Browse Month

April 2008

Bringer of war

Font-Mars 2007 Picpoul de Pinet (Languedoc) – Clean, sharp, simple, and cheap. Hints of flowers, a good deal of citrus, but really, this is well-executed quaffing wine (4/08)

Wilfred Brimley

[logo]Young’s Oatmeal Stout (England) – Slightly bitter, nothing sticking out (or up for itself)…just basically sitting there, fitting the barest possible definition of “stout.” Ambitionless. (4/08)

Al Piceno

[bottle]Boccadigabbia 2005 Rosso Piceno (Marches) – I used to drink a lot of this. And then I stopped. I’m not sure why, and even less sure after this revisit. Here’s a broad-shouldered, spicy fruit stew of ripe berry flavor with just a dash of black pepper. Some of the edges are a little polished and rounded off, which might concern purists, but the immediate appeal of the wine is hard to deny. (4/08)

Ernie, no Bert

[vineyard]Engelbrecht Els 2004 “Proprietor’s Blend” (Western Cape) – 50% cabernet sauvignon, 23% shiraz, 12% merlot, 5% cabernet franc, 5% petit verdot, 5% malbec. Extremely thick and oaky, like a shiraz (and that’s what dominates the blend at first opening) démiglace. Recorked and left to stew in its own wood for a day, it improves, bringing forth the slightly rawer, more vegetal edge of the rest of the grapes. But it’s still soupy. Maybe a long, long time in the cellar will improve things, but I just don’t think there’s enough structure for all this Pb. (4/08)

Love in the time of Calera

[label]Calera 2006 “Dessert” Viognier (Mt. Harlan) – Sweet apricot and a lilt of tulips, clean and well-made, perhaps even refreshing, but in the end it says nothing of particular interest. (4/08)

Livermore or less

Kalin 1996 Semillon (Livermore Valley) – While it takes a while to get going, this wine is as funky and fascinating as usual; wax and candlelight, old melon and spice remnant, brass and bronze. It’s not particularly aggressive, and in fact this isn’t the best bottle of this wine I’ve had; perhaps it grew tired somewhere along the way, or perhaps something made it tired before its time. But if there’s one producer that no one ever believes is New World no matter how it’s blind-tasted, this is it. (4/08)

Tasmanian Devil

[map]Tamar Ridge “Devil’s Corner” 2004 Pinot Noir (Tasmania) – Lacking torque and substance, this exists as a kind of rough presentation of the dirty side of pinot noir; dark, under-fruited berries and some mushroomy bark. There’s nothing bad about it, except its indifference. (4/08)

A puzzle wrapped in an enigma

[label]Conundrum 2005 White (California) – Sweet and sickly, this suggests more fruit and perfume than it actually delivers. In truth, the wine is trampy and hollow, and not even enough fun to be called sluttish. (4/08)

I Fontanieu drug

Bronzo “La Bastide Blanche” 1993 Bandol “Cuvée Fontanieu” (Provence) – Band-aid and a swirling chorus of well-hung meat, meat juice, meat residue, and a dry brush of herbs. There’s still some structure, and it grows in the telling, but I’m not sure I’d hold this one any longer; the structure shed might not be replaced by anything good. (4/08)

Aïeul of the tiger

[vineyard]Pierre Usseglio 1999 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Cuvée de mon Aïeul” (Rhône) – Somewhat inaccessible. An espresso of bubblegum and angry scowling, with a lot of weight and intensity hanging out in the green room, entirely unwilling to hit the stage. This is nowhere near ready unless you like your wines with a side of pain And I don’t mean the French word for bread. (4/08)