Schloss Gobelsburg, Gruner Veltliner (Trocken=Dry), Gobelsburger 2007

Platinum/straw.

Vibrant earth/citrus nose - lentil, lemon/lime/grapefruit, pepper.

Really zesty/minerally in the mouth, with just enough "give" (slight residual sugar?) to balance and give depth of fruit, though this leads with lentil flavor followed by serious citrus/(white) pepper action. Pure, bright and intensely flavored. Mineral chew coats the front teeth first, then the whole mouth. Folks that love NZ SB will dig this more... Killer. White pepper just keeps kicking.

$17 screwcap

Walter Hansel "Cahill Lane Vyd" Pinot Noir RRV 2006

Light red.

Great, round, deep nose - sumptuous black cherry, earth, hazelnut, brown sugar, meat drippings.

Round and plush, with an acid/sulphide-edge that provides clarity. A bit dis-jointed currently, with some heat showing. Nevertheless, it's difficult not to enjoy this. Better with duck.

$45

Vieux Donjon, Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2003

Dull, lighter red.

Old-school nose - various nut liqueurs, kirsch, blood/iron. There's nothing fresh (vintage?) here, just deep and loaded.

Round and mouth-filling, with acidity slowly creeping in, but not dominating. Tannin eventually asserts itself. With a bit of air, deep flavors of cherry jam, nuts and iron emerge. There's no fat here, no plush fruit, from the mid-palate on. Grilled meat aromatics in the empty glass.

Day 6 - Amaretto, cherry jam, earth/truffle aromas now. Plush, intense and deep. Spicy cherry jam, roasted garrigue and an ineffable earth/spice/fruit/iron finish. Quite chewy, but nothing that some roasted meat can't handle.

$50

Mas des Dames "La Dame" Coteaux du Languedoc 2006

Red/purple.

Slightly wild Languedoc nose - musky herbs, savory nut action with raspberry underneath.

Round and grenache-y, with nice red fruit character (very fresh) and lively acidity. Licorice also. More tightly knit than the '05, but good action. Absolutely no fat here, juicy and lean with lots of flavor follow-through. I'm sure this will be better with 2-4 years of cellaring.

Day 2 - Epiphany - haven't had a kiwi in years, but that's one of the aromatic components here. Great nose, all over the place.

Day 8 - No kidding. Deep meat and fresh herb (thyme?) nose is saucy and vibrant. Just stupidly good. Deep, round and still vibrant (how?). Finishes with firm acid/mineral/tannic chew. Totally FK. If you want something interesting and ever-changing in the glass, reds from quality producers in the Languedoc may be the best bets on the planet.

$17, 50% Grenache, 30% Carignan, 20% Syrah

Frescobaldi "Nipozzano" Riserva, Chianti Rufina 2005

Saturated purple/red.

Very deep black fruit and earth aromas - raspberry, shoe polish, blood/iron, root vegetable, hazelnut - are also quite pure.

Really packed in the mouth as well, with mid-palate stuffing more than matching very strong acidity. Slight heat, but nothing crazy. Acid/mineral structure coats the front teeth. Was not expecting this. RFG. Long, subtle raspberry/iron/mineral finish.

$30? Gift

Alonso del Yerro, Ribera del Duero 2003

Red/purple.

Smoky oak, raspberry jam, oak spice nose.

Round, saline/grainy impression in the mouth, with raspberry character following from the nose. Increasingly acid-dominant constriction mid-palate to finish. From Burgos, a cool sub-region of RdD, with Stephane Derencourt consulting.

Day 3 - Much deeper nose now - raspberry coulis, nut liqueur, woodsy/oak spice, savory meat. Round impression immediately tempered by strong acidity. I get strong suggestions of VA, but I think I'm wrong. The wines from Atauta, which is also from Burgos (I think), routinely give the same impression. Nevertheless, the acid is spiky here.

$28, 100% Tempranillo

Havens, Hudson Vyd, Syrah (Carneros) 2000

Purple/red.

Deep, sumptuous nose- breakfast sausage, roasted oak, wilted herbs, toasted nut. Could be a ripe vintage of Cote Rotie.

Round and mouth-filling, with a saline/acid-edge at the perimeter. A very plush middle-weight, seamless, with flavors following from the nose start to finish. Long, smoked meat finish. RFG.

Day 3 - Now shows a deep, very ripe tomato aromatic aspect. Smoke/meat character in the background. Very deep and smoky in the mouth, retains its acid edge. I remember asking Havens about Kongsgaard's Hudson Vyd. Syrah (long maceration, high pH). He doubted it would age well. Thought he was wrong at the time, but I have learned that he may be correct.


