Rockss and Fruit

Brief intermission from the Dresnner-fest-a-thon for some old notes

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:14:00 +0000

The 2005 Gonon St. Joseph was tight fro around an hour then delivered the goods. In contrast to the lighter styled, almost Burgundian style of the 2004, which is a beautiful drink, this is very chewy, dense, dark and structured St. Joseph. I can see this going 20+ more years. Upon opening the nose was a plethora of dark flowers, dark berry, mineral and earth notes. Also some gaminess and great depth and layering. This smells like Hermitage. Regal nose. The palate was tight, but the finish was still long with some fruit beginning to sneak through. The palate soon opened up and became fruitier with lovely dark blackberry and raspberry and all the bitterness that comes with that. The tannins remained somewhat rigid and needed almost three hours to become integrated. But once they did this was a masterpiece. It was drink too quickly even as I nursed my last glass 3+ hours on as my guests had finished theirs earlier.

Up next was a 2006 Domaine de la Pepiere Clos des Briords which surprised me how good it was. A fatter vintage but you would not know that by drinking this wine. Maybe a bit richer than usual but you had all the jagged minerality, rainwater and precision one could ask for out of a Briords. Long finish and was singing on day two. No rush on these.

Also my 2nd bottle of the 2001 Kerpen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatese* (Bird Label) in the past three months. Whilst the last bottle, in August, showed a bit more mature with more prominent petrol notes, this was right on the money, evolutionarily speaking. Has a bit of petrol peeking through, but remained creamy and rich with amazing tart apple fruit and lovely precise acidity that only 2001 can offer. As it aerated it became deeper on the palate showing nice apricot and peach fruit along with that Granny Smith apple. Long finish. Just starting to open up.

A long rambling post on the Dressner Tasting, Ten Bells, and other things of importance to 546 people (Part 1 and I promise there will be a Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:29:00 +0000

So Dressner had a two day tasting event of which I only made it to one day because the party at Ten Bells, with VLM, Guillhaume Gerard, Cory Cartwright, Eric Texier, SFJoe, Alice F., Pameladevi, Devlon and whoever else I am forgetting was too much for me. I am getting old and cannot drink that much wine. Cannot do it. But I had a blast. Here are some ramblings from the Dressner tasting.

I tasted a lot but got palate fatigue a bit earlier than I normally do. So take these for what it's worth.

Pepiere

The '08 Gras Mouton was good but not great. I am not loving this new wine at all. It just seems soft and dopey. The last bottle I had did get a bit more cut the next day. Maybe needs age. We'll see.

'08 Clos des Briords was rockin' Had all that great Briords stuff. Jagged, Ornette Coleman-like minerality, popping every which way but normal, with crisp, firm acids and that crisp rainwater vibe. Delicious as fuck was my note on the tasting sheet.

'07 Granite de Clisson was a highlight of the whole day for me. Well one of many. But this stood out. Way better than the '05 with scintillating acid structure and a liveliness in the mouth usually reserved for Briords So minerally but not as pillow-like as the '05. More out of control but still remains precise. I believe this now has the most "breed" of any of Marc's wines.

Thomas Labaille

I rarely taste the Sancerre L'Authentique so the '07 really excited me. Classic Sancerre. Smooth wet rocks, great acids, a lime streak and a long finish. Really great value.

The '08 Les Monts Damnes was empty by the time I got there.

Bongran and Roally

Both of these were awesome. The Roally '07 Vire-Clesse was ripe as all hell on the nose but with delicious ripe apples on the palate with great acidity and weight. Really long. Needs age. I had an '05 later that night and the nose was as expansive as can be with all types of spice, mineral, and fruit. The palate was rich and soft but had great focus and was so damn pure. De Moor type purity.

The '04 Bongran Vire Clesse Cuvee Tradition was lights out as usual but was a bit tight. I'd be drinking the '02 now and hold this for 2-4 more years. The nose was big and fat with a bit of botrytis. Smelled like classic young white burg and had enough breed and finesse you would mistake for a neighbor up north. Just a great nose. The palate had huge acid that kind of got in the way. But it will integrate. The finish was long and complex and showed this will be a big time wine in five to ten years.

Larmandier-Bernier

Really great to taste these after being at the Theise Champagne tasting. These pretty much blew all those wines out of the water. More pure, clean and visceral wines. More class, more breed. Just better. These wines are better also now that Joe has them. I don't know why but they are. Maybe it's Joe's terroir influence. Sarcasm is an aspect of Terroir I hear. Nossiter said so in his book. I kid. I love that book. That's another post though.

The NV Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 1er Cru was great and showed way better than any other disgorgement I have ever had. Really clean, stark and minerally on the nose. The palate was ripe but not overly and had bracingly clean fruit. Just perfect, dry Champagne. The fruit was so vivid and fat but did not overwhelm. Just a beautiful bottle of Champagne.

The NV (2006) Terre de Vertus Blanc de Blancs 1er Cru Non-Dose was just stunning. Dryer than the Extra Brut and massive in girth with concentration I have never found in this cuvee. Very impressive long, minerally and delineated finish. A precise wine.

The 2004 Vieilles Vigne Cramant Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru was the star though. It's the big-bucks cuvee but is just so damn impressive it's hard to dispute the price. Big Cramant Nose my notes say. Yeast, bread and lovely piercing minerality. Lifts into your nostrils. A bit tight and unwieldy on the palate but the explosion of fruit and minerality on the palate is extraordinary. Way young but seems to be a long-distance runner. I love Cramant and usually lean towards Guy Larmandier's version but this is right up there.

Domaine des Terres Dorees (Jean-Paul Brun)

Joyous wines that are so thoughtful and delicious he might be my red wine desert island pick.

The '08 L'Ancien is as happy as a wine could be. Wines can display emotions too, not just elicit an emotional response. I smelled the wine and it was happy which of course made me happy. On the contrary when I smell, say a Markham Chardonnay, which smells sad and almost bi-polar, it makes me sad, then I yell at the wine. But back to the L'Ancien which was awesome. Ripe with dazzling cracklin' Rosie-like acidity. Mineral and crunchy. Just yum.

The '08 Cote de Brouilly is just getting better and better. This is up to the '05 in quality I think. Incredibly class and silkiness on the palate with the dark, brooding fruits of the Cote de Brouilly but with that Brun spark of realness. Long finish. So good.

The '08 Fleurie was classic Fleurie. That's what I exclaimed, and I don't exclaim much, as soon as I smelled the wine. Floral, juicy and very ripe with velvet versus the Cote De Brouilly's silk on the palate. Earthy finish. Exceptional.

The '08 Morgon was juicer than the Fleurie and had a lovely nose that had a scent of beautiful pine along along with red fruits and damp minerals. The palate is just a total berry explosion and already showing complexity but has structure and will no doubt Pinot-tize within the next five years.

Georges Descombes

The difference between these and Brun's wines are day and night. The Descombes have more fruit and are lighter in all aspects but that does not mean that there were not fireworks at this table.

The Regnie 2007 was good with some chalky tannins and nice floral tones in the mouth. Nice cling on the finish. Allegedly there is an unconfirmed rumor that most growers in Regnie add Chateuaneuf-du-Pape to their wines. You taste and you decide if this rumor is true.

