The following are some notes from a range of friends and family gatherings over the past few months:
With my in-laws:
N.V. Camille Saves Champagne Brut Carte Blanche. This wine delivers nice elegant aromas of light toast, smoke, apple, lemon peel and cream—with a little sliver of praline running beneath. It is nice and explosive in the mouth, where it delivers a solid dose of toasty, yeasty elements that lend it a mouthfilling quality that is quite rewarding. It makes a very nice impression all the way through—with its mid-weight but driven flavors of apple, pear, smoke, citrus and crème brulee that lead to a pliant finish with a gently sweet accent of caramel. I really like this producer and it is hard to go wrong with this bottling.
2009 Franck et Ingrid Bimont Saumur Cuvee Vent du Nord Domaine des Guyons. I like the aromas of wax, lanolin, lemon and lime zest, wet chalk, river rocks, white flowers, peach fuzz and a little sweet topping of yellow and green pixie stick dust that meld and work together really well here. In the mouth, it is surprisingly thick-boned and richly-textured, with a waxy sort of feel that fills the mouth with flavors of lime, smoke, lanolin, peach and wax candy. There is also a distinctive briny, sort of smoked fish oil note somewhere in there that is hard to describe—lending it a nice tang and lift, especially on the finish. This is just really tasty and is also a top-notch QPR, in my opinion.
2001 Buil & Gine Priorat Joan Gine Gine Roure Classic. The nose here is dominated by immediate aromas of cedar, eucalyptus, dried Provencal herbs, lavender, dill weed and dusty earth slowly unfolding to reveal bright red fruit and a little twist of roasted caramel. On the palate, the ratios are reversed—with the bright and lifted red cherry roll-up and kirsch fruit flavors leading the way, accented by the dried herb, cedar and dusty earth notes. It is rather savory in tone and definitely warm-fruited, with ripe tannins lending structured support to the succulent and juicy fruit. I could see holding it a few more years, but it is quite good right now, as well. I would call it a pleasant surprise.
With my in-laws and extended family visiting from California:
2009 Marchesi di Barolo Gavi. This is very light on the nose--with airy bits of mineral, lime pith, salt and green herb aromas that are crisp but a bit inconsequential, really. In the mouth, it is easy-textured and a bit softer than I would like, but surprisingly generous with its lemon, lime and mineral flavors (certainly more so than the nose might suggest). It is clean and easy, but really just something to sip on and not think too much about.
2009 Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina. This wine has a very light and decidedly floral bouquet to it—full of pretty honeysuckle, orange blossom, lime zest and yellow fruit aromas. In the mouth, it has a soft, flowery core to it, accented by mineral and citrus peel qualities. It is light-bodied, fresh and citrusy, with a gentle twang to the finish. It is a pleasing and pretty little wine to sip and enjoy on a warm evening.
2006 Domaine de la Bergerie Savennieres La Croix Picot. This was a bit of a disappointment. The aromas of earth, lemon zest, green apple, white pepper, lanolin, slate and wool are interesting but a bit flat and lacking any of the sharp, sassy qualities I was hoping for in this Savennieres. In the mouth, it is similarly flat, without much in the way of the lift one would want. The pithy, earthy flavors of white pepper, herb, wax, wool and citrus themselves are interesting enough, but the wine overall just seems to lack dimension and cut for some reason.
2009 Thomas-Labaille Sancerre L’Authentique. This wine puts out a pleasant and directed aromatic blend of lemon-lime, ocean brine, chalk dust and green apple scents. In the mouth, it is surprisingly mouth-filling and generous, but also loaded with sour lemon, green apple and grapefruit tartness. It has good persistence on the palate and offers very good short-term drinking gratification.
2008 Thomas-Labaille Sancerre Chavignol Les Monts Damnes. This is immediately more elegant and layered on the nose than the ’09 Authentique—with rather fine aromas of flowers, grapefruit, mineral, red cherry skins, lemon peel and wet chalk combining quite nicely. On the palate, it almost demands attention, with its bright vibrant acidity that carries lots of mineral, lemon-lime, grapefruit and kiwi flavors through to a long, sustained finish that shows a bit more plushness and give to it. This is a wine that enlivens the senses, delivers a lot of pleasure and pairs quite well with seafood—what’s not to like?
2004 Domaine Ostertag Pinot Gris Barriques. Even though this sees aging in barrique, the color looks too dark to me. And sure enough, the nose immediately shows signs of oxidation—with all kinds of caramel, sherry, nut and browned apple aromas. In the mouth, it is a bit sweet, with flavors of peach pit, marzipan, browned apple and sherry. I think this was heat damaged somewhere along the way.