$40

Clarendon Hills, Hickinbotham Vyd., Syrah, Clarendon 2002 (Australia)

Red/purple.

Deep, meaty nose. Fig/earth/toasted nut.

Huge volume in the mouth, almost matches the Kangarilla Grenache, just deeper but not as flamboyant. Definite raspberry coulis flavor. Goes the distance, too. No complexity to speak of. Acidity is moderate. Fun, deep stuff, but the Three Hills runs circles around it.

$50

Three Hills, Shiraz, Margaret River 2002 (West Coast Australia)

Purple/red.

Earth, deep black fruit, leather, white pepper/juniper/floral nose. Covers all the bases.

Deep and even in the mouth, packed, but nothing out of place. Moves seamlessly - mid-palate to finish. Slight heat. Doesn't show as much lift in the mouth. But it is long and subtle, with pepper echoing.

Day 3 - This really is interesting - it has all the fruit richness you'd want, but delivers high notes as well as bass. Just stupidly good. Not sure if Three Hills is still imported..

$40

Caparzo, Brunello di Montalcino 1997

Opaque red.

Hot bricks, leather, cherry jam/earth/truffle .... nose. Killer.

Loaded mid-palate flesh, round, with leather/earth flavors. Then intensely linear, with acidity completely dominating finish. Leather and spice notes sail on.

Gift (Mike and Bonnie Irwin) $50?

Paitin, Sori Paitin, Vigne Vecchia, Barbaresco 1999

Deep red.

Deep hazelnut liqueur, earth/truffle, cherry liqueur, menthol nose.

Deep, linear, flavors of menthol, licorice, balsa. But greeted by an unexpectedly plush mid-palate. Just stupidly good.
Long, chewy, teeth-coating finish.... Another wine demonstrating the value of vineyard work.

Day 3 - Charcoal central nose, in fact, I get a little cherry jam, but nothing else. Fat and plush, for any Nebbiolo-based wine. But I'm not seeing much delineation of flavor.

$40

Marcassin "Zio Tony Ranch" Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2004

Straw/yellow.

Caramel, sea salt, creme brulee, lemon nose.

Deep, loaded, palate-impression shows some heat. Huge mineral impact on the front teeth. It is interesting - these wines are routinely attacked for being "out of control", "too big"- you name it. The fact is that they demonstrate a massive investment in vineyard management/attention to detail that their detractors don't have the guts/will to match. You don't get this depth of flavor solely from barrels or "over-ripe" fruit, not to mention sitting on your butt.

But I digress - massive, yet restrained, mineral, caramel, salty/briny, lemon chew. Huge mid-palate. Don't mistake a lack of concentration for "purity". The vinous equivalent of "show me the money"? - "show me the concentration/guts".. But that's where the tough stuff starts.

$80

Clarendon Hills, Kangarilla, Grenache 2001

Red.

Juniper/eucalyptus/mint/Andes mint, deep raspberry coulis nose.

Killer roundness, slightly sweet texturally. Way more packed than the Blewitt Springs - huge mid-palate material. I get an even structural load here, tannin/acid. This kicks ass. Still.

Day 4 - Again, the nose is quite similar. More lifted mint character. Ditto in the mouth, just huge volume, but showing some heat now. I've always thought that these wines saw tight filtration, possibly some fermentable RS left. But it fits right in thanks to strong acidity.

$40

Clarendon Hills, Blewitt Springs, Grenache 2001

Light red.

Toasted hazelnut, Chambord and salt-water taffy nose.

Round and utterly sweet palate-impression, with building, side-teeth acid constriction. Very light on its feet, but delivers impressive, but currently bound up, flavor intensity. Cherry liqueur too. Expanding with air, but still dominated by its acid-driven structure. Long and subtle red fruit, saline finish.

Day 4 - Similar nose with a tomato aspect thrown in, subduing direct raspberry fruit character. Similar in the mouth, too. Still bound up by acid structure, now veering into the "mineral" camp.

Where is this stuff going? Incredibly opulent on release.

$40

R Wines "Chris Ringland" Ebenezer, Barossa Valley, Shiraz 2006

Saturated purple.

Creamy vanilla, coconut and deep, amorphous, black fruit nose.

Deep, plush palate impression, with coconut flavor as point man. Then acidity kicks in that is completely at odds with the other components. Shiraz is not a high-acid variety in a warm climate. 'Nuff said. But there's great raw material here, so this pulls off a single to right field. Should have homered this fat pitch to left field.


$26

Selbach-Oster, Zeltinger Schlossberg, Riesling, Spatlese 1999

Light yellow.

Discreet nose - petrol, peach pit, vanilla/cream nose. Quite fresh. A slightly pungent "mineral" note, too.