The Morgon 2007 was great. Juicy, ripe, light as a feather on the palate and so damn pure. Beautiful, toe-curling, star-gazing wine. Just as good as the 2005.

The 2007 Morgon VV was another highlight of the tasting for me. Just a wow wine. Deeper nose than the non-VV bottling with hints of exotic spice. I picked up paprika but who knows. Really complex and nuanced nose. Smelly stuff. The wine was ripe, as the nose led me on, and had sweet tannin and beautiful purity. A complete wine with many many redeeming characteristics. I'd sleep with it.

Clos de la Roilette

I'm also gonna include some notes from a party I went to two weeks ago where all I drank was the '07 Tardive. It was surprisingly forward with nice raspberry and cranberry fruit. Deep, velvety and earthy and showing 1/90th of what it's got. Gonna be a long ager this one.

The '08 Fleurie was tangy, juicy, high acid, and very ripe. Layered on the palate with nice minerality and a big of aggressive youthfulness, but we all know that will go away. This cuvee always starts off awkward and then gets better with time.

Louis & Claude Desvignes

My personal favorite in Morgon. They went 1 for 2 today.

The 2007 Morgon Cote de Py was massively structured as Desvignes wines can be. It was like a Pauillac in Beaujolais. Grippy, intense and check back in five years, but oh so good.

On the other hand the 2007 Javernieres was very cranky. Really alcoholic and disjointed and just not showing well. A bad day for that wine.

Noella Morantin

This is the woman, actually my new winemaker crush, who will take over half the Clos Roche Blanche vineyards starting with the 2009 harvest. A worthy successor and she has a style very different than the Clos Roche Blanche. There is less sauvage and a bit more finesse, plus less weight. I loved these wines and if she signs a pre-nup, it is on.

The 2008 Sauvignon was killer. Very stony nose with hints of pear. The complexity was astounding and the fruit was perfectly ripe on the palate. A wet wine if that make any sense.

The 2008 Menu Pineau had great acid and texture with those funky mineral and fruit you quite can't pinpoint classic Menu Pineau flavors. A wine for now and fun stuff. Very polished, but in a natural way.

The 2008 Touraine Gamay (Gamay Lite) as she labels it was great. Very perfumed nose almost bordering on confectionary. The palate was just a ripe explosion of fruit on a light but not too light frame. Lovely wine. Very finesse despite all the fruit. Joyous. Reminds me of Brun with less tannin.

The 2008 Touraine Gamay Mon Cher is a bigger, badder wine than the Gamay Lite. Really nutty nose as in nuts like cashews, macadamia, etc. Structured and rich with beautiful silken texture and purity. Lip-smacking wine that is so deep. Velvety. Classy wine and a must buy for me.

The 2008 Cot-a-Cot had a complex deep nose with my favorite decaying leaves aroma a la Clos Roche Blanche. The palate is very fleshy, juicy and floral. Great delineation and purity. I loved this.

Clos Roche Blanche

The stylistic difference between these and Noella's wines are pretty drastic. Her wines are bright and cheerful maybe like Jacques Tati's films (to summon my inner Nossiter), but the the wines of the Clos Roche Blanche have a spooky, evil, but ultimately a wonderful class to them, maybe like mature Cronenberg (ExiStenZ, Dead Ringers, Videodrome). Well I love both estates and both filmmakers so a win-win for me.

The 2008 Touraine Gamay has a funky, cheesey, earthy and evil nose. I loved it. Very pure like a dampened forest after a rainfall but you can still smell all the random animal fecal matter and mashed dead plants. A crude, yet charming palate and very dense. One of the meanest versions yet but I'll be back for more.

The 2008 Touraine Rouge Pif is like Shivers, to continue the Cronenberg metaphor. Shivers was his first film and despite being about a virus that makes people act like sex freaks who want to fuck any human being in their path the film has enough camp in it to put a smile on your face. That is Pif. Very floral nose along with excellent ripeness and already showing great complexity. Good acidity and vivid fruit. Bright but still chewy and contemplative stuff. Usually Pif is not this contemplative. A great vintage for this wine.

The 2007 Touraine Rouge Cot is pure evil in a glass. This is very juicy and ripe with dark fruit. Pitch black. Lovely minerality. This wine is the only Cot that gets as much rocky minerality as the Clos de Gamot stuff. Awesome. But hands off for 7-10 years.

Well that's the end of Pt. 1 but in Part 2 look forward to the 3,456 wines that Thierry Puzelat makes plus Texier and a list of wines I missed that will make me cry. Joe, you have too much wine!

Halloween Rieslings

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:39:00 +0000

Had a great dinner at the Peking Duck House with Tom Reddick earlier in the week and we drank some killer Rieslings.

We started off with the 2004 Emrich-Schonleber Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen Grosses Gewachs and this wine was singing. My second bottle in three months. Lovely nose of white flowers, intense minerality, some petrol and some lime zest. The palate was rich, but rich in texture and minerality as fruit is second here as the terroir is beautifully expressive. I always get loads of minerality from Frühlingsplätzchen while Halenberg always seems a bit more rich in fruit but still has that stinging minerality. The wine kept opening and expanding over the next day too. Tremendous structure but drinking so well now. So drink or hold.

Next up was the 2005 Schafer-Frohlich Felsenberg Grosses Gewachs which showed a bit strange at first. Wild yeast nose, bready, almost like a wild grower bubbly, but soon became more civilized as the night went on and showed the wonderful finesse of the Felsenberg along with its trademark limey minerality and peach fruits. Juicy, textured and just enough acidity to keep it from falling into the no-acid zone. A place no Riesling ever wants to go. I remember this and Tim's other GG's from 2005 having better acidity and as they have progressed the fruit and texture, say the vintage characteristics are starting to really show themselves. The next day it drank like a white rhone. All texture and richness but still with a lovely lime and mineral finish. Got juicier too. I will hold my remaining bottles for ten years.

Next up was the 2007 Wittman Aulerde Grosses Gewachs. This started off closed and sinewy but slowly started to reveal itself until it was the only wine we were both drinking by the end of the meal. Distinctly mineral and almost chalky with chewy minerality but lovely finesse off the bat. It soon developed an out of this world complex and floral nose and then the fruit started to show up. The mineral crunch though dominated this wine and I loved it for that. Elegant as all Wittman tends to be at this level and extremely structured. This easily needs 10 years as the structure reminds me of a Meursault from a high-acid year and a mineral vineyard like Tillets. Great wine. Really needed a decant.

Then I wine I was anticipating greatly, the 2007 Keller Abtserde Grosses Gewachs which started off with one very distinct aroma on the nose. That was ginger. Then some brown sugar developed and the whole vibe of the nose was of airiness and nuance. Every sniff there was something new, plus the old aromas from the previous sniff kept developing. A heavenly nose. The palate was all Rocks and Fruit. Heheheheh. But it really was. Like biting down on a stone that falls in apart in your mouth like rock candy. So mineral, structured and young at this point but easily the highest quality wine of the night. The palate was just immense, yet graceful, with tons of structure and a long finish. A wistful wine I'd like to revisit in ten years. And five years. And tomorrow.