2001 Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay Estate Bottled Santa Cruz Mountains. What a rich, smoldering personality this wine exudes—full of smoke, mineral, lemon drop, vanilla, hazelnut and leesy aromas that are echoed on the serious, dense and oily-textured palate. It is a bit on the wild side, but I like that a lot and think it is drinking extremely well right now. The smokiness paired wonderfully with a grilled cod and linguica dish. It should even continue to age a while longer, I would say.
2008 Varner Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Bee Block Santa Cruz Mountains. One finds zesty and full aromas of white pepper, cream, apple skins, wet rocks and dark smoke on the nose of this young Chardonnay. In the mouth, it is very smoky. It also sports lots of toasty spice and oak to go with tons of lovely apple and pear fruit packed to the gills with flavor. The broad, dense finish shows a lot of vanilla and cream sweetness, but the whole thing just seems to work well together with a seamless personality. To my tastes, this is considerably better and more ready to drink than the Hidden Block bottling from the same vintage.
2006 Chateau Moncontour Vouvray Demi-Sec. I like the nose here a good deal—showing strong aromas of struck flint, smoke, lemon, peach pit and a bit of wooly funk. It is barely demi-sec in the mouth, with just a hint of graham cracker, peach, apricot and brown sugar sweetness to it. It has a nice fleshy quality to it and plenty of glycerin density accented by a nice edge of acidity that keeps it enticing and finely-delineated. I like it a good deal.
Clearly spending too much time with the in-laws dinner #3:
2010 Proprieta Sperino Coste della Sesia Rosa del Rosa. The aromas of blood orange, cantaloupe, strawberry, licorice rope and mineral are at once kind of pretty but also sort of gutsy, as well. It is well-balanced in the mouth, showing a good deal of cool poise amid an energetic push of strawberry, citrus and mineral flavors. There’s an easy holistic feel to this wine, with direct flavors, good energy and tasty tangy fruit. A real solid QPR.
2010 Uriondo Bizkaiko Txakolina. This wine sports a very clear, almost transparent color, but the nose is full of lime zest, green apple, seashell and chopped green herb aromas. In the mouth, it is exceedingly bright and moderately spritzy in personality, with a flavor profile of green apples, lime, kiwi and ocean brine elements. It is certainly tart and just a tad sour, but fun and lively and an excellent pairing with our seafood starters.
2009 Bastianich Friulano Adriatico. This proved to be a rather versatile wine across a whole range of dishes. It offers a pleasingly fresh-smelling nose of lemon, wet stones, crushed shells and wispy bits of honeysuckle. It starts out in the mouth a tad simple and direct with its flavors of mineral and lemon, but it really starts to expand and flesh out with time and air. The entry stays pretty linear, but it fans out nicely in the bigger-bottomed mid-palate, where it shows off denser and more complex flavors of white peach, animal cracker dust, almond and lime. It turns a bit bitter at times on the mineral and almond-tinged finish, but otherwise it is quite interesting, tasty and food-friendly. I bought some more and will be curious to follow it into next summer at least.
2004 Chateau de Maligny Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume. The nose here is rather tight and more or less straightforward—showing some stoniness to go with aromas of chalk, herb and lemon juice. I like it a bit more in the mouth, where it shows a good amount of acidic verve and bite to the lightly-styled flavors of sour lemon, wet stones, lemon meringue and wet chalk. The problem is that it never seems to really dig deeper for more depth of flavor, and somehow it just seems to lack much in the way of aristocratic character. It was pretty decent with our seafood paella, but I was hoping for a better overall showing, I guess.
1994 E. Guigal Hermitage Blanc. This wine has been in my cellar since release and thankfully it appears plenty healthy, with a fine yellow-gold sheen to it. On the nose, it is enjoyably complex and layered at this stage—full of nuts, toasted bread, waxy lemon rind, soft oak, apple and graphite aromas that are both earthy and lightly honeyed. In the mouth, it is full and rich and leesy-textured—with all kinds of mineral notes layered in between the complex flavors of toasted hazelnut, coconut slices, prickle pear, honey, light caramel and wood smoke. It is definitely a lot mellower and not quite as powerfully-driven as I remember it being in its youth, but I have to admit I admire the way it has aged. The slightest bit of oxidative notes do begin to show with some air, so I’d probably recommend drinking up fairly soon, though.
2000 La Rioja Alta Rioja Vina Ardanza Reserva. This Rioja is still pretty darned youthful, with the nose dominated by notes of peppermint dust and eucalyptus from the American oak treatment. But there are also some really interesting aromas of vanilla wafer cookie, blue and purple berries and a solid bit of iron filing type of notes to keep it moderately grounded. I don’t think it would be everybody’s cup of tea, but I am a sucker for it and really enjoy sniffing it over the course of several hours. In the mouth, it again shows a lot of peppermint dust, as well as some vanilla and oak spicing. But it also greets the taster with a solid wave of tangy blue and purple fruit, iron and rust bits that I like, especially since they are delivered over a silky-textured, medium-weighted framework. Tannins are present, but seem mostly contained until closer to the end of the evening. For me, it is very tasty and really enjoyable but I suspect it will appeal to a wider audience in 4-6 years’ time.