Sweet flavors of peach are immediately, and increasingly, focused by mineral cut. Very interesting to see the initial breadth of flavor whittled down to a fine, intense, point. Tart apple and mineral finish. Long and chewy. Make that very, very long and chewy. Even a note of iron now.

$25?

Gourt de Mautens, Rasteau 1999

Deep, murky, red.

Smoke/embers, spicy red and black fruit, licorice nose.

Deep and sweet texturally, showing a bit of heat, but nothing crazy. Very concentrated, with a dry, grainy chew. Not refined, but loads of depth. I doubt the tannin will ever integrate (this thing will always be rustic), but plop a lamb shank on the table and you'll be happy.


$40

Finca Sandoval, Manchuela (Spain) 2002

Deep purple.

This shows considerable oak influence as well, but, again, it works - smoked meat, hazelnut liqueur, dried fig/date and earth nose. More suave than the Pintia.

Creamy depth in the mouth, with no hard edges, but a firm acid/tannin synergy. Lacks the volume/flesh of riper vintages, but hardly a "loser". Nice length.

Day 5 - Completely integrated nose, deep, sumptuous. Ditto in the mouth, save for edgy acidity. Rocks.

$35. 91% Syrah, 9% Mourvedre

Pintia, Toro (Spain), 2002

Deep purple/red.

Huge oak influence, but it works - toast/char, meat, earth, discreet red fruit nose.

Round and dense entry, with surprising depth of flavor and even some complexity. Oak char/spice action dominates, but there's some herb too that keeps it interesting. Better than it should be, if you read/care about vintage charts.

$45

Mogador 2002 Priorat (Spain)

Red/purple.

Toasty/shoe polish, nut, spiced red rasp/cherry nose. Intense, bright.

Round and urgent (Tanzer-ism) simultaneously, with strong acidity driving from the sides of the teeth. Not as deep as usual, as might be expected given the year, but still has intense, lean, red fruit flavors through the mineral-laden finish. Even has a Bordeaux-like green nuance that I remember seeing in the '97. I have no idea what to do with this, but it seems like it could unwind a bit more with 2-4 more years in the bottle.


$45

Les Grands Chenes, Cru Bourgeois, Medoc 2005

Purple/red.

Interesting - toast, brine, deep, perfumed, black fruit and oak spice/cinnamon nose. The saline note reminds me of the '99 Paloma Merlot.

Deep, plush and a bit grainy, but more giving than I would have expected in the mouth. Brine/saline repeats and runs the court, start to finish. I associate this character with reduction (opposite of oxidized) in a massively structured red. It will be very interesting to watch this develop (or not). The '99 Paloma was/is huge, but hasn't budged, probably never will.

Day 4 - Similar nose, but the perfume here suggests that this will indeed expand/develop. This is remarkabley refined and deep for the $$. I doubt this will be easy to locate if you want to buy more... RFG.

$25

Turley, Zinfandel, Moore "Earthquake" Vyd., Napa Valley 2005

Purple/red.

Deep woodsy (oak?), pepper, citrus sauce, meaty nose.

Loaded in the mouth, but lacks the LC's purity. Citrus shows here too, along with corresponding zest chewiness. Intense and powerful, but dis-jointed, currently.


$45

Linne Calodo "Cherry Red" 2006 Paso Robles

Red/purple.

Nicely refined, pure nose - spicy red fruit, balsa and earth.

Round, mouth-filling and texturally sweet, with great balsa perfume and sweet/spicy red fruit balanced by strong acidity. I actually prefer LC's Zin blends to the red Rhone action. RFG.

$50. 64% Zin, 18% each Mourvedre and Syrah.

Coulon "Boisrenard" Chateauneuf du Pape 2001

Red/purple.

Deep clay/earth, herb, iodine, licorice, shoe polish and chocolate nose.

Round, dense, packed impression in the mouth - black cherry sauce, licorice, menthol and huge spicy earth flavors. Grainy/chewy texture is not abrasive. FK. This will drink well for years, nowhere near its peak. Increasingly structured as it airs.

Day 4 - Really deep, reduction sauce nose - raspberry, meat drippings and oak spice. Ditto for depth in the mouth - now shows huge clay/earth character. Absolutely loaded.

$60

Marcassin, Marcassin Vineyard, Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2001

Dullish red.

Nut, sea breeze, spicy red cherry and earth nose.

Round and mouth-filling, with a fairly hard edge of acidity/sulfides. Doesn't really come alive, showing little fruit or complexity. Dis-jointed finish too, which shows some heat. We'll see...

Day 4 - Fresh herb (oregano?), clean earth and deep cherry nose. Better integration and flavor follow-through, acidity still stiff in the finish. Who knows, maybe this just needs several more years in the bottle?

$120