Cuilleron 2008 Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah Rosé “Lybel” (Rhône) – Soupy, sticky, devoid of sufficient balancing acidity, and with the same sickly, oily note that infects almost all of Cuilleron’s wines. (7/09)
July 2009
Mour or less
Tablas Creek 2005 Mourvèdre (Paso Robles) – A fruit bomb, but a sufficiently structured one. A dark stew of fruit is lent a little leather and earthen blackness by the grape, and it’s an extremely enjoyable wine, but this is really very primary still. It would seem to have to stuffing to age, but I don’t really know for sure. (7/09)
The heart has its Bissons
Bisson 2007 Golfo del Tigullio Ciliegiolo Rosé (Liguria) – Delicate perfume poised between sea, sky, and slope. Fine-edged strawberry, floral but not overly perfumed, with flinty minerality. Quite pretty. (7/09)
Tear your knees off
Tegernseerhof 2007 Zweigelt Rosé (Lower Austria) – Slightly bitter and green, with some Canned Froot Drink™ character. Uninteresting. (7/09)
Leydier lay
Leydier “Cuvée Sélectionnée par Kermit Lynch” 2006 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse (Rhône) – Black crystal infused with black pepper and churning purplish-black fruit. Yet there’s herbal complexity, as well. An absolutely delicious wine for the price. (7/09)
Bananas
Gilliard 2006 Dôle des Monts Rouge (Valais) – Sticky but light pinkish-red fruit, leaning towards candy but not quite getting there, with a great deal of succulent minerality and a fine, cohesive finish. That said, there’s a sourness that puckers, and combined with the Froot™ the whole thing comes off worked (which I kinda doubt it is, though I’m not certain). Iffy. (7/09)
On the Dôle
Gilliard 2006 Dôle des Monts Blanc (Valais) – The memory of white alpine flowers, fragrant and inextricable from the cold minerality underneath, promises much. But there’s a blocky lack of crispness that just doesn’t match the wine’s aromatic topnotes, and while it’s a pleasant drink, in the end it just doesn’t amount to much. Also, there’s the usual Swiss markup, which makes it a poor value as well. NB: this wine should be the “Les Murettes” bottling, rather than a Dôle, yet that’s the label it carries. I’m unable to explain why this should be so. (7/09)
Watch it there, Tojo
Casal do Tojo 2007 Terras do Sado Muscat “Lisa” (Portugal) – Fluffy muscat perfume with squirts of lime. Tastes unnatural. Well-chilled, on a hot summer day…OK, sure. But that’s about it. (7/09)
Rogue rouge
Rogue “St. Rogue” Red Ale (Oregon) – Somewhat overcome by bitterness, but aggressively flavorful, albeit slightly metallic. Some might like this. It’s a little much for me. (7/09)
In-Grave-ings
Dubourdieu “Château Graville-Lacoste” 2008 Graves Blanc (Bordeaux) – Green and almost minty, but turning more to lemon curd and salt on the palate. The wine’s a bit of a helix right now, and probably needs some time to screw itself together. (7/09)