The final wine was a bottle of the 2007 F.X. Pichler Durnsteiner Kellerberg Riesling Smaragd which was ok but too rich for me. I've never really cared for Rieslings from this vineyard. Too nutty on the nose and too rich on the palate. An enormously complex wine but too much alcohol and richness fore me. Wish there was more finesse and it was toned down more. That's all I can say about that one.

A Muskateller for the ages

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:23:00 +0000

Sometimes when you are in the wine biz you get attached to certain wines. Not trophy wines or even famous wines, but just certain wines get you. The wine I am talking about is the 2005 Rebholz Muskateller Spatlese which has to be one of the most exciting wines I tasted all year. I have had it many times before. At the estate, at the initial '05 tasting and also one bottle at Crush when I was buying there. It was such and interesting wine in flavor, palate and especially mouthfeel and mouth placement. I never thought I'd see it again until a little birdy dropped off a couple glasses the other night. Wow was this wine spectacular. Hansjorg Rebholz trained under Hans Gunter Schwartz at Muller-Catoir for many years and I believe he still does some consulting at the Rebholz winery from time to time. You could tell as it was similar to the great Muller-Catoir Muskateller's of yore.

The nose was jumping out of the glass. Lime blossom, orange blossom, chamomille and a nice undertone of minerality. The palate was where the fireworks happened. Most wines move backward in your mouth, but not this one. This moved forward. Incredible saturation with just enough acidity to keep it from being flabby. Incredible palate staining finish that echoed with the nose. Major lime sticks to your palate. Still very fresh with great purity. This had to be packing at least 40 g/rs but possibly more. A phenomenal wine that I'd never thought I'd taste again and am very glad I did. Thank you little birdy.

Big L- Put It On

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:34:00 +0000

What else needs to be said. Just a smoking lyricist. He rhymes in like triplets. So unique. Love the hook but this song is all about the lyrics.

My raps steady slammin, I keep a heavy cannon
Its a new sherriff in town, and it aint reggie hammond
Peace to my peoples, the children of the corn

2005 Gonon St. Joseph

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:50:00 +0000

Boring title I know but a wine that was far from boring. Actually thrilling stuff. Opened and was immediately tight as a drum. No fruit, all tannins and acidity and tiny peek-a-boo of fruit on the finish. I've had this wine many times before and I know it always needs 1.5 to 2 hours to show itself. So forgot about for a while and then poured more at the 2 hour mark. What a wine! A soaring nose of flowers, beef, olives, raspberry coulis and some slight reduction. The palate of this wine is big, brawny and still tannic but there is oh so much fruit. The darker berry kind with some gamey and olivey notes thrown in for complexity. The fruit saturates your palate but is lifted so well with the acidity which is excellent. The finish is long and perfectly delineated. Every sip got better, even drinking it at it's sweet spot. The 2 2004's I had earlier this year were wonderful but in a lighter style and ready to be drunk up but this will go for a long time. 10-15 years at least. A beautiful St. Joseph. One more bottle to open.

Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:52:00 +0000

If I wanted a perfect Marcillac it would be 2008 Causse Marines Marcillac. I love Domaine du Cros, especially their VV cuvee but just from tasting the Causse Marines you can tell a lot more soul and natural winemaking occured here. Domaine Laurens is not Marcillac despite the label as it is big, stupid, goofy wine that does not speak of Fer Servadou from Marcillac.

The nose is what I love. Some funk (brett?), juicy red fruits, red flowers, some hay, some earth and major and I mean major paprika. Not for the paprika shy. There is a thickness to the nose which lasted all through the first night. The palate is fantastic. Light, yet with some good concentrated tiny berry fruit, and a wildness that suggests Marcillac and my beloved Fer. I have a mini-obsession with Fer and always drink it when one is available that is good. But Cros was pretty much all that was around but I am glad there is a new guy in town. Back to the wine. Bright, crisp, living acidity that almost had a rapier-like intensity on the palate, but you don't notice because of all the friendly fruit and complex spices. Long, lingering finish. BUT WAIT. Day 2 I was not prepared for how much this wine improved overnight. The palate became velvety, almost like '07 Foillard Morgon CDP (Cote de Py and NOT Chateauneuf-du-Pape!), but with improved laser-like focus and clarity. The purity was astounding, like I was drinking ripe Fer grapes off the vine with a spigot. Great wine. Next bottle I'm gonna open, have a glass and put the cork back in because this wine becomes so much better day 2.

If anyone is reading that can answer, are there any other cuvees of Marcillac by Causse Marines? I know there is Gaillac, and various Mauzacs but am more interested in the Marcillacs. Thanks.

Odds

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:15:00 +0000

No ends here just odds.

The 2006 Rudolf Furst Riesling "pur mineral" was just as lovely as I remember it. My last bottle but I don't see this being an age-worthy cuvee. Leave that to his GG's from the Burgstadter Centrgrafenberg. Although this is sourced from that vineyard it is meant to be drunk young. The heat in 2006 did not seem to affect Furst's wines in this vintage. Which is odd as many of Wirsching's wines were hot or appeared hot but then again he is at least 30-40 miles away. The wine had a stoney, floral nose with a hint of wet rains. The palate was dry and edgy but chiseled correctly even if at taught angles. The palate had great acidity, clean crisp green fruits and a slight. and I mean slight, creaminess in the texture. The finish was long and clingy with a lovely lingering minerality. Drink me now if you got them and I suspect many people don't got 'em.

Also had a bottle of the 2006 Rudolf Furst Weissburgunder "pur mineral" which was very good. A rich wine as Pinot Blanc can be but with crisp acids, rocky minerality and some juicy apple fruit. Floral and stony on the nose after a bit of aeration.

The 2007 Laible Durbacher Plauerlain Weisser Burgunder Kabinett Trocken was as nervous and edgy as any Weissburgunder I have ever tasted. Tremendous structure as the Ortenau section of Baden where this wine comes from is distinctly cooler than anywhere else in the enormous Baden region. This wine is taught, structured and very mineral. Some juicy Weisser fruit comes through but only after serious aeration and coaxing. One bad thing was that when it warmed up this wine showed some traces of heat which is a big deal-breaker for me. It was long and had nice clingy mineral extract on the finish and showed its cool-climate origins. I will not open my second bottle for many years as this seems to have major structure. Incidently on the Furst bottling it is spelled "Weissburgunder" and on the Laible it is spelled "Weisser Burgunder" which can be attributed to regional spelling differences.

Up next was the 2006 Scnhaittman Uhlbacher Riesling*** which was merely average. A somewhat flat nose of minerals, wet stones and flowers. Some stone fruits, but with little flesh. A bit watery and confused on the palate and never really came together. It was balanced but towards the fat side. The heat had to be a factor in this wine. I do recall liking my last bottle and tasting it at the estate in February 2007. The estate is in Wurttemberg.

I next had a California white wine that surprised me. It was the 2005 Vare Bianco "Riserva" out of a 500ml bottle. This was a memento from when I stayed at George Vare's estate in Napa last May. I had a bottle there and it seemed a bit oaky. What a difference two years makes. This bottle was very nice. Some toasty oak on the nose but also almond paste, white flowers, and hints of tea. Very nice. The palate was rich and creamy but with bracing acidity and was extremely layered. Good complexity with all sorts of things going on within the texture and crescendo of a finish. Drink 'em now if you got them. Ribolla, Pinot Blanc and Gris.

