There's nothing better than a wine you underestimate at first whiff turning into the blockbuster you'd been hoping for before your very palate. For a variety of reasons, including a fairly single-minded application to the task of studying for the first level exam of the Court of Master Sommeliers, I haven't had much to say here, but luxuriating in the wild mushroom lushness of the Dominique Laurent 2003 Ruchottes-Chambertin, I couldn't help but write about it. Certain wines, like certain books, actually make good on their reputation, and then turn around and shock you with just how good they really are. This wine is one of them.
The nose is full of mushroom, with yellow plum and barnyard aromas woven through, but the palate has so many well-integrated notes, of hen of the wood mushrooms, blackcurrant, mace, and even a regionally perverse suggestion of tropical fruit, that the wine literally staggers the palate, without high alchohol, tannin content or aggressive fruit. It's in the finish you appreciate why the epically uneven wines of Burgundy have inspired such devotion throughout the ages. There's just a hint of wet earth and laurel leaf on the tongue, but every other nuance of flavor, from white peppper to blueberry, coats the inside of your mouth as the wine evaporates.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Flying Solo
Sometimes I like to just pick out a wine from a region that compels me, and drink it on its own. In the case of the Domaine Phillippe Tessier Cour-Cheverny "Les Sables" 2005 it was the only Cour-Cheverney I could find in a non-exhaustive search of my favorite wine stores. With a nose of fennil and melon, and a petillant palate of musk melon, green grapes and geraniums, it recalls vinho verde on the one hand, and a grassy Sauvignon Blanc on the other. Only in the brisk finish does one start to detect the 14.5% abv of this wine, which ultimately makes the wine reminiscent of a glass of prosecco wiith a shot of vodka in it, which is a little too Britney Spears for me. Nonetheless, I was surprisingly taken by this Romorantin oddity from Touraine.
For the Super Bowl last weekend, I went Mittel-European, bringing over a bottle of the Dr. L Riesling 2006, from my beloved Dr. Loosen in Mosel, and a bottle of the Kurt Angerer "Kies" Gruner Veltliner 2003. Kurt Angerer is another long time favorite of mine, and I enjoyed introducing C. to this wonderful Austrian producer. Unfortunately, Dr. Loosen's Dr. L. shares nothing but a name and a grape with his more sophisticated Mosel-Saar-Ruwer single-vineyard bottlings. While the light citric nose got me excited to taste it, the fading-violet grapefruit acidity, coupled with a saccharine grapey sweetness, made this a technically well-made empty set of a wine. If this is his Riesling for the masses, I fear the revolution. Kurt Angerer's 2003 "Kies" remains wonderful. With a nose of pistachio, and a full-bodied, slightly vanillin palate of lime zest and marcona almonds, and a roasted nut finish, coupled with lively acidity, this Gruner could stand in for a full-bodied Chardonnay in a savory pairing.
Finally, I sampled the Chateu Pipeau, Grand Cru St. Emilion 2003 this week. With a nose of African violet and asparagus, and a full-bodied, plush palate of dried cranberry, slate, sage and clove oil, and a finish of damp earth, this wine reminded me, as the Californian Carrhart Merlot recently did, that I consistently give Merlot short shrift, and did so long before "Sideways" came out. It's obviously time to challenge my preconceptions around Merlot, and I think the Right Bank will happily oblige me.
For the Super Bowl last weekend, I went Mittel-European, bringing over a bottle of the Dr. L Riesling 2006, from my beloved Dr. Loosen in Mosel, and a bottle of the Kurt Angerer "Kies" Gruner Veltliner 2003. Kurt Angerer is another long time favorite of mine, and I enjoyed introducing C. to this wonderful Austrian producer. Unfortunately, Dr. Loosen's Dr. L. shares nothing but a name and a grape with his more sophisticated Mosel-Saar-Ruwer single-vineyard bottlings. While the light citric nose got me excited to taste it, the fading-violet grapefruit acidity, coupled with a saccharine grapey sweetness, made this a technically well-made empty set of a wine. If this is his Riesling for the masses, I fear the revolution. Kurt Angerer's 2003 "Kies" remains wonderful. With a nose of pistachio, and a full-bodied, slightly vanillin palate of lime zest and marcona almonds, and a roasted nut finish, coupled with lively acidity, this Gruner could stand in for a full-bodied Chardonnay in a savory pairing.
Finally, I sampled the Chateu Pipeau, Grand Cru St. Emilion 2003 this week. With a nose of African violet and asparagus, and a full-bodied, plush palate of dried cranberry, slate, sage and clove oil, and a finish of damp earth, this wine reminded me, as the Californian Carrhart Merlot recently did, that I consistently give Merlot short shrift, and did so long before "Sideways" came out. It's obviously time to challenge my preconceptions around Merlot, and I think the Right Bank will happily oblige me.
Two by Two
Over the last few weeks, I've been trying to strengthen my apprehension of regional characteristics. What difference is there between two Grenache-based blends from the Priorat? Given it's proximity to the bottom of the Cote de Beaune, how different is a good bottling of Rully than a basic bottling of Puligny-Montrachet? How different can two full-fruited, extracted shirazs from Australia be? What distinguishes Bual Madeira from Malmsey, in the hands of an outstanding producer? My subjective impressions follow.
