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HOW TO USE THESE NOTES: Many of my tasting notes take the style of mini-articles and discuss multiple wines. So, rather than bust them up, I've organized them in the order they were written, with the most recent at the top. I realize this is a royal pain for folks simply seeking a recommendation for a good Chardonnay. If that's what you're after, please make use of our SEARCH engine. Just click the button below, wait for the search window to pop up, type in the word "Chardonnay" (for example) -- and follow the instructions on the results screen. If you're using Internet Explorer, you can also search any individual screen -- like this one -- by hitting "Ctrl-F", typing in your search word and pressing "Enter." GOT GEWÜRZ? (June 23, 2002) Summer steamed into town yesterday, smothering us in a humid, 90-degree Bermuda high. But any weather is perfect for Gewürztraminer -- the grape that laughs at languid moods, impossible foods, tough-to-please wine-dudes and any other trouble that comes its way. Last night, as in 2000 and 2001, we celebrated more than 16 exemplars of the Other White Wine over a long, leisurely (and admittedly air conditioned) dinner. Highlights included: STARTER:
FLIGHT ONE:
FLIGHT TWO:
FLIGHT THREE:
FLIGHT FOUR:
FLIGHT FIVE:
A NEW WHITE TITAN (June 12, 2002) Guess what newcomer snuck in and stole the spotlight from Kistler and Marcassin tonight? Before I give away the answer, here's the context: . Just approaching its glory days, this wine still needs an hour or so for the oak to roll back. When it does, there's no denying its power and finesse. Hazelnuts, honey, mineral flavors -- there's lots to enjoy and it all stains the palate. Now wouldn't it be nice if they made a little more? ***1996 Kistler Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is the most mature-tasting wine on the table, but still showing plenty of fruit, custard and lingering toast on the finish. **+1996 Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Vineyard has a little more zingy acidity, veering over to lemon and apple flavors. It's also not quite as generous as the others and I kind of think this is all you're going to get from it. Nice wine, but trumped by the others. ***+1997 Kistler Hudson Vineyard starts out kind of kinky, with earthy and smokey aromas. As it opens however, the stink subsides and big, flinty flavors come out to play. Then the tropical fruit rolls out and this wine is fantastic! Tough decision between this and the '96 Marcassin for Chard of the Evening. Pretty powerful crowd, yes? But then along comes... . Served blind, this wine raises eyebrows, then wins converts. Starts out a little dumb, then reveals a passel of floral notes, then almost begins to smell like a Sauterne. Thick and rewarding on the palate, enormous on the finish, trailing flavors of honeydew melon and apricot. I helplessly guess New World Semillon or maybe a Rhône clone from Sine Qua Non. I'm closer on the second, because it's a blend of Viognier and Roussanne. In any case, this is a huge success for Larry Turley and winemaker Ehren Jordan. I won't say it's better than the Kistler or Marcassin Chards, but it sure gets more attention tonight. ONE OF CALIFORNIA'S BEST CULT CABS (June 5, 2002)...is an Italian Merlot? Yeah, sort of. Tonight we opened one of my favorite '97 Cal Cabs alongside a sensational Italian pretender and I was hard-pressed to pick a favorite. In fact, you could have switched the two glasses without raising too many eyebrows: is developing wonderfully since release. Blackberries gush from the glass, shaded by notes of shoe polish, new leather and lead pencil. Silky tannins, long finish, aces all around. But it can't overshadow... ***+1997 Falesco Montiano. This 100% Merlot from Latium is everything Cal Cab lovers crave with a slight Italian accent. The oak has fallen away, revealing loads of blackcurrant, a little dark chocolate and some minerals on the finish. Pomerol it's not, but you'll grin with every sip. MORE NEW WEST COASTERS (May 19, 2002) As I dashed through a trade tasting this past week, the nicest surprises included California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir:
THE TOUGH & THE CUDDLY. (May 15, 2002) Some say 1989 Bordeaux is too tannic. Some say 1990 Bordeaux is too soft. I say I'll happily drink either and that's what we did tonight. We lined up mini-verticals of two wines that did well in both vintages, threw in a couple of extras, then set ourselves the happy task of determining which we liked better. What ensued was fascinating. The more they aired, the more they converged. The toughies got more seductive and the cuddly ones...well, here's what happened: blooms late, but bloom it sure does. Decanted an hour before serving, it sulks like a teenager at first. Tar, cedar, leather -- but where's the fruit? Wait, wait, here it comes. Masses of black currants. As the evening draws on, the wine shows depth, complexity, wonderful length. ***+1990 Lynch-Bages is the polar opposite when we pour it. Fleshy, flashy, seductive. Buttered toast and blueberry jam. (Basically the same way it showed eight or nine years ago, when some folks predicted it wouldn't age well.) Gradually, though, as the baby fat fades, you notice the serious wine below. By evening's end, it's tied with its older sister. **-1999 Lynch-Bages, thrown in for fun, may not be as grand as the other two, but the aromas are close to the 1990 and it develops well over 3 hours. I'm thinking I may want a few for short-term drinking, if the price turns out to be right. ***+1989 Pichon-Baron follows the same route as '89 Lynch-Bages, only I find it even more complex and compelling. Dominated at first by lead pencil and shoe polish aromas, it opens at a steady pace until it positively oozes crLme de cassis. Classy as heck, it gets my vote for WINE OF THE EVENING. How can anyone not love it! But some actually prefer... ***+1990 Pichon-Baron. Fat and sassy, it gains muscle as its sibling softens up. Probably has more alcohol and a little less acid, but don't drink all your bottles just yet. The depth and balance say "decades of pleasure" to me. And ***+1990 Leoville Las-Cases seems to combine the best of both vintages. Not as cute as the other '90s, nor as stern as the '89s, it delivers tobacco, mineral and pomegranate flavors by the bucket...and what a finish! (May 2, 2002) Twice in the past week, I've wished I had 12 more hours just to sit at the dinner table, watching a young wine spread its wings and fly to the moon. Both these chicks were barely out of their shells by the evening's close, and worthy of further study: is one of those bargains you wish you'd bought two more cases of. In the first half hour it's just India ink, but gradually it gathers speed like one of those big old black Baldwin locomotives. By hour two the whistle's blowing and it's powering down the tracks, shooting off aromas of blackberry, strawberry, mulberry, minerals, what have you. The finish is monstrous. This stuff went for just over $20 on futures and it's probably better than the phenomenally expensive 1997 Dalla Valle Estate. I'll warn you that when I tasted ***1998 Fox Creek Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, it was wrapped in foil and I thought it was Oz Shiraz. The good news is that I figured it was terrific Oz Shiraz with a long way to go. Maybe in a few years, the Cab notes will come out to play. Or maybe in 10. It's that big. I tasted anise, blueberry, chocolate -- and I kept tasting it for about 2 minutes after I had my last swallow. |
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