Browse Month

February 2008

Castellani Anderson

Castellani 2003 Valpolicella Classico “Superiore” San Michele “Ripasso” (Veneto) – Dense and concentrated, with a good deal of ripe structure and a dried-fruit darkness at its core. Licorice over strawberry, perhaps a bit blacker at heart than a Valpolicella (even a ripasso) should be, but then that may be the vintage. Add this to the tiny handful of appealing 2003 reds from Western Europe. (2/08)

My three sons

[bottle]Perrin & Fils 2004 Côtes-du-Rhône “Réserve” (Rhône) – Imbalanced in favor of a grating tannin, leaving the spiky red fruit hard and unresolvable. Not much fun. (2/08)

Lynch(non)burg

Terres d’Avignon “Kermit Lynch” 2005 Côtes-du-Rhône (Rhône) – Smooth. A Provençal laborer dressed in his best suit, but managing to look charming rather than uncomfortably tarted up. As reliably quaffable a wine as you’ll find in the Rhône, and still at a bargain price. (2/08)

Doon messiah

Bonny Doon “Ca’ del Solo” 2005 Sangiovese (San Benito County) – Hard, then tart, then absent, with a big burst of strawberries scraped from the tongue with a rasp of tannin, giving way to a puckery sourness, and eventually skipping off to parts unknown. The loony (and unfortunately given the source, unfunny) mysticism on the label won’t save the wine from its flaws. (2/08)

January, Lefebvre airy, March

[beer & bottle]Lefebvre “Barbãr” Blonde Ale au Miel (Belgium) – I’m a lot more tolerant of unneeded sweetness hanging about the brewery than I am the winery, and so I suspect I like this fine, polished effort more than some. It’s grainy and summery, with an appealing grace note of meadow flowers. (2/08)

Lefebvre “Floreffe” Triple Ale (Belgium) – Sticky and somewhat dull, with more weight than presence. However, an important caveat: this is served at the wrong temperature, so judgment must remain reserved. (2/08)

Lefebvre “Blanche de Bruxelles” Bière Blanche (Belgium) – Silky and nicely balanced, but bringing the aromatics to the fore and leaving the core beer in the background, which might be controversial. I like it. (2/08)

Muri head

[barrel]Muri-Gries 2005 Lagrein (Alto Adige) – A baby. Very aromatic, resembling a pinot in its structure but something more akin to a cru Beaujolais/syrah blend in taste. Finely-grained and highly adaptable with food despite an initial austerity. Ultimately, quite pleasant. (10/07)

When you taste the Southern Right for the first time

Southern Right 2006 Pinotage (Walker Bay) – Big, explosive fruit that presses and shoves its way onto the palate. Dark berries and smokier chocolate notes are paired with the usual unfortunate furniture polish aromas, but here they’re more subversive than irritating, and seem to drift all the way into the background with food. I rather like this, though it’s no good as a cocktail. (2/08)

An ill Zind blows no good

Zind-Humbrecht 2002 “Zind” (Alsace) – Heavy and, truth be told, tasting very much like chardonnay grown in Alsace. The flavors are fair enough, with a heavy metallic edge to the weighty, spiced stone fruit. And there’s some acidity, balanced with a little bit of residual sugar. But mostly, it’s powerful to the point where you’ll want some sort of palate version of earplugs. (2/08)

Mallo out

Frédéric Mallo 2005 Sylvaner (Alsace) – Quite vegetal, which might not be bad in a sylvaner, but with competing edgy and softened aspects that detract from the wine. It can’t seem to figure out what it wants to be, but I suspect where it came from is underripe fruit. This might be appealing with tomato salad, but otherwise… (2/08)

Nonino, Nanette

Nonino Friuli Sauvignon Blanc Grappa (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Obvious, boisterous fruit, good balance, and nice to drink. But it’s far less interesting than grappa from many other grapes, at least from this producer. A parallel to many wines made from the same grape? Maybe. (10/07)