes 2005
Deep red.
Vinturi - attractive nose of wood spices, licorice, iron, earth and black fruit.
Round, initially, but still shows an acid (VA?)/Brett edge that gives this a dis-jointed feel and really clamps down in the finish. Flavors veer toward iron/blood. Needs considerable air, say decanting 24 hours in advance.. This bottling was impossible to enjoy when released due to a Brett bloom in the bottle (CO2 and stink). Still edgy, but far better now.
$12. Mourvedre and Syrah
Vinturi - attractive nose of wood spices, licorice, iron, earth and black fruit.
Round, initially, but still shows an acid (VA?)/Brett edge that gives this a dis-jointed feel and really clamps down in the finish. Flavors veer toward iron/blood. Needs considerable air, say decanting 24 hours in advance.. This bottling was impossible to enjoy when released due to a Brett bloom in the bottle (CO2 and stink). Still edgy, but far better now.
$12. Mourvedre and Syrah
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Tardieu-Laurent, St. Joseph "Vieilles Vignes" 2003
Deep red.
Opened yesterday. Utterly sexy/savory nose of wood smoke/spices, smoked meat, molasses, grilled herbs and black fruit.
Round and mouth-filling with simultaneous acid-driven structure framing and focusing palate impression. Really loaded and expressive at the same time. And structured to the hilt - acid/tannin constriction really shuts down the mouth in the finish - though smoked meat, herb flavors manage to ride through. RFG, but I'd be careful about cellaring this more than another 3-5 years. Tardieu-Laurent did a very good job in the very hot 2003 vintage. Lots of very highly rated 2003 wines from the northern Rhone seem dead/flat to me, albeit wildly concentrated.
$35. 100% Syrah
Opened yesterday. Utterly sexy/savory nose of wood smoke/spices, smoked meat, molasses, grilled herbs and black fruit.
Round and mouth-filling with simultaneous acid-driven structure framing and focusing palate impression. Really loaded and expressive at the same time. And structured to the hilt - acid/tannin constriction really shuts down the mouth in the finish - though smoked meat, herb flavors manage to ride through. RFG, but I'd be careful about cellaring this more than another 3-5 years. Tardieu-Laurent did a very good job in the very hot 2003 vintage. Lots of very highly rated 2003 wines from the northern Rhone seem dead/flat to me, albeit wildly concentrated.
$35. 100% Syrah
Peyre Rose "Clos Des Cistes" Coteaux du Languedoc 2003
Deep red.
Opened yesterday. Low-toned nose of wood spices, Bordeaux-ish embers, baked black raspberry, dried herbs and A-1 steak sauce. Definitely from a warm vintage.
Round and plush, particularly for this producer. Deep and packed, but not really showing much complexity. Grainy tannin cuts into the finish. But this may well be better 3-4 days from now..
$40? Gift from Mr. Bo Stock. Peyre Rose raises its Syrah in stainless steel, though this seems to show barrel influence. This wine has some Grenache in it, I think. The other bottling "Leone" includes some Mourvedre.
Opened yesterday. Low-toned nose of wood spices, Bordeaux-ish embers, baked black raspberry, dried herbs and A-1 steak sauce. Definitely from a warm vintage.
Round and plush, particularly for this producer. Deep and packed, but not really showing much complexity. Grainy tannin cuts into the finish. But this may well be better 3-4 days from now..
$40? Gift from Mr. Bo Stock. Peyre Rose raises its Syrah in stainless steel, though this seems to show barrel influence. This wine has some Grenache in it, I think. The other bottling "Leone" includes some Mourvedre.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Hirtzberger "Honivogl" Gruner Veltliner, Wachau (Austria) 2004
Yellow/gold.
Deep, rich, bass nose of lentil, mint, citrus marmalade with a spicy/peppery undertone.
Really fills the mouth, and then expands (if that is possible) with flavors that mirror the nose. The spicy/peppery quality adds real lift and vibrancy. Deep lentil, citrus and spice action flows into a ridiculously long finish. This stuff just keeps kicking out flavor.. Great idiosyncratic white wine, as usual. I love this stuff.
$45. Do yourself a favor - get a bottle or two of GV. There are inexpensive versions ($12-20) that are incredibly refreshing.
Deep, rich, bass nose of lentil, mint, citrus marmalade with a spicy/peppery undertone.
Really fills the mouth, and then expands (if that is possible) with flavors that mirror the nose. The spicy/peppery quality adds real lift and vibrancy. Deep lentil, citrus and spice action flows into a ridiculously long finish. This stuff just keeps kicking out flavor.. Great idiosyncratic white wine, as usual. I love this stuff.
$45. Do yourself a favor - get a bottle or two of GV. There are inexpensive versions ($12-20) that are incredibly refreshing.
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