Matt Latuchie
After a couple of months of drinking lots of Loire wines, this past week was spent revisiting my first love – Burgundy. Early in the week I opened a 2007 Scott Paul Cellars Pinor Noir La Paulee and a 2009 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvee Corcelette, two wines that could easily be mistaken for Burgundy. The Paul is a favorite of mine from Oregon and was showing lots of damp earth and ripe berries while the Foillard from Beaujolais was brilliant with a muscular profile and great acidity.
Later in the week I opened a 2006 Louis Jadot Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Barre that was easily one of the best young Burgundies I can remember. Beautiful floral and red fruit tones were almost weightless yet packed intense flavor and appeal. On Saturday night I opened a 2008 Domaine Marc Roy Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvee Alexandrine which is a new producer for me. I had thought most 2008 Gevrey’s would be shut down at this point, but this was miraculously open with a beef-broth character to it.
Robby Schrum
This week, to celebrate a birthday in the Schrum household, we opened something from my favorite producer: a 2007 Robert Keenan Syrah from Napa. Superb, gigantic nose: ripe berries, with some rich chocolate notes as well. Also a touch of heat. Much to my surprise, the syrah characteristics were muted. The fruits were up front and big on the palate — dark berries, with great secondary characteristics, including a big dose of chocolate. The syrah notes made themselves known on the mid- and late palate: pepper, spice, and the like. Mild and pleasing tannins. A little heat on the finish, too. Huge fruits for a syrah. Fun — but perhaps a little too alcoholic.
Sarah Hexter
I had two blog-worthy wines this week (among many). These two wines were tasted blind, brought into the wine store where I work by some very generous regulars.
Initially I thought the first wine was an old Chenin Blanc, probably a Vouvray. In the glass it was showing a lovely deep golden yellow but with no signs of brown, had a honeyed and petrol-ey nose with notes of honeysuckle and light sweet melon. It was sweet but not too sweet, and retained an excellent level of acidity–it would have been delicious with some blue cheese–but it didn’t have much complexity. The big reveal proved me wrong: it was not a Vouvray but a 1994 Balthasar Ress Riesling Auslese from the Oestrich Doosberg vineyard in the Rheingau. Overall, it was delicious but somewhat two-dimensional, and somewhat disappointing considering its age and pedigree.
The second bottle poured was a red, which had thrown a bit of sediment and had the look and tertiary aromas of an elegant, mature wine. A bit of guessing by the other tasters offered hints that it came from the USA, and my guess was a Napa Cab from the early to mid nineties. I’ve had very little exposure to these wines so I was very glad to have the opportunity to try this one. It turns out this wine was a cult classic: a 1993 Colgin Herb Lamb Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. After a recent (exhausting) tasting of Napa Cabs with the Terroirist gang, this was an incredibly refreshing and enlightening wine–I think I finally understand why Napa Cabs became so well-respected. The wine was shockingly lively considering its age. It had mature tannins, graceful acidity, and notes of tar, black fruit, eucalyptus, tobacco, and forest floor. Basically, it blew my mind.
Greg Golec
In addition to a few daily drinkers I’ve written about before, I popped a 2008 Sandler Wine Company Connell Vineyard Syrah. This was my first Sandler of any sorts but I figured I was in for a treat given it’s an Ed Kurtzman project. It didn’t disappoint, although it would benefit from more time in bottle. I popped and poured which revealed lots of blueberries and smoked meat on the nose. Dark fruits dominated up fruit but transitioned into a bit of blood and stems. A bit hot, I believe it needs a year or two before its at peak.
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