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.