The final wine was the 2008 Domaine de la Pepiere Muscadet Sevre et Maine "Les Gras Moutons - Cuvee Eden" which is from one of Olivier's most sacred terroirs. The wine was good but it lacked a little in the hard angles department which is what I love about Muscadet and particularly Clos des Briords. It had loads of minerality but seemed a bit soft at this point. On day 2 it did get more grippy and more structure was apparent but it seemed to remind me of the Luneau-Papin extended lees wines in that it needs time to fully express itself. I am down with that and will put a few in the cellar.

How about some atrocious wine writing for your Thursday?

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:40:00 +0000

Look at the Village Voice's insanely horrible, non-researched and just plain clueless review of Terroir. Really painful but thank goodness for some smart reader's comments that put this ignorant writer in place. You are reviewing a wine bar and don't know what a f***in Auslese is? Do some background work and understand that Paul Grieco is promoting The Summer of Riesling. It's not hard. All it takes is a click on their website. Another example of the oodles of horrific wine writing out there. Just sad.

Thanks to the WD people for pointing this out.

Common Sense - Soul By The Pound (Thump Mix)

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:32:00 +0000

Um . . . .Classic if I have ever heard one. It thumps as the title says.

Nossiter Interview Part Three

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:47:00 +0000

I am a little late on this but it is well worth your time. I'm psyched for the new book too, called Liquid Memory: Why Wine Matters being released on October 13th. Not reccomended for Parker sycophants or acolytes. Could lead to branding Nossiter a Nazi. No affiliation, yada, yada, yada, Nossiter is just another die hard Mets fan who like-a-da-wine. Da real wine. By the way , anybody catch Curb with Jerry and the Gang? This season is amazing so far. Tip coordination. That shit is classic. Larry is just starting with everybody, and Meg Ryan looks terrible. Bad bad plastic surgery job as my friend pointed out.

Musings and RAMBLINGS from a T. Edwards tasting

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:28:00 +0000

Hit the T. Edwards tasting last week at Marea restaurant, the latest jewel in Chris Cannon's high-end restaurant empire. I did not eat much but had at least four or five fluke ceviche's which were delicious.

By far the highlights for me were the wines of Joey Tensley and the Spanish wines imported by Andre Tamers of De Maison Selections. It's like the Joe Dressner of Spanish wine although there are some wineries like Ostatu in Rioja that need to do more work and change some of their methods. The terroir is clearly there but so is the extract-0-meter in the cellar.

I tasted mostly everything at this table. So here are some impressions and not complete notes as this is a tough forum for extensive tasting notes.

The NV Cava Avinyo Brut was nice and crisp with fresh ripe appley fruit and a pleasant finish. Much better than most of what people refer to as "Cava."

The NV Cava Avinyo Brut Rose was killer with a lovely inner mouth florality and intense raspberry on the nose. Elegant mousse is a contrast to the dry, structured palate. Really nice wine, and one I see improving with age.

Next up was the 2008 A. Coroa Godello from the major Godello zone of Valdeorras. This was ok if a bit anonymous. Mineral, ripe nose leads to white flowers on the palate with some stone fruits. Maybe a bit too ripe and a touch of heat on the finish.

The 2007 Do Ferriero "Rebisaca" which is a blend of 85% Albarino and 15% Treixadura is up to typical Do Ferriero standards. Very mineral and precise nose with ripe peach and melon aromas and a dry, structured palate. The finish is explosive and there is nice clingy stone fruit extract on the finish. A very nice wine.

This led into the 2008 Vina Mein from the up and coming area of Ribeiro. This is a complex blend of 80% Treixadura, 10% Godello, 5% Loureiro and 1% to 2% each of Albarino, Torrontes, Albila and Caino. A nice mish-mosh of grapes. Very floral and ripe nose with a rich, textured, pit-fruit dominated palate. The finish is nicely detailed and delineated. Very pretty and finesse wine for such a motley crew of grapes.

The 2008 Yunquera Albillo from Ribera del Duero is made from the indigenous grape Albillo. The vines are 45+ years old and planted on clay and limestone. This wine had great clarity and purity. Ripe, rich and textured palate. Layered too. Very clingy on the long lasting finish. Mineral as all hell.

Moving onto the reds the 2008 D. Ventura "Pena do Lobo" from the Ribeira Sacra was delightful. Lots of flowers, berries and slate hints on the nose. Very ripe and juicy on the palate with vibrant fruit and cleansing acidity. Lovely purity and very gulpable. The offerings from this estate with its extremely small production keep getting better and better.

The 2008 D. Ventura "Do Burato" was showing awkwardly on this day. The nose was all stinky cheese. But there were some hints of dark berries and earth too. Complex but the cheese threw me off. The palate was unevolved with spice and dark berry fruit but not showing much. Need to try this again.

The 2006 Bodegas Ostatu Rioja was a hot mess. A Lilo of a wine, if you will. It was all slick in the mouth and had a medicinal hot finish. Some earth but just a mess.

The 2006 Luberri Biga Rioja Alavesa was good but not noteworthy. It was juicy, ripe and complex but just seemed anonymyous. No X-Factor.

The 2006 Vina Sastre Crianza really impressed me. Rich and ripe and incredibly deep with great fruit and an earthy sweetness. Almost like a low-end Pomerol from a not-so-ripe vintage. Long finish, not too much on the extract and a nice terroir expression. I liked this way more than I thought I was going to.

I next stopped by to chat with Robert Sinskey and he is very affable and also making very impressive wines.

The first wine poured was the 2008 Pinot Blanc from Los Carneros and it was clean and pure as a whistle. Or clean as a whistle? Anyway you get my point. Lots of mineral and ripe fruit on the nose along with a complex and explosive palate with lovely pitted fruits. Always the best Pinot Blanc in CA every year.

Next was Robert's homage to Marcel Deiss with the 2008 Abraxas which is a field blend a la Deiss. The wine has a gristly texture due to the great crunchy acidity and fruits. Very juicy but still has loads of edge.

The next wine was the 2008 Pinot Noir Los Carneros which was light in color as Pinot Noir should be with ripe, juicy and clean fruit and lip-smacking acidity. Lovely, silky and pure on the palate with appropriate crunch on the finish.

The 2005 Pinot Noir "Vandal Vineyard" had a hugely fruity nose with some of that CA sunshine thrown in for extra affect. This showed a touch of heat on the palate I could not get over and kind of killed the wine for me.

The 2005 Pinot Noir "Three Amigos Vineyard" was showing much better with a nose of complex spices and perfume. A haunting aroma. I kept my nose in the glass for a while with this one. The palate was big and concentrated but had a lovely lightness and effortlessness to it. Long finish. Great wine. It's nice to taste good CA Pinot Noir every now and then.

The 2006 P.O.V. which is Robert's low-end Bordeaux blend was great. Really smelled and tasted like a right bank knockoff. Lots of cherries, spice and gentle oak with good acidity and perfect extraction. Not too much at all. Seems like it has the stuffing for age.

The 2005 Marcien Proprietary Red was a monster and too much to take at this point but in no way was out of proportions. Just a big, young CA red that needs a couple years to sort itself out. The material was there.

Pt. II coming soon to hash out Joey Tensley's wines and some other odds and ends.

