Browse Month

March 2007

TN: Carr talk

Joseph Carr 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) – A charred oak mess. I don’t know if this reflects bottle variation vs. a previous bottle, or if I was just crazy at the time, but this is just ugly. (3/07)

TN: Matisse

[label]Diemersdal “Matys” 2004 “Dry” Red (Durbanville) – Good, approachable red and black fruit, with a darker-toned juice component and some cedary aromatics. Supple, but not overly so, and it’s by no means unexpansive.. A fine value wine. (3/07)

TN: The Pennautier is mightier than the sword

[vineyard]Lorgeril “Pennautier” 2004 Cabardès (Languedoc) – Dark, brooding and just a bit bretty, with juicy black fruit and scraping tanning forming a halfpipe around wet acidity. It’s structured enough to age, and would seem to need it as things aren’t really all that together at the moment, but I wonder if there’s enough raw material to reward the effort. My inclination is to say yes, but it’s no sure thing. (3/07)

TN: Vista print

[bottle]Sierra Vista 2003 Zinfandel (El Dorado) – Dried wild berries, thorns, brambles and briars, with a black-stone foundation. Simple, but speaking of both grape and place with clarity. (3/07)

TN: Maréchal law

[vineyard]Maréchal 2004 Bourgogne “Cuvée Gravel” (Burgundy) – Soft and warm in every way you’d want a red Burgundy to be, with gentle red fruit, earthspice, a background hum of animal-scented organics, and a blatantly seductive finish. There’s enough organoleptic maturity and rim bricking that I’d drink this sooner rather than later. (3/07)

TN: It’s not easy being green

Anselmo/Mendes “Andreza” 2005 Vinho Verde Alvarinho (Portugal) – Lime, lemon and grapefruit with a razor-spritz of acidity. Fresh and lively, this wine brightens up the room and the palate at the same time. As befits a varietal alvarinho, however, it does it with more force and intensity than is typical from the appellation. (3/07)

TN: Brew moon

[label]Unibroue “La Fin du Monde” (Québec) – Rich, redolent and spicy, with a creamy old stone fruit texture and moderate, tingly sweetness. There’s a vague metallic edge that I don’t recall from this beer in the past. The first sign of decline under the new megacorporate regime, or just a momentary lapse? I guess we’ll see. (3/07)

Unibroue “Éphémère” (black currant) (Québec) – This different-every-year brew is usually interesting, but this is a particularly tasty variation. Think of it as a sort of half-heated imitation of a lambic, with the fruit more obviously added rather than integrated, but not possessing the irritating sweetness that ruins so many fruit-enhanced brews. Instead, there’s a good crispness that lends a sour-toned balance to the beer. (3/07)

Brasserie du Bocq Blanche de Namur (Belgium) – Spiced and thready, with a detergent froth of spice and white plum. A little more “flavored” than these things can sometimes be, but certainly a fine exemplar of the style. (3/07)

TN: Water over Gold

[vineyard]Goldwater 2005 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) – Well-cooked green asparagus and old pear, with souring acidity. This is still good, but it lacks the complexity it possessed when it came from the Dog Point vineyard. It’s more basic and direct these days, not that directness isn’t a virtue on its own. (3/07)

TN: On the Rocas

San Alejandro “Las Rocas” 2001 Garnacha “Viñas Viejas” (Calatayud) – Iron, dried blood and black chanterelle with a beautiful silken graphite texture and the memory of dark fruit. Gorgeous and fully mature. (3/07)