Browse Month

June 2009

Corbières me

[vine]Laboucarié “Domaine de Fontsainte” 2005 Corbières (Languedoc) – The spicy soul of a land, with the integrated depth of a slow-cooked sauce and a slow-rolling tingle of sizzling dark red fruit. Absolutely delicious. (6/09)

Home on the Grange

Luneau-Papin “Domaine Pierre de La Grange” 2004 Muscadet Sèvre & Maine “Sur Lie Vieilles Vignes” (Muscadet) – Already showing signs of maturity, its sharpness softening and its seashore minerality having coalesced into pure liquid carapace, but still quite vibrant and persistent. A passionate Muscadet. (6/09)

Earth, wild, and fire

[vineyard]Wild Earth “Blind Trail” 2007 Pinot Noir (Central Otago) – Such a pleasant, direct wine…sappy fruit (mostly berries), a bit of sweet earth, round-textured but with acidity, and finishing surprisingly strong. Nice. (6/09)

Roque, Roque, Roque your Boutin

Boutin “Château La Roque” 2004 Pic Saint Loup “Cuvée les vieilles vignes de Mourvèdre” (Languedoc) – Fulsome, brown, and with a strangely appealing sour note that manages to lift all the less earthy notes to greater prominence. Thus are revealed dark blackberries and boysenberries, perhaps a bit of quince paste, and a peppery finish. Meaty and mushroomy as well. Quite solid with structure and balance. (6/09)

Jalets doughnut

[label]Jaboulet 2004 Crozes-Hermitage “Les Jalets” (Rhône) – Oppressively hard. tannic, and sharp-edged, with a touch of Band-Aid and a heart, skeleton, and musculature of charred blackness. Are these wines ever enjoyable? Does Jaboulet make wines for people to drink, or am I supposed to seal my driveway with this? (6/09)

Cave art

Cavalier “Château de Lascaux” 2005 Coteaux du Languedoc (Languedoc) – Dark. Rosemary and earth, blackened fruit, some tar. All muscle, but not much flesh; this vintage is a little harder than is probably good for it, with layer upon layer of ripe but oppressive tannin. Will it age into something better? Maybe. (6/09)

Duke

Wellington 2004 Zinfandel (Sonoma Valley) – 14.8%. Dark fruit infused with dark chocolate and coconut oak; as basic a recipe for zin as has ever been attempted. As such, it goes down easy and in utter disinterest. (6/09)

Drunk Addams

[vineyard]Shipyard “Pugsley’s Signature Series” Barley Wine-Style Ale (Maine) – Heady, but not rich, with a malty/grainy tang and some spicy stone fruit. Good. Not really more than that. (6/09)

Raats in the belfry

[vineyard]Raats 2008 “Original” Chenin Blanc (Stellenbosch) – An unoaked cuvee. Appealing, sunny fruit, showing hay, gum, and fresh apricot. The texture’s overtly creamy, and while it retains a certainly lightness of spirit, the wine would be improved by a little more acidity. There’s a long, pure finish, and despite the absence of crispness, I really enjoy this wine. (11/08)

Raats 2006 Chenin Blanc (Stellenbosch) – The difference between this and the “Original” is the élevage; some of this wine is barrel-fermented, a “world-classing” technique to which my initial reaction is dismay. Chenin shouldn’t need makeup to achieve greatness. And yet, here’s the first volley in South Africa’s attempt to prove me wrong, and I’m already wavering. There are the expected elements of cream, butter, and a more luxurious texture, but there are some surprises as well. For one thing, a salty, iron-rich minerality is brought to the fore. And while the finish is even thicker than in the “Original”, there’s a clear sensation of a greater quantity of balancing acidity. It’s all very mysterious. I still think I’d rather drink the “Original”, but this does make a compelling case for itself. (11/08)