Also sorry for the two different fonts. Blogger is changing and I can't keep up or figure it out!

Ricky Gervais takes on the wine world?

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:25:00 +0000

That would be so totally friggin' unbelievable.

A rowdy night at 10 Bells

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:47:00 +0000

Great wines, fair prices, grimy, dark, chalkboard wine list, great staff and mostly attractive women as clientele. What is there to complain about. $1 Oysters from 6 to 7. I could go on. So here's what I drank.

Started off with a glass of 2008 Michel Tete Julienas "Ten Bells Cuvee" which was a joyful, fresh glass of Beaujolais. Lovely, juicy, pure fruit, simple yet incredibly joyful wine. A great starter. I loved this for its completely stripped away pure expression of Beaujolais. Such a great starter.

Next was the 2008 Houillon/Overnoy Poulsard which is divine juice. Albeit it was a bit young and needed at least an hour in a decanter but I was some thirsty souls and it was slurped down. This wine, indeed, is very slurpable. The nose was light berry fruit, spice, and funky dirty earth. What is not to love? I'll see this again in five years I hope.

Up next was the 2008 De Moor Aligato-O which was a stinger. Loads of acid, and clean yeasty, bready flavors. Clean and crisp. A perfect foil for the oysters.

Next up was the latest and greatest hot geeky, culty and has the Peter Liem stamp of approval. The wine in question was the Vouette-Sorbee "Blanc d'Argile" One of the only guys making completely natural Champagne and it makes me wonder why more Champagne vignerons don't go in that direction. Stunning nose that is like wild berries, mostly raspberry on a cloud. Nose kept changing in the glass and at times floral, dominated by berries, and sometimes an insane combination of all those previous aromas. Smelled for at least five minutes before the first sip. The palate had such, finesse and precision I had to recheck if the bottle had those RM letters on it. Surely this was Pommery "Cuvee Louise" in there and not this new wacky stuff I have never heard of. There was cling like I've never had before. All these wonderful wild berries and cloud-like formations took over my mouth and it really took me places. A wine that was constantly evolving and changing with every sip and sniff. Profound Champagne and I am very lucky to have tastes it. Thanks Robin!

We went down south, way south for the final wine which was the 2008 Occhipinti "SP 68" which is Arianna's lovely "drink me now" wine that still needs a gazillion hours to actually show well. But after an hour it got going and had all those dark, licorice flavors of Mt. Etna that I love but with an uncanny freshness due to the absolutely amazing acidity. Such a great wine and a wine I could drink every day, and I don't say that often. Wish I could have spent more time with it but I will soon.

Vinters in Bordeaux warned not to over-extract during 2009 harvest

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:54:00 +0000

The story is here but what about the 2005 harvest, 2003 harvest, 2000 harvest, 1998 harvest, etc.

The profundity of Weingut Lauer

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:11:00 +0000

Had a killer bottle of the 2007 Weingut Lauer Ayler Kupp "Kern" Fass 9 last night. It smoked a bottle of 2008 Keller Von Der Fels. Von Der Fels was another '08 that was so-so. But that's for another post. The above picture is the importer Lars Carlberg, Florian Lauer and Stefan Steinmetz's cat, Ramses.

I tasted the Lauer wines with Florian Lauer at the estate of Stefan Steinmetz last August. It was one of my later nights in Germany.

This wine upon opening needed some time to unwind. But once it did the fireworks started. The texture was creamy and rich but an icing-like effect ala Willi Schaefer. Maybe 13 g/rs in the wine which is the norm at Lauer as they let the fermentation, spontaneous by the way, determine the sweetness of the wine. The nose was pure, pure, pure. White flowers, green beans, intense white rock minerality. The palate at first was creamy and a little out of sorts but soon chiseled up like Michelangelo did with David. Amazing delineation and layers and a finish that would not quit. Completely expressing its brilliant terroir while giving off enough fruit to please. The wine kept getting better and better as the nigh progressed as the Keller became a distant memory. This will age for ten years easily. A great wine and one of the more important estates to enter the US in a while.

The double Sch prefix post

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:36:00 +0000

Had a great bottle of the 2008 Emrich-Schonleber "Lenz" last week. This is his halbtrocken while the "Mineral" is, yep, you guessed it, his trocken. I think they are both tremendous wines and tremendous values. This wine does not have a lot of sugar. Some Halbtrocken's can like Spreitzer's but this wine has pure mineral definition and some pithy stone fruits that give it the hal in halbtrocken. It took a while to open up as the acidity is razor sharp but so is the focus. Really a great going from point a to point b type of wine. Mouth-coating texture builds as it aerates. Not a piece out of place. One of the better '06's I have tasted so far. Seems really like a mixed bag so far, granted I have tasted so little.

Had a glorious bottle of the 2004 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Kabinett. As evidenced by the brilliant '94 I had earlier this year, Schaefer's Kabinett's might be the most age-worthy in the Mosel. Although Katharina Prum might have something to say about that. The most intriguing thing about this wine was it's amazing, luscious, icing-on-a-cake mouthfeel. Filled with apple and pear fruit and very layered on the nose and the palate. Beautiful slate aromas develop after some time in the glass and the acid is typical Schaefer in that is it low-toned but you know it is there. I never really have had many screechers from Schaefer as the fruit is always perfectly ripe so it tends to give the acids a background play, even in a vintage like '96.

Nossiter Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:40:00 +0000

A great interview with wine truth-speaker and die hard Mets fan , Jonathan Nossiter, that is a must read for anybody who reads this blog or likes alternative opinions on wine rather than most of the crap in the wine media and 98 percent of wine blogs. Go Johnny Go!! That was Part 2. Here is Part 1.

Peter Liem crashes the party of the century

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:17:00 +0000

This is a great post on a crazy party that Peter Liem crashes. I love his blog, especially when he writes about Riesling. Enjoy.

MC Breed featuring Tupac - Gotta Get Mine

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:55:00 +0000

Classic alert. Probably the only dope thing MC Breed has ever done and Tupac sounds as fresh as ever.

As a bonus, for some reason the video is not bleeped.

This is west coast gangsta shit and I need my profanity.

Looks like BET from the mid 90's.

The song flows so well and Breed really is outstanding and not just keeps up with Tupac but plays off him, and Tupac plays off Breed.

Both gone now.

Asimov geeks out about Jura wines

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 01:08:00 +0000

I love when Eric gets his hardcore geek on and he does a hefty dose of it with his piece on Jura wines also with an accompanying blog post.

Who doesn't love Jura wines? Oh yeah almost everybody. I bought some '99 Puffeney Cuvee Sacha for Crush when it first opened and out of a case I think 6 bottles were returned because they were "off." But some secretary who always came in after work tasted it, went gaga over it, and bought the rest one bottle at a time. It takes time but people will come around, even non wine geeks, but as Eric says it will never take off like Riesling has.

Personally I am a Savagnin guy (but will always have a special place for Houillon Poulsard, the archetype geek wine). Bring on the pre-mox, bring on the pre-mox. It actually works here, and under those oxidized flavors, which mind you are integrated perfectly, is a pure, delicious and very acidic wine with the clarity of any great white wine in the world. Jasnieres, Mosel Riesling, Boxler, Roulot etc. Some non oxidized Savagnin's are good but that's not the where the grape can strut its stuff. The Chardonnay's that are oxidized are great too and show that rich, dense mouthfeel along with all those complex nutty flavors. Oh yeah with crazy acidity. Burg acidity has nothin' on Jura acids. Try a bottle of Houillon Chardonnay and in five seconds you will run to the fridge for some Comte.

