Browse Month

October 2007

Short names, vol. 1

[vineyard]JP Reinert 2005 Wiltinger Schlangengraben Riesling Spätlese feinherb 08 06 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) – Intense and primary. Crystals abound (organoleptically, not visually), while apple, lemongrass and a very light sweetness add their voices to the chorus. The finish is strikingly long for its rigidity; this is a wine that does not change. I think it’s going to be terrific, someday, but right now it’s a laser beam of youthful simplicity with a quartz rod rammed through its spine. (9/07)

Henri

Dubourdieu “Château Graville-Lacoste” 2005 Graves (Bordeaux) – Restrained, showing less fruit than any vintage within memory, but with a long, piercing crispness on the finish. I don’t think it’s damaged in any way, I just think it’s still too wound-up and youthful to judge. There’s a hint of green apple lingering about. (8/07)

Sing a song

[label]Laurenz V “Laruenz und Sophie” 2005 “Singing” Grüner Veltliner (Austria) – Very light and mildly pétillant, with white pepper and celery seed. In other words, classic old grüner of the quaffing type. For me, this isn’t a grape that gets interesting until it has received some patience and attention, but on the other hand I suppose I’d rather drink this than cheap chardonnay. (8/07)

Right or wrong

[label]Southern Right 2006 Sauvignon Blanc (Walker Bay) – Vivid, powerful sauvignon that nudges up against the lower barrier of stridency. Lashings of green-white fruit whip and slash the palate, with the sort of acidity intense enough to dry like tannin. This is very, very good, but it’s definitely an attention hog. (9/07)

Četrtič the entertainer

[label]Četrtič “Ferdinand” 2003 Rdeče (Brda) – Merlot & cabernet sauvignon. There’s nothing that really distinguishes this wine from its similarly-cépaged brethren from pretty much everywhere else in the world. That caveat aside, it’s quite good, with all the dark fruit (cassis, blueberry and blackberry), leather, tobacco, and firm but ripe tannin one could hope for. The acidity is perhaps a little higher than is the norm in these softening days, but that’s to the wine’s benefit. Nicely crafted, likely quite ageable, and in no way overdone. (9/07)

Zenato garden

[vineyard]Zenato 2003 Valpolicella Superiore (Veneto) – Tannic, yes, but there’s plenty of chewy, grippy purple fruit despite the tongue-drying, and even a bit of acidity lurking somewhere in the background. I still wouldn’t call it balanced, but it’s a reasonable success given that it only tastes a little bit like someone was trying to make a “super-Venetian” out of corvina. (8/07)

Altesino royale

Altesino 2003 Rosso di Altesino (Tuscany) – Impenetrably tannic and clumsy, showing charred fruit and burnt walnuts, but mostly just thick, sludgy nothingness (8/07)

The fontein of youth

[label]Diemersfontein 2003 Pinotage (Wellington) – Dense and ultra-ripe pinotage, with little of the varnish and bitterness but lots of the strident, concentrated berry fruit (mostly blueberries and dark cherries, though there are crushed blackberry seeds in there as well), given a thick and oppressive layer of chocolate and new wood. I understand the desire to do this to bad pinotage, but it seems like there was a pretty nice wine here, and the overt internationalization seems a waste of good raw materials. It’s a very good wine for those who like this style. I don’t. (7/07)

What’s passito is passito

Pellegrino 2004 Passito di Pantelleria (Sicily) – The usual muscat aromatics of perfume and flower are dominated by a keening pine sensation. The sweetness is puckered and light. Much, much better than the useless 2003. (8/07)

The lady of Charentes

[vineyard]Pierre Ferrand Pineau des Charentes “Sélection” (Cognac) – Bland, flat-aspect old plum sweetness and oxidation. It tastes utterly classic, but it’s incredibly dull. (8/07)