We're pouring the Marge Celler de l'Encastell 2004 at work right now, so I decided to pick up another Priorat bottling, the Celler Cecilio, Negre 2005, and taste them alongside each other. The Marge has a more agressive cepage, with Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah bolstering its spicy, full bodied Grenache base. The nose offers baking spices and raspberry jam, while the almost rustic palate has monstrous raspberry and cassis fruit, along with a dose of mint, which points to its secondary grapes. The finish is brooding and tannic. On the other hand, the Celler de Cecilio has a less aggressive nose, with cassis, a mild tinge of game and a grassy freshness. The tannins are plush, with a green palate of snap beans, basil and black plums in amicable balance. The carinena seems to softem the Cabernet, giving this bottle a more subtle fruit profile.
The Moillard Puligny-Montrachet is the epitome of a stately, balanced white Burgundy, with its nose of creme anglaise and stone fruits, and its creamy, banana-kissed creamy, citric palate, with a balanced acid backbone that leads into a beautiful finish of lime zest and ginger root. The Matthieu de Brully, Rully "Mollepierre" 2006 is quite the opposite. While the subtle nose suggests dill, lemon peel and even coconut, the reason for this becomes clear in its weak palate. If it tasted like anything, this wine tasted like lemon water that had been steeped with a tea-bag of oak chips. It took three days to drink, which is never a good sign.
At a Southern Wines tasting on Thursday, I had the chance to try two gigantic Shirazs. The first was the Heathcote II HD Shiraz 2005. With a rich fruity nose laced with eucalyptus, a palate of mocha dusted blueberries, and a ruby-black, extracted coloration to it, this was not a wine to trifle with. Dry enough for a marbled cut of steak, and big enough to eat with dark chocolate, I could not bring myself to spit it out, in proper fashion. The Two Hands "Bella's Garden" was also fantastic. A long-time aficianado of their wines, from the "Angel's Share" to their second label "Lucky Country" Grenache, I expected big things from this wine, and it delivered, with a nose of raspberry-filled truffles, and a meaty, horse-blanket palate of cinnamon and plums, with a definitive yogurt-like acidity, which only brought home just how chewy and creamy a wine it is.
Sampling two bottlings by the Rare Wine Co. Historic Series, I was similarly taken by both their wines. I sampled the Bual and Malmsey, and may just buy a bottle of the Sercial, just to see what they do with that grape. As Madeira proves, oxidation, like rot, is sometimes a good thing. The Boston Bual has a lovely caramel nose, with a palate of baked peaches, freshly-baked brownies and even grapefruit. Funny thing is, these disparate flavor notes come together deliciously. The sweeter New York Malmsey was the stand-out of the two, however, with a funky, toffee nose and a balanced palate of caramel, clove oil and nectarines. The long sweet finish cries out for pairing with a chocolate and nut dessert.
We're pouring the Marge Celler de l'Encastell 2004 at work right now, so I decided to pick up another Priorat bottling, the Celler Cecilio, Negre 2005, and taste them alongside each other. The Marge has a more agressive cepage, with Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah bolstering its spicy, full bodied Grenache base. The nose offers baking spices and raspberry jam, while the almost rustic palate has monstrous raspberry and cassis fruit, along with a dose of mint, which points to its secondary grapes. The finish is brooding and tannic. On the other hand, the Celler de Cecilio has a less aggressive nose, with cassis, a mild tinge of game and a grassy freshness. The tannins are plush, with a green palate of snap beans, basil and black plums in amicable balance. The carinena seems to softem the Cabernet, giving this bottle a more subtle fruit profile.
The Moillard Puligny-Montrachet is the epitome of a stately, balanced white Burgundy, with its nose of creme anglaise and stone fruits, and its creamy, banana-kissed creamy, citric palate, with a balanced acid backbone that leads into a beautiful finish of lime zest and ginger root. The Matthieu de Brully, Rully "Mollepierre" 2006 is quite the opposite. While the subtle nose suggests dill, lemon peel and even coconut, the reason for this becomes clear in its weak palate. If it tasted like anything, this wine tasted like lemon water that had been steeped with a tea-bag of oak chips. It took three days to drink, which is never a good sign.
At a Southern Wines tasting on Thursday, I had the chance to try two gigantic Shirazs. The first was the Heathcote II HD Shiraz 2005. With a rich fruity nose laced with eucalyptus, a palate of mocha dusted blueberries, and a ruby-black, extracted coloration to it, this was not a wine to trifle with. Dry enough for a marbled cut of steak, and big enough to eat with dark chocolate, I could not bring myself to spit it out, in proper fashion. The Two Hands "Bella's Garden" was also fantastic. A long-time aficianado of their wines, from the "Angel's Share" to their second label "Lucky Country" Grenache, I expected big things from this wine, and it delivered, with a nose of raspberry-filled truffles, and a meaty, horse-blanket palate of cinnamon and plums, with a definitive yogurt-like acidity, which only brought home just how chewy and creamy a wine it is.
Sampling two bottlings by the Rare Wine Co. Historic Series, I was similarly taken by both their wines. I sampled the Bual and Malmsey, and may just buy a bottle of the Sercial, just to see what they do with that grape. As Madeira proves, oxidation, like rot, is sometimes a good thing. The Boston Bual has a lovely caramel nose, with a palate of baked peaches, freshly-baked brownies and even grapefruit. Funny thing is, these disparate flavor notes come together deliciously. The sweeter New York Malmsey was the stand-out of the two, however, with a funky, toffee nose and a balanced palate of caramel, clove oil and nectarines. The long sweet finish cries out for pairing with a chocolate and nut dessert.
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