An interesting event in NYC with some T. Edwards winemakers

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:08:00 +0000

T. Edwards is one of the biggest "little" distributors in NYC. You have mega drinks conglomerates Southern, Empire and some other crappy big ones plus the quality little guys like David Bowler, Michael Skurnik and Polaner Selections and of course T. Edwards. Well Skurnik and Polaner are getting big but they don't do booze so that makes them small in my book. Booze makes you big.

T. Edwards has some great producers like Daniel Dampt, Roger Perrin, Robert Sinskey, Tensley, all the Andre Tamers wines (D. Ventura, Do Ferriero, Gurrutaxga, Xarmant) plus Huber from Baden who makes killer Spatburgunder. T. Edwards also has a blog in which they are promoting a very interesting tasting for the consumer. It's at a restaurant called Irving Mill and it is being promoted as a tasting for the consumer to see what we as wine bloggers, tasters, buyers etc. go through. No food trough and just simple bread and cheese will be served alongside 150 wines. It's about time the true consumer saw what we have to do in order to put wine on restaurant wine lists or on retail shelves. It's also an awesome way for the consumer to interact with winemakers, winery owners in a way I am sure they never have before. This is not being put on by T. Edwards but it is being put on by a wine store called Amanti Vino in Montclair, NJ which looks like to have a pretty good selection. It's $75 a ticket and I'll be there commenting, interacting, tasting and spitting. If you, the consumer, has never been to an "industry" wine tasting this is your chance. Huia who makes a pretty good NZ Sauvignon Blanc will be there along with Robert Sinskey, Tensley, Lange, Stephen Ross and Vineyard 29. It should be a good time and very interesting. Hope to see ya there. I'll have already been to the big mega T. Edwards tasting at Marea earlier in the day so I need to get my palate in game shape. Those dilute Champagnes might have done the trick . . .;)

Some Riesling from the Bowler/Skurnik extravaganza (and maybe a couple other wines)

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Well before I get attacked by anonymous douche bags for my impressions/notes/whimsies, I must say I have been doing the same shit for three years and if you don't like it, please don't read and then bitch. I am on the verge of not allowing anonymous douchebags to comment anymore on Rockss and Fruit as it is not worth it. If you can't stand behind your words with your name, then don't comment and sit around, alone in your house and stew and bitch and moan.

Anyway the Donnhoff 2006's were stunning. Rich wines with great acidic backbone to them and sense of clarity and purity than only few can pull off. Very ripe wines but I have loved them since the first time I tasted them and think they are leaps ahead of the 2005's and a skoche behind the 2007's.

The 2006 Kreuznacher Krotenpfuhl Spatlese was wonderful. I have two of these in the cellar from this relatively young vine, young site. 2006 was the first vintage. It is much earthier than most Donnhoff's which is probably why I love it. Apparently the book tells me the vineyard is worked organically because it drains directly into the towns reservoir. Anyway this was clear as a crystal ball on a sky blue day. Kind of like today in Manhattan. Red fruits galore, crisp acidity, full-body and lovely sweet fruit on the finish. Not a hint of botrytis and this is showing like a rock star today.

The 2006 Felsenturmchen Spatlese is all shimmer and sheen. Lovely purity and haunting elegance but has more stuffing than the Felsenberg Spatlese. Really creamy and rich but with kicking acidity and lots of stone fruits mixed with rainer cherries on the finish. The finish is long, detailed and pretty extravagant.

The 2006 Schlossbockelheimer Kupfergrube Auslese knocked me on my ass. The finish went on forever and this had its traditional rocky minerality. Opulent, botryized and with enough acidity to pull it all together. This is drinking great now but surely will go for ten more years. An amazing wine that takes over your mouth with its girth, acidity and material. Maybe even better the Hermannshöhle Auslese from this showing.

Also tasted one '08 which I was less impressed with. The 2008 Kreuznacher Krotenpfuhl Kabinett was good but not great. It was fruity, ripe and had nice sour earthiness but lacked definition and clarity that I usually get from Donnhoff. Maybe a bad day for that wine but I have hopes for it yet as that vineyard kicks ass.

To switch gears did taste a nice '07 Burgundy. The 2007 Dureil-Janthial Rully Rouge "En Guesnes" was pretty good. Very floral on the nose and in the mouth with good ripeness and a lithe body. Really floats on the palate and has minimal tannin. A wine for now.

Now I am not going to give specific notes on the 2007 Pierre Yves Colin-Morey Wines because I really did not like them. I did not hate them, but for the money being asked for these wines they should have showed better. The St. Aubin 1er Cru "Les Champlots" was the best of the bunch but for a little bit under $50 there is much much better white burgundy out there. There was a Puligny 1er Cru "Champs Gain" that lacked energy as did the Chassagne 1er Cru "Les Caillerets." These wines were plodding and clumsy with too much mouthfeel and lots of malo textures which are boring. The Meursault 1er Cru "Genevrieres" was good but very young and unevolved and just kind of did nothing in my mouth except went down my throat. Wait a second I am giving specific notes. I am such a contradiction. The Corton Charlemagne was great actually. Young, taught, and really wound up but had that lovely core of minerality and tart fruit that you know will turn into something pretty special if the wine doesn't fuck you and oxidize in three years. Gotta love White Burgundy!

I skipped the La Spinetta table, real shocker there I know. Giorgio Rivetti gave me nasty looks too. Maybe he is the anonymous douchebag!

There were some Rudi Wiest rieslings upstairs and for the most part they were damn good.

The NV Sekthaus Raumland Blanc de Noir Cuvee Marie-Luise Brut was great. Ripe fruits on a delicate frame with a decent amount of dosage that gave it a creamy mouthfeel. Very fresh and enjoyable. A lovely, classy drink.

I should mention I tasted through some Heymann Lownestein '06's, which for the most part were all dry. They all were uninspiring and not worth a mention. Just flat, dead wines. They were all on the dry side. I have had better from this estate. '07 kills '06 here as the wines are much more lively, fresh and perky.

The 2007 Becker Pinot Noir Dry Estate is maybe the best value Pinot Noir in Germany. Good fruit, not a hint of green, nice texture, beautiful pure aromas and juicy acidity. What more can you ask for for around $20?

The 2008 Fritz Haag Estate Riesling Medium Dry is as usual a delight. Light as a feather but with a good core of mineral concentration and great finesse. Crunchy wine Cannot recommend this more as this year in and year out is one of the best in its category. One of the few *** wines of the day. My highest is ****.

There was also an astonishing bottle of the 2008 Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Spatlese #7 which floated like a cloud on my palate. Fully expressive on this day with tons of fruit, slate and crackling acidity. Not quite a Spatlese, but who's complaining. Maybe like an Auslese from 2001. Really compelling wine that great cling and easily was the most complete Riesling of the day. Well then again there was that SF BF Spatlese at the end of this report. Hmmmmmmm . . . .

