Wine of Merit: ***++Schloss Gobelsburg Urgenstein riesling, Weingut, 2005: Another Austrian Riesling winner, this from the young vines of two grand cru vineyards. This wine could probably use some bottle aging, but is still a pleasure to drink in its youth. Bright, zippy acids accompany focused, delineated tropical fruit, lichee, lemon blossom and freshly mown grass elements. Excellent mineral content. The finish is long and spicy. Dynamite wine from an excellent vintage. A lovely wine for now and for later.
***++Brewer Clifton Blanc des blanc, Santa Maria Valley, 1993 (late disgorged): I am a huge fan of this wine and it continues to surprise and delight. Like an effervescent Corton Charlemagne, this wine offers tapioca, lemon curd and linseed notes, adding honey, waxed fruit and tobacco now. Palette is alive if mellowing, with minerals and more citrus notes. In a world awash with average bubbly, this is a great change up. Stately and yet yummy at the same time. Too good.
***++Flowers Sonoma Coast, pinot noir, 2002: This on the other hand is a no brainer. Wonderful, youthful, seamless, not over the top but with plenty of stuffing. I tend to dig the cooler climate of the Sonoma Coast for pinot – and Flowers knows Sonoma Coast pinot. Similar in style to some of the better Williams Selyem, this wine is well endowed without ever coming across as heavy or obvious. Great concentration and depth, with just the right amount of oak nuances to accompany the varietal fruit, cola, cream and tea rose notes. Palette coating integrated front to back. Really an easy wine to enjoy and very worthy of compliment. Nice!
***Rochioli Russian River Valley sauvignon blanc, 2005: Righteous. I have always felt that Rochioli and Peter Michael make the quintessential California sauvignon blanc, though they are very different in style. This wine is all about purity and focus. Bright grapefruit and guava notes zap themselves right at you from the glass, with a touch of grassy lavender. The palate is lively and crisp, adding slightly under ripe honey dew, though this vintage does show some vanilla and almond notes from the wood barrels. Quenching and delicious. P.S. A recent tasting of the 2006 showed everything the 2005 had…just more. It adds a plus for a ***+.
***++Flowers Sonoma Coast, pinot noir, 2002: This on the other hand is a no brainer. Wonderful, youthful, seamless, not over the top but with plenty of stuffing. I tend to dig the cooler climate of the Sonoma Coast for pinot – and Flowers knows Sonoma Coast pinot. Similar in style to some of the better Williams Selyem, this wine is well endowed without ever coming across as heavy or obvious. Great concentration and depth, with just the right amount of oak nuances to accompany the varietal fruit, cola, cream and tea rose notes. Palette coating integrated front to back. Really an easy wine to enjoy and very worthy of compliment. Nice!
***Rochioli Russian River Valley sauvignon blanc, 2005: Righteous. I have always felt that Rochioli and Peter Michael make the quintessential California sauvignon blanc, though they are very different in style. This wine is all about purity and focus. Bright grapefruit and guava notes zap themselves right at you from the glass, with a touch of grassy lavender. The palate is lively and crisp, adding slightly under ripe honey dew, though this vintage does show some vanilla and almond notes from the wood barrels. Quenching and delicious. P.S. A recent tasting of the 2006 showed everything the 2005 had…just more. It adds a plus for a ***+.
***Nicolas Joly, Clos de la Culee de Sarrant, Savennieres, 1985: The Prestige Chenin Blanc bottling from this Loire valley winery, which has the unusual distinction of having its own appellation. This particular vintage represents the first bottling after the winery converted to biodynamic farming (Moooo!). Vibrant and surprisingly youthful color and clarity. Somewhat restrained nose of honey, clover, wet hay and quince. The palate is round and expansive, offering many of the same fruit elements with the addition of a nice mineral note. The finish was silky but beginning to fade. Elegant.
***Bodega R. Lopez Heredia, Vina Tondia, Gran Riserva, Ribera del duero, 1981: I think this is a wine that either really speaks to you – or doesn’t. I mean, I bet the Brits really dig this wine. It is old and nuanced in kind of more dead than alive ways. But I understand it. Faded garnet to the rim, this sage wine offers red, plumy, spicy fruit, saddle leather, panforte and graphite nose, again all ebbing rather than flowing. The palate is completely resolved but again offers some interesting garden vegetable and mature fruit elements to accompany a lovely mineral signature that is seamless front to back. A wine to appreciate if not enjoy…
***Bodega R. Lopez Heredia, Vina Tondia, Gran Riserva, Ribera del duero, 1981: I think this is a wine that either really speaks to you – or doesn’t. I mean, I bet the Brits really dig this wine. It is old and nuanced in kind of more dead than alive ways. But I understand it. Faded garnet to the rim, this sage wine offers red, plumy, spicy fruit, saddle leather, panforte and graphite nose, again all ebbing rather than flowing. The palate is completely resolved but again offers some interesting garden vegetable and mature fruit elements to accompany a lovely mineral signature that is seamless front to back. A wine to appreciate if not enjoy…
