Browse Month

June 2012

Serene republic

Domaine Serene 2006 Pinot Noir “Evenstad Reserve” (Willamette Valley) – This is a winery that receives an enormous amount of attention, and while an unfortunate percentage of it is self-generated, an equally unfortunate amount is decidedly uncomplimentary…both in reaction to the aforementioned and other stuff not particularly germane to this note. In any case, let’s dispense with the trappings and get to the heart of the matter, which is an entirely nice wine. A touch overpriced, yes, but that’s true of most pinot noir…domestic or foreign…so there’s no special damage done here. The fruit tends darker but without excess heaviness, the palate hovers somewhere between lush and silken, and everything’s solid and lengthy enough, and in fair equilibrium, for an enjoyable trip through its quantity. It is not, I should note, free of the trappings of a “made” wine, especially in its overt smoothness, but there’s certainly a place for it. (6/12)

Lasanta claws

Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch Whisky “The Lasanta” 12 Year (Scotland) – Barrel tomfoolery is something I dislike in most wines, but in Scotch whisky it’s more or less part of the deal. Still, I prefer my differences to be less wood-derived. Those caveats aside, it’s hard to deny the exotica of this bottling, which is practically lurid with both sweet and dried spices – both from the baking and Indian sections of the rack – and really almost laughably appealing. The counterpoint, of course, is that it’s hard to take all that seriously, either. (6/12)

Cott in the crossfire

Brancott 2011 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) – Neither the pyrazine fest it once was (granted, I’m sure what’s going into this wine now bears less than no relation to what went into it in previous decades) nor the sweet, soft fruit of the double-oughts’ overreaction, instead this is straightforward and varietally correct, but sanded down (and some of the sandpaper remains, texturally) and pretty dull. It’ll do in a pinch, but I’d like that pinch to be a bucket of ice on a Marlborough Sounds beach somewhere, with maybe a cube of that ice in the paper cup from which I’m swigging this. (6/12)

Yes’ worst album

Sella & Mosca 2009 Alghero Terre Bianche Torbato (Sardinia) – Vivid fruit in the white/lime green/yellow spectrum, seeking to be bright but stumbling a bit under a little excess weight. It’s not a complex wine, nor is it (I think) intended to be, but it requires a fairly constant chill to avoid a bit of over-belt sag. (6/12)

When Vogelsang, I hear violins

Heidi Schröck 2007 Ried Vogelsang (Austria) – 25% each welschriesling, weissburgunder, grauburgunder, and furmint. Overly-sweet for what else is provided, and pretty insipid. Just kinda sits there, limp..(6/12)

Masùt doesn’t fit

Masùt da Rive 2007 Isonzo del Friuli Pinot Nero (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Faded, earthy fruit. Seems prematurely…mature, though I don’t know whether to credit grape quality or aggression/timidity in the cellar. Either way, it’s a pleasant quaff, but not much more. (6/12)

My bell

Meinklang 2011 Traminer (Burgenland) – Spiced pear, green rose, a bit of vinyl. Sappy, but also short, which somewhat mars the effect. It’s pleasant, though. (6/12)

Smooth as rhubarb

Lincoln Peak 2007 “Silk” Ice Wine (Vermont) – Frontenac gris, with the dark brown tones of a much older (or heavily botrytized) wine; I don’t know which applies here. Tastes of not-too-sweet birch sap and rhubarb. No, really. It’s…fascinating. Good? No, not really, but it does go very well with a rhubarb-based dessert. So there’s something. (6/12)

To those according to their mead

Artesano “Essence” Mead (Vermont) – Intense dried honey, golden fig, and even a little bit of pleasant bitterness and vibrant finishing intensity. I’ve been somewhat disappointed with other meads from this producer, but this one is stellar. (6/12)

Traminer girls

Steininger 2008 Traminer Sekt (Kamptal) – The heady aromatics of traminer, frothy and slightly sticky, given lift and then weighted down a bit by their more fantastical whims. It’s a very fun wine. (6/12)