Labasse “Domaine Bellegarde” 2006 Jurançon Sec “La Pierre Blanche” (Southwest France) – Stealthy. An innocuous, bony-white frame sits there in full view, not doing much of note, while a much more texturally interesting patina of old rocks and leathery fruit sneaks up from behind. But if you turn to stare at the patina, it’s gone…only to reappear moments later, coating something else just out of view. A really interesting wine that plays an amusing game of elusiveness. (1/11)
Browse Month
February 2011
WKRP
Cincinnato 2008 Lazio Rosso “Pollùce” (Lazio) – There’s something on-the-ground authentic about this wine, by which I mean that it’s the sort of thing one occasionally encounters while traveling Old World wine regions, perhaps poured from a pitcher or cask at a casual wine bar or locals’ restaurant, after which one wonders why such inexpensive, innocent goodness can’t be had for a similar price back home. I don’t know what the actual winemaking here is like, but I can say that it tastes about as unmanipulated (but clean) as anything that’s passed my lips of late. Sapid, berried, slightly crisp, quick. At twice the quantity this would never have been “too much wine.” (1/11)
Hermanso’s hermits
Hermanso Peciña “Señorío de P. Peciña” 2001 Rioja Reserva (Center-North Spain) – Sunburned red fruit, a little desiccated, with an astringent oak character. There’s good succulence, fair enough acidity, and yet…I don’t know. I think my tastes have moved away from Rioja, and the perpetual exception I make for LdH doesn’t really disabuse me of this notion. I’ve long known that I didn’t much like the ultra-fruited modern style, but this is a perfectly acceptable expression of an alternative style and my reaction is still pretty much indifference. Yes, reading this note was probably a waste of your time. (1/11)
Nere a word
Terre Nere 2009 Etna Rosso (Sicily) – Heavy and inertial. Trying to get into the core of this wine is like trying to roll a flat-surfaced rock downhill…there’s stuttering progress, but mostly there’s a lot of motionlessness. Volcanic, yes (as ever, I wonder about the power of suggestion here, as the wine was not consumed blind), with sludgy black fruit struggling beneath a thick barrier of black noise. There are many positive things one could say about individual aspects of the wine, but the whole is on the other side of event horizon. Age? I should hope so, because if not, only those whose nightly diet is of stegosaurus and woolly mammoth cooked over open bonfires on the end of wooden spears will have much use for this. (1/11)
Vissoux Storm
Chermette “Domaine du Vissoux” 2009 Beaujolais “Cuvée traditionnelle vieilles vignes” (Beaujolais) – Would I guess this was Beaujolais, blind? Quite possibly not. Gamay? Maybe, but I bet I’d guess New World. Neither Q/A is meant to be an indictment of the wine, by the way, which is big, muscular, a bit heavy, but not too over-anything. At least, that’s my hope. The future may prove me wrong. Fruit remains decidedly red and of the berry variety, there’s acidity (though less than usual), and despite the gravity there’s still some zip and zing to be found. But now we need to age our basic Beaujolais? I guess we do. (2/11)
Rontey Barber
Cheveau 2007 Saint-Amour “En Rontey” (Beaujolais) – Light and shade on a floral still life. Red, pink, lavender, magenta. Brittle. Not engaging, but un-ignorable. (1/11)
Dupeuble, Colorado
Dupeuble 2009 Beaujolais (Beaujolais) – A reduction sauce as much as a wine, so incredibly concentrated and markedly thick that it’s almost hard to swallow. It’s not, I feel I must add, out of balance as a result. There’s acidity, there’s a little brushstroke of tannin, and while the fruit is massive it’s not overbearing beyond the usual fruit-burst quality of Beaujolais in more normal years. But while this might appeal to those who’ve always found Beaujolais too thin for their tastes, I suspect it will be many years before it appeals to fans of the region. Or, at least, that’s true for this particular fan. Will it last that long? Let’s hope. (1/11)
Ley me down
Sin-Ley “Traza” 2007 Rioja (Center-North Spain) – 100% graciano. There are so many styles of and takes on Rioja that it’s hard to say if this “tastes like” Rioja or not. So, on its merits as a red wine of indeterminate origin: it dances, alive and full of energy. There’s spice, light tan minerality, enveloping presence without weight, and a lot of fun red fruit drenched with sunlight. An extraordinary amount of fun, this wine is. (1/11)
Bomfim-o-wep
Dow’s 1984 Quinta do Bomfim Vintage Porto (Douro) – Succulent cherries (black and red) coated with chocolate. Mostly softened and “ready” in that sense, though of course the wine is a long way from any sense of a fuller, more complex maturity. It’s delicious enough now, however, that anyone wishing to hold it until that maturity may want to make spontaneous bottle acquisition in their own cellars more difficult. (1/11)
Piane not-so-forte
Coste Piane Prosecco di Valdobbiadene (Veneto) – The dullest bottle from this producer that I’ve ever had. Let’s put that in context: it’s a saline dust devil, practiced in avoidance while jabbing its point home, layering fine particulate sprays of sand on the palate, then swirling away once again. But it’s muted, rectitudinous, even a little surly. Possibly a non-representative bottle. I hope it is, anyway, because when their wines are on form, they’re very special. (2/11)