Browse Month

June 2008

Rafa

Nadal “Avinyó” Cava Brut “Reserva” (Cataluña) – Almond, certainly, with an appealingly dry scrape to the bubbles; it’s not delicate or fine, but it is highly quaffable, with a little lagniappe of light-skinned complexity. If you’re interested. (6/08)

Yes, I sea the otter

[label]Otter Creek “Sea Otter” Baltic Porter (Vermont) – I’m not quite sure what’s “Baltic” about this, but as a Porter it’s a good one, if salty (maybe that’s it), with a range of browns and a certain malted crispness. (6/08)

Coquille

Mallo 2005 Gewurztraminer “Cuvée Saint-Jacques” (Alsace) – A surprisingly solid effort from this often-underperforming producer, with spicy intensity supported by a strewn handful of rocks; the zing helps support a structure which clings just enough to the exterior of this wine. Nicely-turned. (6/08)

David

[painting]Coudert-Appert “Domaine de la Chapelle des Bois” 2006 Fleurie (Beaujolais) – Fine-grained, soft, yet insistent and unyielding. Dark-masked fruit that retains red-fruited lightness, elegant earthiness, beautiful poise, and a beautiful finish. Goodness. (6/08)

COS, bee, show

[label]COS 2005 Cerasuolo di Vittoria (Sicily) – Reliable as hell, showing pie fruit and mixed powdered peppercorns in clay, with a not-insignificant swath of cèpe. Open, but with structure; this could age for a little while, I think. The problem is not drinking it in the interim, because it’s quite tasty. (6/08)

Amelia

Ehrhart 2004 Pinot Gris Brand (Alsace) – Steely black quartz and pyrite, with a dense lacquer of intensely-mineralistic pear and spice. Firm, intense, striking. This is served to me as a dessert wine of sorts, but the tiny bit of sugar is completely overwhelmed by structure and extract; you’ll notice it, but you won’t mind it. Should be stunning in about fifteen years. (6/08)

The fine line

[vineyard]López de Heredia “Viña Tondonia” 1997 Rioja Rosado (Center-North) – Old library plus fruitwood-smoked skins and rinds, with the memory and contextualization rather than the actual existence of fruit as it is commonly understood. Breathtakingly opinionated and highly controversial. I both love and hate it, and see no contradiction in those responses. (6/08)

Drunken stork

Mallo 2004 “Special Delivery” Pinot Blanc (Alsace) – Clean, water-washed stone fruit leaning on the lighter, crisper side of things, with a bit of citrus and a light tarragon note, but with weight and spice coalescing in the denouement. Tasty. Not complex, but quite enjoyable. (6/08)

A winged barn

[bottle]Barnard Griffin 2005 Syrah Port (Columbia Valley) – 500 ml. The problem here is that the wine is much, much more “syrah” than “port,” and I’m not sure smoky, leathery blueberry is the best canvas on which to draw sweetness and fortified intensity. It’s not at all a bad wine, and in fact the form of it is quite enticing, it’s just that the wine seems misguided from conception. Perhaps with a very carefully-selected food. Cheese, certainly, over dessert…and something that can take the sweat and toil of syrah in stride. (6/08)