Last month, we had an informal evening of cards at a friend's house. Some nice and not so nice wines were opened and we enjoyed plenty of gourmet pizza goodness.
2006 Falesco Vitiano Umbria IGT. The nose on this wine is glossy smooth but not terribly complex, featuring some aromas of graphite and clay riding atop a dark cherry and Twizzler licorice core. It is kind of the same in the mouth, where it is glossy, slick and highly-stylized, but without a terrible amount of substance. Some flavors of cherry syrup carry along easily to a finish that does manage to show a bit more complexity of meaty smoky fruit. It is easy-drinking, though, and goes down smooth and rounded.
2006 Carlisle Syrah Sonoma County. The nose here is rather fine, showing a sweet and sexy character highlighted by aromas of silky raspberry fruit, dark earth, forest greenery and strong creosote. It is really lifted, bright and chirping—inviting the drinker to taste. On the palate, it is fleshy and again sweetly smoky in character, also showing off flavors of fine powdery chocolate, vanilla cream and black cherries. A bit of spice intermingles with a tiny tickle of alcoholic zing and plenty of driving acidity to carry this along to the very persistent finish, which unfortunately also shows a bitter toasty oak influence and plenty of tannin. Overall, the fruit seems more reined in than usual, but I actually like that feeling of restraint. However, I’d like to see the tannin and alcohol better integrated before trying again.
1998 Delas Freres Hermitage Les Bessards. Right off the bat, this is showing an advanced, fading color and it smells of roasted cherry fruit and caramel. These obvious signs of heat damage are a big bummer to me, as I own bottles of this wine purchased from the same source at the same time. In any event, the roasted nose also manages to show some interesting notes running beneath, such as mace, fruitcake and rough raw leather. In the mouth, it is big and forthright, with lots of dark caramel apple and sour cherry flavors supported by fine spices. However, the finish is again marred by the roasted character.
1999 Delas Freres Hermitage Les Bessards. This wine is much fresher. The really nice bouquet offers up aromas of forest greens, tobacco leaf, soft suede, rocks, spiced blueberries and sweet raspberries. It is firm and structured in the mouth, yet is fully-fruited and densely-textured. A liberal dusting of oak spices rides atop a big resounding burst of thick dark red fruit and coffee bean flavors. There is plenty of extract and layers to this, giving it a cushioned feeling. It is still somewhat youthful, though, with tannins more of an after-thought than a detraction. It offers fine drinking right now. This was my and the group’s wine of the night.
2003 Oliver Hill Shiraz Jimmy Section McLaren Vale. The nose of this wine is really glossy and seamless--with dusty briery black fruit, spiced black cherry, chocolate paste and vanilla bean aromas, but also some less modern notes of hardened bacon fat and dried grape stems. In the mouth, it is again very silky and glossy on the entry, turning more matted and chalky through the rich mid-palate. It has a certain freshness and an elegant streak that is really engaging. The fruit may be a bit monochromatic at this point, but it sure is sleek and sexy. Really polished tannins and soft acidity lend it an easy, languid feeling without excessive weight or alcohol. This is a surprisingly restrained yet luscious Aussie Shiraz that had a lot of fans on this night. It was the second-favorite wine in group voting for wine of the night.
2006 Topanga Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Khroma Alexander Valley. The nose is rather muddled here, with lots of weedy green notes like tomato leaf, forest ferns, and wet hay interfering with the core of syrupy dark cherry fruit. It is thick and rich and rather sloppy in the mouth, with fudgy, chunky tannins and not nearly enough structure or acidity to keep the chocolate and sweet cherry fruit in balance. A bit of cough syrup warmth toward the back of the palate is another strike against it, as is the shortness of the finish for a wine with so much thick fruit to offer.
2006 Bodega El Nido Clio Jumilla. This final red of the night opens with very, very strong aromas of balsa wood, peppermint dust and cedar planking that for the most part dominate the other notes of blackberry extract, chocolate paste and charcoal. It is really modern and sexed up, in a flamboyant yet silky smooth package. In the mouth, it is more medium than full-bodied. The absolutely intense and driven flavor profile is sharp-cut and sleek as an arrow, with a pure shot of sweet blackberry, black cherry, sexy spices and classy vanilla. It has a fine-grained texture all the way through and just pumps out the flavor non-stop without ever getting too thick or huge. One senses the alcohol in the wine, but it seems cool and linear rather than flabby and warm. However, it has to be said that the alcohol impact seems to grow and grow over time and the leftovers the next night are totally marred by the burn it provides going down the throat. For the first few hours, though, this is a delightful drink.
2004 La Spinetta Moscato d’Asti Vigneto Biancospino. Soft peaches, spiced apricots, litchi fruit, gentle orange blossom and dull copper aromas show a bit of age, but the result is a gentle and easy-going bouquet. In the mouth, dark peach and airy orange blossom flavors are the first things one notices. It doesn’t have a lot of mousse to it, but it does have some soft liveliness and plenty of body, with a little sweet bass note that is nice. It finishes easy and clean and is a fine quaff for the $8 that it cost.
-Michael
