Browse Month

July 2008

The five stages of Grivot

Grivot 1998 Échezeaux (Burgundy) – Dark cherry…but gently, gently, with hints of darker fruit, and then suggestions of lighter fruit as well. Plus, one can’t forget the morels…succulent, perfectly ripe; these are pure-essence-of-the-forest morels brooding in dark, delicious toxicity. But it’s the texture that matters here. Satin. The darkest, richest, most royal satin. The cynical might even call it a little slick and smoothed over. But why ruin the experience via negative predispositions? (8/07)

Break the Habert

Chidaine 2005 Montlouis Clos Habert (Loire) – Big fruit in a brown-paper package wrapped a little too tightly with twine, to the extent that the result is a little suffocated and awkwardly inward-facing. Fine elements are on display – rainwater and chalk, Makrut lime, subtle hints of ginger and Pepino melon – but “primary” understates the case. Revisit in some yet-to-be-determined number of decades. (8/07)

Free Radikon

Radikon 2002 Venezia Venezia Giuli “Oslavje” (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Controversial…and, of course, halfway to opaque with unfiltered goodness. There’s a light sweetness (which may instead be deceptively ripe fruit, or even something else; I’ve given up technical analysis on wines of this type) that’s quickly overwhelmed by a strong shower of pine needles – both the aroma and the tactile sensation – that almost, but don’t quite, edge into Pine-Sol territory. Spiced and candied oranges intrude somewhere in the mix as well, though their precise points of entry and departure remain elusive. I kind of love it, but not everyone at the table does. (8/07)

Brücken record

Dönnhoff 2005 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese 99 06 (Nahe) – From magnum. I regularly adore this wine, and 2005 is not only no exception, it’s a standout. The nervosity is simply brilliant, with a finely-honed poise between structure and ripe white-yellow fruit as the foundation for a succulent, enticing sweetness. Very, very primary, but with wonders to spare. (8/07)

Prince

Charles Heidsieck 1985 Champagne Brut “Charlie” (Champagne) – Salted driftwood and subconscious sharpness; the aggression is implied more than delivered, leaving ripe apple and lemon of striking purity naked and exposed. But all around is a structure of sparkling crystal, glinting and shifting and refracting. It’s a gorgeous…nay, frankly majestic wine that manages to be that rarity among bubblies, and still ineffably Champagne. (8/07)

Putting the Billecart before the horse

Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut “Réserve” (Champagne) – Dry, almost parched, with windblown fruit buffeted and eroded to a featureless grey-white. There’s an internal anger here, barely restrained, that snarls loudest on the biting finish. A very particular bubbly. (8/07)

He knows

Edmunds St. John 2002 Syrah “The Shadow” (California) – One corked bottle, one soupy bottle (that I had; there may have been more), but the rest are as terrific as expected, with a rare balance of primary and developing syrah characteristics buoyed by fine structure and the orchestral tune-up that precedes complexity, For now, it’s still closed down, or at least in much need of a slower-paced awakening if one must drink it now. But it’ll be far better in a half-dozen years, or so. (8/07)

Where’s Moneypenny?

Quintas de Melgaço 2006 Vinho Verde Alvarinho “QM” (Portugal) – There’s plenty of fizz here, to the extent that more than a few casual drinkers wonder aloud if this isn’t a sparkling wine. But the aggressive pétillance gives it verve and vivacity, and the limestone, lemon-lime and chalk palate is wonderfully crisp, mineral-driven and exciting. Joe Perry calls this “the DRC of Vinho Verde,” and while I’ve had other serious and studied wines from the appellation, I find it impossible to discover any faults aside from excessive quality here. Nicely done. (8/07)

Dan Montemarino

[vineyard]Bellotti “Cascina degli Ulivi” 2005 Monferrato Bianco “Montemarino” (Piedmont) – Saline, with intense citrus turning almost to redder fruit, especially quince, but not quite getting there. This flashes and bites, seeming to yield everything and then jamming itself throatward. A really striking wine. (6/08)

João do you do?

[cave]Caves São João 2003 “Frei João” Bairrada (Portugal) – Dark, hard, difficult. There’s plum here, perhaps a bit fire-roasted, and squinched blackberry, and perhaps some dirt. Black dirt. I’d like to try this from a different vintage. (6/08)