Heger 2005 Pinot Noir “Sonett” 9 07 (Baden) – Clean pinot fruit with lavender and microgreens. Smooth and pretty. (2/08)
Browse Month
April 2008
Summer Rheingau
Küntsler 2005 Pinot Noir (Rheingau) – Chilly clay and dark soil, with good balance. (2/08)
Maxed out
Kesseler 2002 Spätburgunder “Cuvée Max” (Rheingau) – Dill and wood, beet and cherry. Simple and too intense; it’s striking, but that’s all. Disappointing. (2/08)
Not such a little prince
Malescot St. Exupéry 2003 Margaux (Bordeaux) – Big and tannic, but reasonably balanced for all its musculature. Elegant, lush fruit, pepper, some spice and heat on the finish. Considering the vintage, this isn’t all bad. (2/08)
Dillon no deal
Dillon “Bahans Haut-Brion” 2003 Pessac-Léognan (Bordeaux) – Thick chocolate and impenetrable tannin. There’s graphite, which is a positive, and I suppose this might be good someday. (2/08)
A Beauregard for the truth
Beauregard 2000 Pomerol (Bordeaux) – Sour wood, dill, weeds, red fruit, and dust. Structurally, this is in balance, if quite dense, but the elements in balance aren’t particularly appealing. (2/08)
Can you merle?
Cantemerle 2000 Haut-Médoc (Bordeaux) – Bell pepper and tobacco, tight and in no mood to do anything but close up even more. Burnt coffee on the finish, which is long. This seems like it might possibly be balanced, but it’s very difficult to tell, as the wine’s in such a bad place right now. (2/08)
Pavie lifting
Pavie Macquin 1996 Saint-Émilion (Bordeaux) – Very tannic. Dark fruit. Closed and impossible. (2/08)
Troplong cassidy
Valette “Troplong Mondot” 1996 Saint-Émilion (Bordeaux) – Tobacco in milk, the darkest cassis, and tannin. Long. Maybe? It’s strange, though. Could just be a stage. (2/08)
Coutet d’etat
Coutet 2002 Sauternes-Barsac (Bordeaux) – Cinnamon and nutmeg. Juicy and light. To be honest, drinking Sauternes and/or Barsac at this stage is somewhat of a waste, because they never show what’s ultimately compelling about them. (2/08)