Browse Month

January 2008

Fonseca is stronger than you

[vineyard]Fonseca 1985 Porto (Douro) – Coffee, red and black fruit, cinnamon and nutmeg. Very sweet, with good intensity and a medium-weight aspect. Parts are smoothing into maturity, but some mitigation of the extreme sweetness would be welcome. In time, in time. (1/08)

40 acres & a Meulenhof

Meulenhof 1998 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese 06 99 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) – At first crack, the petrol is rather severe. This dissipates quickly, however, leaving just a bit of petroleum alongside a crisply acidic palate with balancing bits of sweetness and skin bitterness. (1/08)

Willi the wimp

Willi Schaefer 1994 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese 06 95 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) – Blood orange and metal with mild but impossible-to-ignore oxidation, big acidity, and caramel on the finish. Damaged in at least one, and possibly more than one, way…cork, heat, premox? Maybe a little of each? (1/08)

Seltz-er

[grapes]Albert Seltz 2001 Sylvaner “La colline aux Poiriers” “Vieilles Vignes” (Alsace) – Ripe pear and orange-cream popsicle, with a spiral, starchy palate that turns syrupy on the finish. A bit sulfurous, too. This is going nowhere interesting. (1/08)

Reds

Ridge 1999 Paso Robles Zinfandel (Paso Robles) – Smoky cedar, thick and slightly hot, with concentrated blackberry cider forming a long, concentrated finish. Somewhat Scotchy, but then that’s not unusual for this bottling, which is a pretty fair effort for one of my least favorite Ridge zins. (1/08)

Old faithful

Ridge 1996 Geyeserville (Sonoma County) – Coconut and cocoa spice, with espresso and chocolate following. Big, jammy blackberry fills out the rest. This is starting to mature, though I’d like a little more fruit and a little less of the window-dressing. (1/08)

Nigl nose pliers

[label]Nigl 1997 Grüner Veltliner “Alte Reben” (Kremstal) – Ripe celery salt is present, as is Mandarin orange, but what dominates is dense salinity. An egg-white texture turns pillowy on the finish. It’s very ripe, and there’s a touch of heat to go along with a momentary fire of whole white peppercorns. Leafy and sizzling, and while the initial sensation is appealing, it’s pretty tiresome to drink. (1/08)

Pining

[bottle]Hofer “Zirbenz” Stone Pine Liqueur of the Alps (Steiermark) – Yes, it smells like pine. Less like fresh pine and more like running pine sap, but pine nonetheless. Later, it warms to fresh pine furniture in a pristine showroom, or perhaps an aromatic pine log on a fire in a wood-hewn winter cabin. Smoke and a touch of cidery molasses dot the finish, but mostly this is about that warming, fascinating pine. Absolutely fascinating. (1/08)

Solon, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodnight

Fourrier 2002 Morey-St. Denis Clos Solon “Vieille Vigne” (Burgundy) – Upfront but one-note throughout, and much that’s hidden here is likely to remain so for the next few years. The red cherry fruit is crisp and finely-honed, and it hums with persistence that’s almost amusing for the duration of it. There are hints and shadows of something darker and more metallurgical in the background, but that’s deep background at the moment. Let it rest. (1/08)