Lini “Labrusca” Lambrusco Rosso (Emilia-Romagna) – Sharp, pins-and-needles red fruit lashing and slicing its acidic path through the palate, cleansing everything and taking a layer of something or other with it. There’s some dirt and pepper, too. Really pretty glorious. (9/10)
Browse Tag
sparkling
Fluteauist
Thierry Fluteau Champagne Brut Blanc de Noirs (Champagne) – Delicate. Strawberry, perhaps a little clover, with a very fine bead. Initially appealing, but it sort of vanishes into itself in response to attention. Pleasant. (9/10)
Gosset you, gosset me
Gosset Champagne Brut “Grand Rosé” (Champagne) – Simple and a little heavy, full of red-berry flavor but extremely linear and literal. Solid. (3/11)
Lansoff
Lanson Champagne Brut (Champagne) – Sprightly with deeper tones. Not complex. Just basic, direct, flavorful bubbly. (2/11)
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)
Tripoz fermented
Tripoz Crémant de Bourgogne Brut “Nature” (Burgundy) – I forget to search for a lot number before this bottle hits the recycling, but based on some hints (the presence of a different, and more modern, label in the same store where I bought this), I think it’s probably the release previous to whatever’s current as of February 2011. In any case, it’s like a dog that quickly lifts its head to see who’s come into the room, realizes it’s no one particularly interesting, and returns it chin to a position of paw-top boredom. I saber this open, and so the first sips are full of froth and rapidly-expelled aromatics. There’s grass, yellowish melon, some tartness. But then, as the bubbles settle down to a more restful stream, the wine turns innocuous. It’s pleasant, agreeable, easily digestible, easily forgotten. The Doris Day of crémants. (2/11)
The Entertainer
Cédric Bouchard “Inflorescence” Champagne Aube Brut “La Parcelle” Blanc de Noirs (Champagne) – L.01, though I’m told the source material is 2002. I don’t drink so much Cédric Bouchard that I need this level of differentiation, but those who do no doubt will. Very floral and showy, whacking tart strawberry with a plank of tannin, after which the structure firms and the wine’s showiness almost completely disappears. Then, later, it gets all fluffy and intense again, dialing up something puckery in the pomegranate realm for the big finish. Impressively noisy and impossible to ignore. (1/11)
Miss Chétillons
Pierre Peters 2000 Champagne Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru Brut “Cuvée Spéciale” Blanc de Blancs “Les Chétillons” (Champage) – Jeebus, that’s a lot of words. Here’s a bit of info that’s not a word: L.SBAA02, for the interested. And what about the wine? Lurid white flowers that quickly flash into an even more lurid state of decay, white pepper, intense Granny Smith apple. Long. Very long. Incisive and, once some of the overt floral prelude has sorted itself out, focused. Frankly, this is a brilliant wine. (1/11)
La Fache
Renardat-Fache Bugey Cerdon (Ain) – A cellar accident…this bottle is, I think, at least two years old. Maybe three. Does it reward aging? As pretty much anyone could predict: no. Thin, acid-dominated, not actively unpleasant but no more than a shadow of what it was. Hopefully, I haven’t accidentally aged any more bottles of this. (1/11)
Oh, Sole mio
La Grotta del Sole 2009 Gragnano della Penisola Sorrentina (Campania) – Strawberry soda pop with a little bite of tannin. Finishes green and somewhat dirty. This is not my favorite from the ever-more-frequently-imported rose-colored froth category. (11/10)