Ken Forrester 2008 “Petit” Chenin Blanc (Stellenbosch) – While the whitish-yellow fruit here is fairly soft, it’s a good deal heftier and more present than base-level chenins usually are; this would appear to be a signature of Stellenbosch chenin, which picks up weight that it rarely attains elsewhere except in extreme late-harvest conditions. It’s not overweighted, though, and at a good price it’s a quite fair bargain. It doesn’t endure careful attention, but it’s not intended to. (1/09)
Browse Month
February 2009
When it was 2006, it was a zinfandel year
Easton 2006 Zinfandel (Amador County) – Upon first opening, a huge rush of bubbles and massive volatility seems to indicate an in-bottle refermentation. I put it aside and open something else. Two days later, it’s still a little prickly. A full week later, at room temperature – something I would not generally recommend – it has come into full form, shedding some of the wood along with the volatiles and knitting itself into a far more cohesive and more “winy” wine, full of dark, wild berries and that pine bark-edged touch of pruniness, twisted and sauvage, that so often seems to mark the region. I’m not sure what was going on at first opening, though. (1/09)
Giuseppe
![[vineyard]](http://www.verdibruno.it/verdibruno/14z10029.jpg)
Verdi 2006 Oltrepò Pavese Riesling Renano “Vigna Costa” (Lombardy) – Riesling turned far enough up on the volume dial that there’s feedback; the weight is similar to a very ripe Wachau, though the aromatics veer off in a different direction. Chalk dust on the wind, dried grapefruit zest, and glacial water. Finishes balanced but heavy. Quite enticing, but I admit I wasn’t quite prepared for the heft. (1/09)
Go Ouest, young man
Domaine de la Terre Rouge 2005 Syrah “Les Côtes de l’Ouest” (California) – Big and pleasantly blundering. The roasted coffee overlay isn’t too dominant, and the stew of sun-baked red fruit underneath is quite pleasant. It’s neither long nor particularly complex, but then that’s not really the point. (1/09)
Burke
![[vineyard]](http://www.deltawines.co.nz/graphics/sideimages/vines_nets.jpg)
Delta Vineyard 2006 Pinot Noir (Marlborough) – Another bargain pinot noir from one of the few countries that seems to be able to do it well. Here, however, the blood orange and beet characteristics that seem so prevalent across the range of New Zealand’s pinot noir terroirs are left a little exposed by a not-quite-sufficient quantity of berries. In the presence of better overall fruit, these characteristics add a dollop of interesting complexity to such wines. Still, this isn’t bad, and will do quite well in a pinch. Finishes with a touch of bitterness. (1/09)
Slim Johann
Trimbach 2001 Gewurztraminer (Alsace) – A little past its best, with the almost-always-present (save 1997 and 2000) bite of the wine’s structure starting to take precedence over the strappy, lychee and peach fruit. (1/09)
The 47 Society
Marietta “Old Vine Red Lot Number 47” (California) – It’s hard to say if this perennial blend lives up to its ancestors’ reputation (the oldest I’ve tasted was, if I remember correctly, the 18, though not in its youth), because it seems difficult to see the appeal of holding it long enough to find out. Big but not overblown California berry fruit, with a bit of softening in the cellar and a good measure of approachability. And that’s really all there is to say about it. (1/09)
Axton
Aubert “Chateau Hoyt” 2005 Côtes de Castillon “Cuvée Prestige” (Bordeaux) – Corked. (1/09)