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TN: Henri Lacoste

Dubourdieu “Château Graville-Lacoste” 2002 Graves (Bordeaux) – Verbena, fennel fronds, powdery grey earth and graphite with intense gooseberry and grapefruit rind. Crisp and sharp, with the edges retracted but unfiled. This is in a terrific place right now, though it certainly could age a while longer; there’s all the primary razor-edge fruit, but some nicely-developing baritone complexities as well. (3/07)

TN: Solane, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodnight

Solane “Clos de Crabitan” 2000 Ste-Croix du Mont (Bordeaux) – Sweaty mold on a perspiring peach, with a borderline-pleasant rot dominating a lightly-sweet, gentle expression of yellow stone fruit. Eventually, the lack of balancing acidity becomes tiresome. OK in small doses, but it could certainly be better: more wine, or less botrytis. Definitely more crispness. (3/07)

TN: Beer me

[bottle]Avery “The Reverend” Belgian-Style Quadrupel Ale (Colorado) – This is outstanding. Weight and intensity married, with enough thick, bracing, spiced stone fruit to carry the alcohol. It’s a powerful brew, but it’s complete and polished in every respect…a terrific exemplar of the style, and most likely the best I’ve ever had from a domestic brewery. (3/07)

Avery “Hog Heaven” Barleywine-Style Ale (Colorado) – Dark, thick and Scotch-like, with toasted old wood, French press coffee, baked plum and cherry stems leading to a malty, but round and mouth-filling finish. Nicely executed, and very polished. (3/07)

Rock Art “Ridge Runner” Barley Wine Ale (Vermont) – The aroma keeps sending me back to the label to make sure this isn’t a lager. Strange. There’s palate-deadening weight, bringing with it dried espresso residue and an old maple-syrup wash, but everything’s a bit hollow. (3/07)

d’Achouffe “La Chouffe” Belgian Golden Ale with Spices (Belgium) – Light in every respect, as if pushed through a filter, except one: the alcohol, which sticks out to an unpleasant degree. There needs to be more intensity if it’s going to carry that much burn. (3/07)

Dupont “Foret” Organic Saison Ale (Belgium) – Bright and summery, showing a good weight and pleasantly abrading hops. It finishes a little flat, though, like stale pre-ground white pepper. (3/07)

Le Baladin “Wayan” Saison Style Ale with Spices (Italy) – Hoppy and crisp, with unintegrated spice notes and a firm, monotone core that feels more like a Trappist than a saison. Despite being a little odd, it’s reasonably tasty. (3/07)

TN: Drawing a Blanck

[label]Blanck 2002 Gewurztraminer Altenbourg (Alsace) – Completely closed, to the point where it almost seems corked. At least an hour of air (decanting a gewurztraminer!) is necessary to bring it out, but it still doesn’t show the full spectrum of goodness that it carried in its youth. There’s a dry minerality underneath a juicy, pineapple and peach juice…thick but not sticky, despite a very mild amount of sweetness…and this minerality, along with almost surprising acidity, really comes to the fore on the finish. It’s a very good wine in resentful stasis, and needs some time to re-emerge. Five years, at least. (3/07)

TN: Tone Madeloc

Gaillard/Baills “Domaine Madeloc” 2004 Banyuls “Cirera” (Roussillon) – Unsurprisingly, this is a fairly fruit-forward Banyuls. It shares a generally absent nose with a lot of its counterparts, but makes up for it with a rich, sticky-sweet cherry and milk chocolate palate. The cocoa turns darker on the finish, along with some espresso bean, and things stick around for a while (emphasis on “stick”). It’s a good enough wine, a pretty fair bargain, and much better than so many of the over-oxidized versions cranked out by the area’s cooperatives and touristy cellars, but other producers (Parcé, Rectorie) prove that more complexity is achievable. (3/07)

TN: XXX

Thiriez “XXtra” Farmhouse Ale (Flanders) – Quite hoppy, with wheat and corn and a good deal of backpalate bitterness. Malty and herbal. Not very interesting, despite all this. (3/07)

TN: Schaefer of paper

Willi Schaefer 2004 Riesling 01 05 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) – Silty and lightly sweet, with a prickly light-bodied aspect and a mild finish. Light purity. (3/07)

TN: Sweet 48th parallel (North American BWE notes…the sweet stuff)

Blossom 2002 Riesling “Select Late Harvest” (Okanagan Valley) – Fat peach and soft apricot with sweet grapes and Juicy Fruit™ gum. Too fluffy and blowsy. (2/07)

Anthony Road 2004 Vignoles Trockenbeerenauslese “Martini Reinhardt Selection” (Finger Lakes) – Grapey and quite acidic, with peach blossoms and clementines predominating. Simple, clean fun. Painfully sweet. (2/07)

TN: Bubble bubble

[logo]Laurent-Perrier Champagne Brut (Champagne) – Sharp and ungenerous, with dried lemon extract, apple skin, and a papery texture. (3/07)

Westport Rivers 2001 Brut “Cuvée RJR” (Southeastern New England) – Leaner than previous vintages, with light toasty/leesy aromas sizzling under a wan apple and walnut palate. Finishes a bit flat. (3/07)