TN: Bam!

Ridge 1993 Zinfandel “Essence” (Paso Robles) – By far the best of the half-dozen bottles I’ve tasted. Sweet, ultra-concentrated blueberry, boysenberry, olallieberry and stripes of anise candy are given lift by the otherwise restrained, unobtrusive buoyancy of slight volatile acidity, while the tannin has completely melted away. Delicious. (2/07)

TN: Roasted kid

[bottle]Goats do Roam 2003 “Goat-Roti” (Western Cape) – Big, hard black-green fruit with charred earth and sweet vanilla. Toasted and spoofed, this is a clumsy escalation of the much better “regular” Goats do Roam, full of furious oak and extraction, yet signifying nothing. (2/07)

TN: Flower pétalos

Palacios 2005 “Pétalos” Bierzo (Northwest Spain) – Big-shouldered and dark, with a flatscreen impenetrability; a two-dimensional wine of great breadth but little depth. Black, almost charred fruit and the blackest dirt vie with asphalt-like texture (there is acidity, but it brings little to the mix) for supremacy, and the texture wins. There’s nothing wrong with this wine, but it’s not much fun to drink…unless one finds being struck repeatedly by a hammer “fun.” (2/07)

TN: Argyle socks!

Argyle 2003 Brut Rosé (Willamette Valley) – Spiced, aged strawberry and raspberry with blended apples and tightly-wound acidity followed by a mélange of spices. There’s significant weight here (not surprising for a varietal pinot noir), but it’s never heavy or overpowering. This is complex and interesting, in a way that few New World sparklers are. (2/07)

TN: One Montagnette in time

[vineyard]Les Vignerons d’Estézargues “Domaine la Montagnette” 2004 Côtes-du-Rhône (Rhône) – Ripe blackberry layered with vanilla and showing thin stripes of light green, which is more complexing than underripe. A pleasant, simple wine, but it’s a little slicked-up for my tastes. And yet, there’s a hint of brett as well. So: slick, but in need of a little disinfectant. (1/07)

TN: Nîme deep

[bottle]Castillon & Fils “Château l’Ermitage” 2005 Costières de Nîmes Blanc (Rhône) – A fresh, bouncy puppy wine, licking your face and generally ecstatic at your presence. There’s bright yellow fruit here with a very slight thickening – perhaps something in the nut oil family – and a good, clean, crisp-for-white-Rhône finish. Good wine, cheap. (1/07)

TN: BB king

[vineyard]Barmès Buecher 1997 Riesling Leimenthal (Alsace) – Creamy and mildly sweet, with molten aluminum and fragrant, almost lurid fresh lilies floating on top. I’d say this is fully mature. It’s a little softer around the edges than one might like (blame the vintage), but it’s still a very nice example of the variety and site. (2/07)

TN: The imaginary invalid

[harvest]I&B Perraud “Côtes de la Molière” 2005 Vin de Table (Beaujolais) – A declassified (or just-out-of-the-border, or something along those lines) cru Beaujolais, showing all the characteristics of one of the heavier exemplars of that appellation: keening acid-washed fruit, grey-toned granite, fresh-plucked oyster mushroom, and the buzzing energy of a life not-yet-lived. Appealing, as so much Beaujolais is, but with depths and complexities. Great stuff. (1/07)

TN: Burgenduo

Simon Bize 2000 Bourgogne “Les Perrières” (Burgundy) – While there are decayed autumnal leaves and morels accenting the long-aged black fruit, this wine is fading underneath its vanilla-scented toast. A little oakier than I prefer, to be sure, but it’s still decent enough for a six year old Bourgogne. (1/07)

Hubert Lignier 1996 Morey-St-Denis (Burgundy) – On the downslope, though grey earth-flecked mushrooms and decaying orange flowers can be coaxed forth with careful swirling. The first few moments are the most appealing, then there’s a tired stage, and after about a half-hour (not unusual for older Burgundies), there’s a brief renaissance. Still, this was unquestionably better a few years ago. (12/06)

TN: Burgaud, no fries

[label]JM Burgaud 2005 Régnié “Vallières” (Beaujolais) – A solid, almost beefy (though lighter than that; call it “veally”?) block of red fruit and structure. There are very mild floral notes, but they’re distant and unapproachable. This is about as primary a Beaujolais as I’ve tasted, though it’s certainly in line with a lot of other 2005s. There could be great things in the offing here, but for immediate pleasure open something else. (12/06)