Browse Month

January 2009

Man, dog

[vineyard]Dog Point 2007 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) – Sophisticated. None of the edges and raciness that used to define Marlborough sauvignon blanc are here; this tastes significantly more like an Old World sauvignon, though what it does take from its location are a certain size and intensity. Acid is tamed but well-balanced, the fruit moves through gentler, more yellow realms (rather than the usual green), and there’s a soft, almost sandy texture that brings to the fore a very appealing mineral foundation. The finish is supple and long. Very, very good. (1/09)

Bobson

Robertson 2007 Gewürztraminer “Special Late Harvest” (Robertston) – Quite sweet, without enough balancing acidity, but the wine’s pleasant and varietally correct: peach, lychee, oil, and syrup, with a fuzzier apricot note (botrytis? yes, according to the label). Fairly short. And yet, it’s not a full-blown dessert wine by any means. Call it an aperitif gewürztraminer in the mode of the less expensive VT versions an Alsatian restaurant might serve while you’re studying the menu. Like so many of those: drinkable, pleasant, but not all that great. (1/09)

Broquel welch

Trapiche “Broquel” 2005 Bonarda (Mendoza) – Grape, red cherry, and strawberry jam, lushly fruited with significant, but not overwhelming, oak. Finishes sticky. Balanced in its goopy New World idiom, though I do have suspicions about the acidity, but absolutely one-note and as varietally and geographically anonymous as a wine can be. (1/09)

Etxe fingers

Hillau “Domaine Etxegaraya” 2002 Irouléguy (Southwest France) – Clinging to relevance. Sharp-tongued animate blackberries, a sort of meat residue aroma, some fairly luscious darkness, but it’s all on the verge of drying out. This would likely be much better under another closure than its synthetic cork, and while this is the best-preserved of the four bottles thus far, given the circumstances it would have been better to drink it at release. (1/09)

Come to Pipa

Castellani “Collezione Ca’ del Pipa” 2004 Valpolicella Classico “Superiore” San Michele “Ripasso” (Veneto) – Corked. (1/09)

On the Vergelegen

[vineyard]Vergelegen 2005 White (Stellenbosch) – 2/3 semillon and 1/3 sauvignon blanc. Ripe, intense, concentrated, and with its eyes firmly focused on white Bordeaux, though I don’t know if it would be easy to conflate the two. Figs, dried straw, and white nectarine, with hints of wood influence and fine acidity. Very powerful, yet balanced, with a slightly leesy texture and a finish of majestic length. Turns creamier as it warms, while retaining its poise. Very, very impressive. (11/08)

Constance craving

[bottle]Klein Constantia 2004 “Vin de Constance” (Constantia) – A dessert wine of vine-desiccated muscat de Frontignan (a/k/a muscat blanc à petits grains), and a wine that made South Africa’s worldwide wine reputation well over a century ago. Klein Constantia is part of the country’s original wine estate, dating back to the late 1600s, and in its current incarnation has resurrected the style and the name. But not, I fear, the quality that made the reputation (though I wasn’t around in the 1800s and thus can’t really know for sure). The nose is gorgeous and openly muscatty, with additional complexities in the form of cooked apple, spiced plum, cinnamon, and nutmeg. But as it turns juicy on the palate, it thins, and the finish is wan and disappointing. Good, but decidedly not great, and much more fun to sniff than to sip. (11/08)

Cap’n

Villiera Méthode Cap Classique Brut Rosé “Tradition” (Stellenbosch) – Soft strawberry with a brace of acidity trailing in its wake. Short, though. Dry, clean, and pleasant, but most certainly not special. (11/08)

Re(a)d all over

[glass]Signal Hill 2006 Rosé de Saignée Blanc de Noir (Constantia) – Sources differ on what this is made from. Some say petit verdot, while the usually definitive Platter’s Guide has it as shiraz with pinot noir and cabernet franc. But I’m going to go with the winery’s web site, which says it’s cab franc. If it was no good, it wouldn’t matter…but it is. Very flavorful, with dark strawberry and cherry, hints of blacker fruit, and a good layer of spice (but not of wood). Casts a significant shadow. Wavy and delicious. The winery claims aging potential, and I wouldn’t bet against it. (11/08)