Stopped by the Von Buhl table and chatted with Christoph Von Graf, who is high up at the estate and he told me emphatically that Tim Frohlich by far made the best GG's in all of Germany in 2008. Can't wait to taste them. Those wines will always hold a special place in my heart as I was the first retailer to bring those wines into the country with the 2005 vintage and they have just gotten better and better. Anyway onto the Von Buhl wines.

The 2003 Riesling Sekt Brut was lovely with great purity and laciness. Very good but not gonna stop you in your tracks. Should come in under $25 and that is a good deal. Raumland is way better.

The 2008 "Jazz Label" Medium-Dry was great. I love this bottling. Crazy fruit, great acidity and as the label says medium-dry. Not too sweet but there is a sense of RS that gets quickly integrated with the acid push on the finish. A lovely wine that will only get better in the short term as witnessed by the 2006 "Jazz Label" Medium-Dry which was a bit (okay a lot) richer than the 2008, due to vintage conditions. There was nice acidity and it was juicy and ripe. Good for what it was considering how tough 2006 was in the Pfalz. The next wine was the 2008 Armand Kabinett which is always a good reliable wine. Fun would be the word to describe it. It was rich and dense with the typical Pfalz stone fruits and rocky minerality. Nothing more, nothing less. The 2005 Forster Ungeheuer Grosses Gewachs was showing awkwardly. I was glad to get to taste this as I have two bottles in the cellar. It was juicy and ripe, but seemed all over the place, and not delivering on all cylinders. Lots of peach fruit, but seemed simplistic. Christoph said it was entering its slumber and would re-emerge in five years. So hands off that one!

And to end on a knock me on my ass note I was beholden to the 2008 Schafer-Frohlich Bockenauer Felseneck Spatlese. WAFW (What a fucking wine!) So chiseled, with amazing acidity and a crazy umami flavor mixed with the stoniest of stone fruits and precision, and focus and acidity that you just need to taste. The best yet. But I say this every year. Genius wine.

Ramblings from MEGA tasting (Champagne-focused)

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Today went to two tastings and I am beat. So here are some ramblings and opinions. It was crowded, and Champagne is especially hard for me to taste for some reason. One of the few ones when there are a lot in the room, they all taste the same. God bless you Peter Liem. It was a Michael Skurnik/David Bowler double feature.

This wil only cove the grower bubblies of Theise. More to come.

No formal motes, just ramblings as I drink my recovery green tea.

General statements about the Grower Champagnes at the Skurnik tasting

I get it. I really do. I am the first guy to support the small grower ,but why do many of the basic entry level cuvees taste like puddles? I mean, dilute, muddied, etc. I don't remember that happening ever at a Skurnik bubbly tatsing. Is it the vintages they are working with? I don't know.

Most 2002's killed it.

In every lineup EXCEPT Lallement there was some dissapointments.

The cuvee before the tete de cuvee always tended to be the best.

The price reduction has not hit Champagne yet, but I am hoping it will someday as the entry level cuvees in most cases represented horrendous value. I'd rather drink Huet Pettilant all day every day than ANY entry level cuvee in that price range, if there were even any, that's how high the prices were.

Champagne House Overview/Notes/Impressions

Gimmonet was uninspiring at the low end. The 1er Cru Blanc de Blans Brut NV was blah.
The Selection Belles Annees, BDB, Brut was better. A blend of '04 and '05 Gastronome the book tells me. More focus and precision.
The Oenophile BDB Extra Brut 2000 had zero dosage and hurt me. Some of the zero dosage wines were too severe even for my palate.
The Fleruron 2004 was too young or I just don't get this cuvee as it was the most expensive and ranked with the NV BDB for quality.
The Special Club 2000, BDB was awesome. A true winner. Sensational density and length. Clean, focused and precise. Perfect ripeness and I suspect a little dosage to make it a bit rounder.

Varnier-Fanniere is all BDB and all the wines go through full malo. Overall nice wines. Again, though, the basic cuvee stunk. It seemed overtly sweet to me and too creamy and dumbed down. Really expensive too.
The Cuvee de Jean Fanniere Origine, BDB, Extra Brut was tasty. Old vines and 4 g/l dosage. Great cut, bursting with fruit and a nice bitter element. Excellent juice. Half '02 and half '03
The Cuvee St. Denis is a monocru from a parcel called Clos du Grand Pere. We are in Avize baby. 70 year old vines. '03 and '04 blend. Very mineral and airy wine. Great finish that clings a bit. Also had elegance which not a lot of wines had today.

Jean Milan was the first grower I fell in love with and the "Carte Blanche" cuvee was a great cuvee. Not this version. Bland, dilute and messy. '04 and 10 Grams of dosage could be the culprit?
The "Milenaire" which is sourced from '04 was just heartbreakingly bad.
The "Cuvee de Reserve" was fine but nothing special. Expensive too.
The "Symphorine" is from peak sites says the book. Elegant yet so common and boring.
But the next three wines re-established my love for this winery.
The 2004 "Selection Terres de Noel" Brut was awesome. A single-vineyard bubbly that put me on cloud nine. Like drinking a feather with dark, lurking minerals. Very elegant and classy wine.
Now the "Grand Reserve 1864" which is around $100 less a case was much better wine than the previous stuff. Rich and dense with a wicked mineral spine. Lovely purity and freshness. Again the 2nd highest cuvee.
The Rose was great. Pure and elegant with some brood and mineral spunk. Not cheap.
The "Cuvee Tendresse" with its 24 g.l. RS is not my thing.

Pierre Peters was ok. Their debut rose with the sleek modern label was awesone. Just amazing. Everything else was bleh. The BDB 2003 MIlesime, The Cuvee de Reserve and Cuvee Speciale Les Chetillons 2000 was good but $784 a case wholesale for very good. Not gonna do it.

Marc Hebrart has their fans and I am not one of them. The only wine that stood out was the Cuvee de Reserve Brut NV which was mostly Pinot Noir. Good fruit and cut. That's it. Again I am no great Champagne taster. It seems not many of these growers mess up their "Special Club" bottling and Hebrart's was nice enough to get a mention in this blog post. Rocky as all hell. I liked it for that reason.

Henri Goutorbe was bad. The NV "Cuvee Prestige" was all what I dislike about expensive entry level grower Champagne. It had a mineral Riesling-like nose so I thought there was promise but it devolved as soon as it hit my mouth into an unrefined, dense and very sloppy wine.
The "Special Club" 2002 was worth a mention. Lots of cut, density and purity.

I've always liked Gaston Chiquet and he saved the day in the NV cuvee category. Very Chardonnay-like despite being 45% Meunier and ONLY 35% Chardonnay. It was great. Yeasty and dense with nice aromas and just complete wine.
Only other wine worth mentioning was the "Cuvee de Reserve" which had petrol, density, some fruit, rocks and a long very juicy finish. I was very fond of this.

