Full yellow.
Nose of pineapple jelly, hazelnut, some citrus zest, pepper and mint.
Intensely pepper spicy in the mouth with acid/mineral chew immediately hitting the front teeth. Tanzer's "inner-mouth perfume" in spades. Quite rich and deep to boot, but not at all heavy. Peppermint goes long into the chewy, tactile finish. RFG. Also opened earlier today, when it showed some residual CO2 and a Riesling-like petrol character.
$35? Another gift from Sariya. Did this see some new(ish) oak? Seems like a hint, but probably not.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Colli di Lapio di Romano Clelia, Fiano di Avellino 2006
Light yellow.
Understated nose hints at something deep and rich. Reminds me of Marsanne in that sense. Pear, quince and smoke? Mint?
Fleshy and deep, with nice acid and light mineral edge. Now reminds me of Alsace. Still can't really get a handle on this - citrus, pear, petrol, iodine flavors? Interesting head scratcher with great length. Opened earlier today.
$35? Gift from Sariya J.B. who imports this into the US (Marc di Grazia). Fiano has a great reputation (apparently quite famous in Roman times). The Australians seem to like it too. Oliver's Taranga among them.
Understated nose hints at something deep and rich. Reminds me of Marsanne in that sense. Pear, quince and smoke? Mint?
Fleshy and deep, with nice acid and light mineral edge. Now reminds me of Alsace. Still can't really get a handle on this - citrus, pear, petrol, iodine flavors? Interesting head scratcher with great length. Opened earlier today.
$35? Gift from Sariya J.B. who imports this into the US (Marc di Grazia). Fiano has a great reputation (apparently quite famous in Roman times). The Australians seem to like it too. Oliver's Taranga among them.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Burgans, Albarino, Rias Baixas 2008
Straw/light yellow.
Interesting, attractive nose of nut paste, talc, pear/peach.
Ripe flavors of peach flesh with a bit of pit bitterness as a nice counterpoint. Moderate acidity and minerality give a light edge that keeps this fresh. Chewy acid/mineral finish hits the front teeth. Very good stuff.
$18
Interesting, attractive nose of nut paste, talc, pear/peach.
Ripe flavors of peach flesh with a bit of pit bitterness as a nice counterpoint. Moderate acidity and minerality give a light edge that keeps this fresh. Chewy acid/mineral finish hits the front teeth. Very good stuff.
$18
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Chateau La Fleur-Petrus, Pomerol 2006
Deep red.
Opened last night. Open-knit, very sexy aromas of hazelnut, suave oak spice (cinnamon), red and black fruit.
Very attractive middle-weight in the mouth. Bright, lifted without the density of "great" vintages, but this will be comfort drinking for many years. Significant acid/tannin synergy in the finish suggest another 4-5 years of cellaring, at least. Additional complexity the attainable goal.
$ ? (not cheap) Courtesy of Frank Bostock.
Opened last night. Open-knit, very sexy aromas of hazelnut, suave oak spice (cinnamon), red and black fruit.
Very attractive middle-weight in the mouth. Bright, lifted without the density of "great" vintages, but this will be comfort drinking for many years. Significant acid/tannin synergy in the finish suggest another 4-5 years of cellaring, at least. Additional complexity the attainable goal.
$ ? (not cheap) Courtesy of Frank Bostock.
Torbreck "The Gask" Eden Valley 2007
Saturated purple/black.
Opened last night. Very deep, but fine aromas of black olive/pepper/toasted oak/nut/bacon/menthol/melted licorice and a saline nuance. Fig and black raspberry underneath. This would be interesting in a flight of North Coast CA Syrahs.
Packed and very suave in the mouth, with alcohol a non-issue. This is FK, has real life and immense depth with no sense of weight. Moderate tannic chew in the finish keeps it real. Holy shit - this is good. And I'm not generally a huge fan of Torbreck.
$ ? (not cheap) Courtesy of Frank Bostock. Not available in the US, apparently. 15% alcohol listed.
Opened last night. Very deep, but fine aromas of black olive/pepper/toasted oak/nut/bacon/menthol/melted licorice and a saline nuance. Fig and black raspberry underneath. This would be interesting in a flight of North Coast CA Syrahs.
Packed and very suave in the mouth, with alcohol a non-issue. This is FK, has real life and immense depth with no sense of weight. Moderate tannic chew in the finish keeps it real. Holy shit - this is good. And I'm not generally a huge fan of Torbreck.
$ ? (not cheap) Courtesy of Frank Bostock. Not available in the US, apparently. 15% alcohol listed.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Les Pallieres "Les Racines" Gigondas 2007
Red/purple.
Vinturi - expressive nose - black raspberry/cherry coulis, clay/earth/hazelnut with a floral lift. PFG.
Fills the mouth, plush and loaded simultaneously, with a grainy acid/tannin edge that brings focus without impeding flavor flow.
Shows a pepper character in the mouth, that, along with slightly chewy tannin, suggests stem inclusion. Has real lift in the mouth. This is RFG and built for a long window of great drinking. Wine "life lesson" #1 - buy and drink more stuff like this.
$35. 80% Grenache, 8% Syrah, 7% Cinsaut and 5% Clairette (Very interesting, esoteric white variety that features prominently in the white wine from Vieux Telegraphe in Chateauneuf which happens to be one of the partners in this estate. The other partner is importer Kermit Lynch). Cinsaut is mis-spelled Cinsault on the back label, PFF. From a 60+ year old parcel of vines.
Vinturi - expressive nose - black raspberry/cherry coulis, clay/earth/hazelnut with a floral lift. PFG.
Fills the mouth, plush and loaded simultaneously, with a grainy acid/tannin edge that brings focus without impeding flavor flow.
Shows a pepper character in the mouth, that, along with slightly chewy tannin, suggests stem inclusion. Has real lift in the mouth. This is RFG and built for a long window of great drinking. Wine "life lesson" #1 - buy and drink more stuff like this.
$35. 80% Grenache, 8% Syrah, 7% Cinsaut and 5% Clairette (Very interesting, esoteric white variety that features prominently in the white wine from Vieux Telegraphe in Chateauneuf which happens to be one of the partners in this estate. The other partner is importer Kermit Lynch). Cinsaut is mis-spelled Cinsault on the back label, PFF. From a 60+ year old parcel of vines.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Alto Moncayo, Garnacha, Campo de Borja 2004
Very deep purple/red.
Vinturi - attractive, deep nose - coconut, savory meat stew, pepper with black fruit underneath.
Considerable textural sweetness with some mid-palate heat that throws flavors off track through the finish. Totally disjointed in the finish, where fairly strong acidity kicks in. I thought I was going to change my mind about this wine based on the nose ...
Hated my first bottle a few years ago.
$40. Chris Ringland is the consulting winemaker. 16% alcohol listed.
Vinturi - attractive, deep nose - coconut, savory meat stew, pepper with black fruit underneath.
Considerable textural sweetness with some mid-palate heat that throws flavors off track through the finish. Totally disjointed in the finish, where fairly strong acidity kicks in. I thought I was going to change my mind about this wine based on the nose ...
Hated my first bottle a few years ago.
$40. Chris Ringland is the consulting winemaker. 16% alcohol listed.
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