1998 Nigl Senftenberger Piri Riesling
This bottle does not show as well as one from a few weeks ago. It may be an issue of sub-optimal storage, but regardless the steely sour golden corn is a bit on the generic side and this bottle is past where I would derive more pleasure.
2006 Hubert Bouzereau-Gruère Meursault Les Tillets
Green grey minty fresh firm and juicy wine. Straightforward and not deep or complex but nicely elegant in the acidic structure (especially for the vintage) and I would buy this if it were half the price.
2007 Clos Roche Blanche Touraine Sauvignon #2
This on the other hand is a no-brainer. Starts off a bit cheesy but that blows off with air and leaves you with a refreshing chalky firm grippy mineral version of sauvignon with tons of character. Plus, one could buy four of these for one bottle of the Bouzereau and still have change. A no-brainer.
2007 Leth Grüner Veltliner Steinagrund Lagenreserve
Crisp mineral and refreshing. Nice if there are few other options and certainly respectable for a non-wine geek crowd. But doesn’t strike me as anything to hunt down.
2006 Charvin Côtes du Rhône Le Poutet
I bought this for my wife because I knew it would be exactly the kind of wine she likes. Deeply fruited but smooth and supple with some ‘refreshing’ acidic lift. Even I enjoyed it, all those ripe slippery plums and such. The only downside was the 14.5% alcohol which became slightly evident on the palate and even more so in my head. Still, fun fun fun.
2007 Valmiñor Albariño Rias Baixas
We’ve gone through a few bottles of this at parties and it is good fun. Juicy slightly peachy crisp fresh wine. Nothing less nothing more. A bit glossy as others have said, and it doesn’t have the personality of the CRB sauvignon, but fun enough at the start of the evening. Especially when there are few other options.
2006 Bruno Clavelier Bourgogne Passetoutgrain VV
Wow. Not for the faint of heart! Tart, peppery, weedy, and tight. Even I can’t really get into it.