Rene Geoffroy makes some interesting stuff. Sometimes I love it and other times I hate it. In the NV Cuvee category there was the "Duc de Romet" which is a new wine that will reach the $30 retail price point and is in fact very good. To put my retailers hat on it for a second, I would blow this out at 27.99 all day as it will bring you repeat customers. It is a wine that shimmers. Pure, clean and ripe with high dosage. I appreciate the wine but I can see it being everywhere in no time.
The "Expression" Brut was very very good. '05 and '06 here and 8.5 g.l. R.S. Delicious, ripe and complex, Complete wine with some unique flavor and cling.
The "Empreinte" is like the song "Little Fluffy Clouds" by the Orb. Weightless wine, cloud-like, puts you in a fantasy world of a beach with a cool breeze on a hot spring day. Operatic stuff and one of the top bubblies of the day.
The "Rose de Saignee" was a nice little drink. Silky and refined as so many grower roses are not.
The "Volupte" was nice enough but lacked energy for me. It was clingy though. Very good but not up to previous incarnations. But it was still better than the next wine. Note that this the 2nd most expensive cuvee in the lineup.
The next wine, the "Milesime" is dumb expensive. It would retail for $125 at a 50% markup and it was hugely underwhelming. It was complex and Chablis like on the nose but a mess on the palate. Maybe a victim of youth. Young and tight but not put together like a great young wine should be. It was all over the map. One of those young wines that will split a room.

A. Margaine I have always liked. Their NV Cuvee was a snooze. The Rose was interesting as it always is. Mostly Chard and also some still red wine thrown in the mix. I have a soft spot for this wine. It is drink-me cheerful puppy-like wine that has a lot of pure flavors. It is a great value and my rose pick of the day. It is so interesting with that still red wine thrown in.
The Special Club was just bonkers. 2002 representing to the fullest here. Even muted this wine smoked. Focused and dense with a rare sense of refinement. Great stuff.

I know many people like Chartogne-Taillet but I have never been "grabbed" by a bottle as of yet. Their NV BDB was terrible. Unfocused and messy and horrible value. Hope I tasted a bad bottle.
The Cuvee St. Anne is worth a mention as this is a driven, earthy and very dry wine. Elegant. Focused. Great stuff. That's why it gets a bold.
The Rose was one of the better I've experienced from them but it still kind of bored me.
The Milesime Brut from 2002 was a head-turner. Exquisite nose. Grassy, animal, berry, and a great cling to the palate. Seems like a value too.
The Cuvee Fiacre was sloppy soup. Just a disaster. This and the NV BDB were like bad bookends to some nice wines.

L. Aubry is next. Always a rollercoaster here with funky grapes and frosted bottles. The NV Brut may be inexpensive but its not worth your time. Just acrid and wrapped up in acidity. Boo.
The Rose is pretty much the same as above, but pink.
The "Iviore et Ebenne" is more of the same. Please help me. Please.
Ah the funky grapes and frosted bottles to the rescue. Up first was the 2004 "Le Nombre d'Or Campane Veteres Vites, "Sable", BDB, Brut. The Sable means that it has a lower than normal pressure and will have less intense bubbles. Chard, Petit Meslier and Arbanne. An ode to the old days. I loved it but it is too expensive. Just an insane wine meant to be studied. So layered and complex, constantly showing you nuance. But the 2003 "Le Nombre d'Or Campane Veteres Vites, Brut was off the charts. This freaky little wine is also the 2nd most expensive cuvee which continues the trend. The blend is Petit Meslier, Arbanne, Fromentau, Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Elegant, wonderfully textured and incredibly layered with class and finesse but a wild character from the arcane varietals. Very complex and intense Champagne. Slap a different label on this and have it marketed by LVMH and it would sell for $350 a bottle. Quality is there. How do you market Fromentau though?
An old favorite, the 2004 "Nicolas Francois Aubry", Sable Rose showed poorly. It just seemed thin.

Henri Billiot is a grower who has grown on me. No pun intended but the wines are nice, well-fruited, always complex and fairly priced. The tete de cuvee "Cuvee Laetitia" is like a baby Selosse too. With all that said today's showing was a mixed bag. The NV "Reserve" was nothing to write home about. Just acceptable. The Rose was a yawn. The 2002 Millesime" Brut was a rockstar. Intense, long, floral and sweetly acidic. Kool-Aid man. Drink it.
The Cuvee Laetitia was easily the best quality Champagne I tasted today. It was ethereal. Textured, pure fruit, long, complex, weightless on the palate and even served up with a slice of umami. Just an amazing palate. Depth. The whole package. LVMH wants this bad. Suckas!
The Cuvee Julie Brut NV was pretty amazing too. Very nutty from the new oak but not over the top. I could handle it and actually liked it. It had a lovely sour candy flavor and was juicy as hell. Just a notch below Laetitia.

Pehu-Simonet was just terrible. I have never tasted these before. Bland, dilute. Trying to be delicate wines but failing miserably.

Jean Lallement is one of my favorite growers. Pure, wine-y wines that are more Burgundy than Champagne. Total production is 1700 cases. The Brut NV which is mostly '06 with a little '05 is maybe one of the more consistent wines in all of Champagne. Lovely, complex array of aromas with great drive and intensity on the palate. Gorgeous. The Brut "Reserve" NV was spicier but had lovely ripeness and purity. Deep palate. The Rose was just insanity. Very mineral, with tight focus and lovely purity. The best pink wine of the day.

Vilmart I did not taste as the table was crammed all day.

Two Burgs and few words about 2006

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:21:00 +0000

Had a couple burgs on Friday night with an old friend I had not seen in a bit.

Started off with the 2005 Sylvain Cathiard Bourgogne Rouge which was in a perfect place. Lovely nose of spice, cardamon, clove and some dark cherry fruit. Palate gad very resolved tannins that were creamy along with nice, big, dusty fruit. Very fruity but still managed to give you the whole Burgundian "sous-bois" thing but on a very low register. A great wine for novices as it really gives someone who has no clue about red burgs an idea of what is going on. Plus it can also please more discerning palates like mine and my friend. Nice stuff and glad I drank it.

The next wine was the greatest red burg I had all year, granted has not been a big wine drinking year due to many circumstances. It was the 2006 Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru "Clos des Mouches" Rouge This was slamming. Out of the gates it had a little bit of funk on the nose. Herbal, mushroom and slight rot. But that went away before I could even criticize it. This was Beaune at its best. So much breed and class. A zowie nose of way floral aromas and lovely pure cherry fruit plus beautiful spice. Some blueberry too after a while. Very pretty. The nose took a while to get into the zone but once it did it was incredible. The reason I buy bottles like this. The palate was pure class in a glass. Balanced, pure and deep with great structure and an amazing diaphanous quality. Long finish. Epic finish. Cecil B. deMille -like. Had a bit of aged Keen's Cheddar that turned the volume up to 11. It gave the wine more finesse, more elegance and more intensity. Combo of the year too. Ahh...so nice to have a wine that is so great it reminds me why I chose this as a career. Been beginning to doubt it recently. Thank you Burgundy.

2006 was the right vintage at the wrong time. What I mean by this is it is the most "classic" vintage since 2001. Not over-fruited like 2005 where you need to wait 20-30 years to get the terroir stamp. This wine (the Drouhin) had terroir written all over it, not unlike many 2001's. The problem was that it came out after 2005 and no one wanted it because prices were crazy, the economy was crashing and people loaded up on 2005's. People who never bought a Burgundy before 2005, now had a whole cellar of 2005's. This is the vintage the rookies SHOULD have bought as it is so classic and I have had very few disappointments. Closeouts are happening so be on the lookout for them as this is a finally a vintage for the right time, which is now.