Browse Tag

france

SylVV

Dirler-Cadé 2014 Sylvaner “Vieilles Vignes” (Alsace) — From a plot of vines planted in the Kessler in 1957, with some other sources blended in. The varietally typical tomatoes are, here, fully ripe, but there’s more mineral depth and vegetal richness than usual. (5/16)

Photo sharing

[raffault]Olga Raffault 1979 Chinon Les Picasses (Loire) — Genius wine in the full-throated prime of its life, and in fact so far from being on the downslope that it’s hilarious. Dark, leathery, peppery, and yet heavily-fruited. Kaleidoscopic soul. (5/16)

Still they’re Cazins, identical Cazins…

[cazin]Cazin 2000 Cour-Cheverny “Vendanges Manuelles” (Loire) — Dried pollen, wax, and amber. Like peeling open the pages of an old photo album, with cover sheets sticking together and faded pictures slipping their bonds and tumbling to the floor. (5/16)

It takes a nation of deux mille to hold us back

[trimbach]Trimbach 2000 Pinot Gris “Réserve Personnelle” (Alsace) — Even when these aren’t fully dry (as I’d guess, due to the richness, that this isn’t), there’s so much acid and structure that they act dry. More pear and metal than spice — that will change over time — and still swaggering and vibrant. I can’t believe I’m writing this about a 16 year old pinot gris, but: while it’s drinkable, I’d hold it longer. (5/16)

Easter noir

Dupasquier 2011 Pinot (Savoie) — I suppose my first error here was thinking the region and expecting this to be one of those rock-driven, ungenerous mountain pinots. It’s not. There’s minerality, for sure, but it’s aromatically warm and enveloping, showing even more pinot noir than Savoie at the moment. I expect this will age, but I have doubts regarding my ability to stop drinking it while it does. (5/16)

A stone

de Moor 2014 Chablis Coteau de Rosette (Chablis) — Narrower than the usual broad de Moor style, but with plenty of verve and cut. Seems like it should age pretty well. (5/16)

Overjoyed

[overnoy]Overnoy 1995 Arbois Pupillin Rouge (Jura) — Delicate, delicious, earthy, sun-dried fruit full of space and absence. A bit of sweat. I’d say it’s pure transparency, but actually it’s slightly impure…and all the better for it. This is what so many natural wines are trying to be, yet only sometimes achieve. (4/16)

Between a rock & a hard place

[lenoir]Lenoir “Les Roches” 2006 Chinon (Loire) — A disagreement about the quality of these wines (it’s 2 pro-, 2 anti- in our over-lubricated group) leads to a quick cellar run, and while this is pretty and somewhat rustic it doesn’t make a strong case for itself…though personally, I wouldn’t be opening one of these now; all my best experiences with Lenoir involve a lot more age. If it seems like I’m not saying much about the wine…well, I’m not, because there’s not much to say, other than the previous. Leave it be. (4/16)

Boried now

Borie “Château Ducru-Beaucaillou” 1995 Saint-Julien (Bordeaux) — Something is off with this bottle. Like razors in an field of herbs, it’s nothing but anger and pyrazines. (4/16)

Mignonette

[mignon]Christophe Mignon Champagne Brut Rosé (Champagne) — Disgorged 26 February 2013, dosage somewhere under 8 g/l. Gentle fluffs of drifting fruit-lint. There’s a bit of nerve here, but you have to search to find it. The first bottle I opened, right after receiving a half-case, was better, and so based on this performance I’m going to let the balance rest for a while. (5/16)