Kreydenweiss 2005 Kritt Pinot Blanc “Les Charmes” (Alsace) – Grossly oxidized. (7/12)
Browse Tag
france
They call me Granajolo
Boucher “Domaine de Granajolo” 2009 Corse Porto-Vecchio (Corsica) – Starts crisp and somewhat aggressive in its polished lemongrass sort of way, but it always seems to be straining. For or against something, I can’t tell, but it mars the wine. (7/12)
Fées Wray
Bizeul “Les Sorcières du Clos des Fées” 2008 Côtes du Roussillon (Roussillon) – A rich, pleasant wine with an almost foamy structure – I don’t think it’s fizzy, but it’s also not out of the question that there would be a touch – and layers of appealing red fruit. The whole thing is then frosted with the fetid stink and stench of brettanomyces, which is my usual experience of this wine. Alas. (7/12)
Donjonson
Panis “Chateau du Donjon” 2011 Minervois Rosé (Languedoc) – Heavy. Lurid. Tastes neon-magenta, if I can introduce some synæsthesia all up in this joint. (This bit of age-inappropriate verbiage brought to you by having just read Whitney Adams’ blog.) Alas, it’s a chore to drink. (7/12)
Cassagne on the dotted line
Domaine de la Petite Cassagne 2010 Costières de Nîmes Rosé (Rhône) – Throaty pinkness, berries in the midst of their crush, and lavender-scented herbs in fine balance. Surprisingly nice. (7/12)
Formula Foreau 9
Foreau “Cuvée 2004-2005” Vouvray Brut (Loire) – Light, chalky, tentative, and lingering. Delicate yet not as weak as it seems. I quite enjoy this, though I’d be interested to see where it goes with more age. (7/12)
A Coutale of two cities
Bernede “Clos La Coutale” 2009 Cahors (Southwest France) – Full of sap and chew, as so often lighter than the brackish aromas portend, yet alive in a scowling sort of fashion. There’s a minor burnt note on the finish that makes me wonder about the condition of the bottle, but otherwise it’s quite approachable. (7/12)
Nickleby
Lafage 2009 Côtes Catalanes “Cuvée Nicolas” (Roussillon) – 100% grenache. Goopier than I remember it, or perhaps I’m confusing it with a different cuvée. This expresses a lot of the sticky, bubblegummy flaws of hot-site grenache, with a heaviness that isn’t countervailed by anything. It’s not a terrible wine, but it’s a fair bit more glue-like than I prefer. (6/12)
Colonel Potter
Brun “Terres Dorées” 2009 Morgon (Beaujolais) – Surprisingly open, given that from this year, site, and producer I’m expecting little other than a dense wall of go-away. Instead, there’s dusty morel and sappy blackberry, an almost shockingly nervy structure, and the promise of more insight as the glasses pass into digestive oblivion. (Well, you know what I mean….) I don’t know that it couldn’t go longer, but I do know that it’s nothing to be scared of at the moment. (6/12)
Oh Delaille, why?
Delaille “Domaine du Salvard” 2011 Cheverny Rosé (Loire) – Nakedly appealing, yet far from uncomplicated, its chalky reserve and high-tension poise at odds with the easy pleasure of its strawberry-ish fruit. Delightful. (6/12)