Browse Month

May 2010

Ed Meese

Edmeades 2000 Zinfandel Ciapusci (Mendocino Ridge) – 15.9%. Blackberry-infused whiskey, prune, licorice, and coconut rum. This might as well be 25.9% for all the heat, burn, and fire it shows. The wine has always been a wallop in the head, but I don’t think trying to age it was a good idea. (3/10)

Main street

Donaldson Family “Main Divide” 2005 Riesling (New Zealand) – Fruity and a little aggressive, but the bones are just starting to show through the skin, and the wine’s picked up a brittleness it didn’t have even a few months ago. I don’t know if it’s closing or fading. (3/10)

Trademarked sausage

Rolly Gassmann 2003 Pinot Gris Brandhurst de Bergheim “Sélection des Grains Nobles” (Alsace) – Sticky and extremely sweet. Sugared apples and some interesting vegetal notes. I tasted this at release and didn’t think it had a long future, and I think that was the right call both then and now. In fact, I’m a little surprised how fast it has fallen off. (3/10)

Steve & Eydie

Faller “Domaine Weinbach” 2000 Gewurztraminer “Cuvée Laurence” (Alsace) – Fat lychee and flower garden. Very lush. This could use a lot more acidity, in my opinion, though this feeling is not shared by others tasting the wine. It’s good, but this house can (and usually does) do better with this grape. (3/10)

Hawaiian tropic

Ridge 1999 Geyserville (Sonoma County) – 14.8%. Open 24 hours and tasted from a mostly empty bottle. Coconut oil, spicy earth, walnut, and chocolate. Good acidity. This is in a slightly weird state, and I have a disagreement with the source of the bottle; he thinks its ready to drink, I think it’s in need of more time. (3/10)

Durell hand cream

Edmunds St. John 1995 Syrah Durell (Sonoma Valley) – 14.4%. Such a deep purple it’s like drinking a Jon Lord keyboard solo. Still very structured, with fine balance but with its cards held very close to its chest. It takes about five minutes to unwind from a cranky and difficult opening, and then it just sits there, unchanging, for hours. And hours. A touch of volatile acidity eventually develops in the glass, but it’s minor and non-hyper-sensitives probably won’t even notice it. Five to ten more years, at least, are required here; it’s certainly not in a generous mood at the moment. (3/10)

The bigger they are

Müller-Catoir 2006 Haardter Herzog Rieslaner Beerenauslese 14 07 (Pfalz) – From 375 ml. Thudding sugar of nearly unbelievable intensity. Huge molten metal paired with grilled pineapple. But oh, so overwhelmingly sweet. (3/10)

The Haardter they fall

Müller-Catoir 2008 Haardter Herzog Rieslaner Spätlese 20 09 (Pfalz) – Huge, huge, huge. Banana cream and raspberry popsicle. Oddly, I mean both in a positive way. Powerful, and in fact a little overwhelming. (3/10)

Fréd’s not dead

Trimbach 1997 Riesling “Cuvée Frédéric Émile” (Alsace) – Opened after a short run of other producers’ ‘97s raised some cause for concern. Well, there’s nothing to worry about here. It’s rich, and already into its creamy, mature stage, with soft minerality blown through a dusty wind tunnel. A little shy at first, it expands and gains firmness as it aerates. Not a touch of oxidation, and really good. If you own this in quantity, it’s time to start drinking, but if you don’t there’s certainly no hurry. (3/10)