2006 Schafer-Frohlich Riesling Spatlese Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg Nahe. The nose here is fairly open and expansive, with lovely aromas of peach, Fuji apple, lime rind, blue slate and petrol. A lot of those same elements carry through to the palate, where one finds delicious flavors of white peach, apricot, cherry, green grapes, slate and pekoe tea in a woven texture that works quite nicely. The finish is a bit more fruit cup sugary, but otherwise the wine has good energy and focus and appropriate sweetness levels for my taste. This was a really good showing and I’m quite happy to have more of this in the cellar.
Camping in Vermont and hanging out with friends:
2010 Martin Codax Albarino Rias Baixas Burgans. Pale colored, this wine shows light and crisp aromas of lemon-lime, seashells, chalk dust, green herbs and cantaloupe. It is much the same in the mouth, where it offers easy refreshment and fun character—with flavors of lime, toasted orange peel, river stones and chopped herbs. Light, kind of zesty and vibrant, it is a nice summer quaffer.
2004 Klein Constantia Sauvignon Blanc Estate Wine Constantia. This wine shows off nice, summery aromas of lemon, lime, herbs, graphite and jalapeno pepper that are clean and pleasing and not at all too tart. In the mouth, it doesn’t seem all that much like a traditional new world Sauvignon Blanc to my taste, but it is quite tasty in its own way. It shows well-balanced acidity, harmonious fruit flavors, and a little bit of fun spritziness on the finish. Although it is clean and refreshing, it shows good density of tree fruit and stony flavor through the mid-section. It is easy to like.
2009 Domaine Lafage Vin de Pays des Cotes Catalanes Cote Est. Here one finds an extremely aromatic wine, redolent with a mixed bouquet of flower aromas atop scents of peach, cantaloupe and pears—almost showing some light Viognier character to my way of thinking. It displays a bit of sweetness in the mouth, with a surprisingly well-knit texture and flavors that echo the aromatic notes. This is fun and shows some unusual qualities to keep things interesting.
2007 Sakonnet Vineyards Gewurztraminer Estate Southeastern New England. This is a pale, light color for a gewurztraminer, and indeed the nose is a lighter, mellower version of the grape, as well—featuring airy aromas of fruit cup, white pepper, chalk and brown spices. In the mouth, it is more acidic and less overtly sweet than most, but still showing plenty of juicy peach and fig fruit flavors and a late burst of spiciness. Although my wife was not a big fan, I was decently impressed with this wine from Rhode Island.
2005 Huet Vouvray Clos de Bourg Demi-Sec. Wow, this is just excellent. I sometimes can struggle with young Huet wines (especially the Sec cuvees), but this is drinking great right now, in my opinion. First off, the nose is gorgeous—showing off a huge range of lanolin, pink grapefruit, honey, citrus rind, lemonball candy, vanilla cream, steel wool and river rock aromas at various times throughout the evening. In the mouth, it is smooth, slippery and finely-toned, but also grippy and wonderfully bottom-weighted at the same time. The apple, pear, green fig and brown spice flavors have a mouthwatering quality to them due to the fine, lifted acidity present throughout. It seems barely demi-sec at this stage, but I do very much like the sliver of sweetness one finds in it. Overall, there is a lot going on and it takes one on a very nice journey over the course of several glasses. I think the finish still needs some time to fan out a bit, so it makes sense to hold off on this a few years, but really who can wait? I wish I owned a whole lot more.
2009 Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly. This young wine sports a very fruity and unpleasantly candied nose of dark cherries, sweet raspberry paste, pencil shavings and Razzle candies that are further marred by a streak of rubber I find quite distracting. It is not much better on the palate, where it shows a lot of up-front and primary warm red fruit and more alcoholic warmth than I would like. It has good body and a very smooth texture, but I just don’t like the flavor profile—at least not for current consumption.
2001 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. I find this to be an earthy, meaty sort of red on the nose--with smoky aromas of graphite, slate, black cherry, blackberry, cocoa powder, cedar, toasted bread and scorched earth combining together nicely. That smoky, scorched earth character carries onto the palate, which also shows off notes of black cherry, currants, dark chocolate, tar and damson. It is brawnier than I would have expected at this age, but the somewhat pinched and sour-tinged finish that it sometimes flashes suggests to me not to wait too long on it, either. For current drinking, though, it is surprisingly solid.
-Michael