The most important new blog on the interwebs

Joe Dressner has brain cancer.

La Nouveau est arrivé!

In the better late than never category, the 2008 Beaujolais Nouveau was here recently.

2008 Chermette Beaujolais Nouveau
Juicy, fruit-juice gamay. Chill, crunk, repeat.

2008 Vissoux (Chermette) Beaujolais Nouveau Vielles Vignes
I liked this better. It was tighter and more structured. More chalky and grippy.

2002 Michel Tête Julienas
A great bottle. Has started to go a bit pinote. I don’t know that it will get better. Structure seems to be resolved and there is still some freshness. I had a disappointing bottle not too long ago, but this one was fabulous. I’ll try a 1999 soon and see where that is.

2002 Brun Beaujolais L’Ancien
Dirty stinky diaper. Good structure underneath, but seriously flawed. Tried the chill technique advocated by FLaJim, but to no avail. My entire case has been fucked. I blame Kevin McKenna.

Dinner at Red Lotus #1

Another series for my loyal readers. I’ve been trying the “Chinese” menu at this local seemingly crappy restaurant. Follow along.

Tried dinner at a place called Red Lotus with André. I’d eaten there before and it was totally shitty, but André insisted that there was a special Chinese menu, and there was. It leaves me to wonder, if there is a special Chinese menu that round-eyes know about, is there a super special one? Worth special mention was the “Chinese bass” with chilies and pickled cabbage.

2002 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Spätlese
I think that I might like my German riesling on the young side. This was pretty good, but getting a bit of that lactic quality that I really don’t love. Not sure what it is. I really love Dönnhoff when it is young for its piercing clarity and vigor. The Kupfergrube is always on the fat side of the portfolio and 2002 was no exception. Lots of plump fruit which went nicely with the spicy dishes, but it didn’t show particular verve or cut. I am not sure what to tell folks to do with this. I guess hold it for a while if you like the secondary flavors and aromas of Nahe riesling. I think I may only like vintages like 1996 that have crunchy acid forever. I sold off most of my Dönnhoff in the not to distant past (if you bought some 1998s a year or so ago, you’re welcome). I’ll check in with a Hermanshölle soon and see what’s up there.

Sunday Dinner #3

OK, this is a sort of theme. Another Sunday dinner with my brother and his family, this time polishing off some Thanksgiving leftovers. I like the feeling of being a presence in my niece and nephew’s lives, even if I’m not the best with kids.

2004 Domaine de la Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine
For me, this is in a prime drinking window. Has lost youthful jaggedness, but still has some verve and incisiveness. Others might like it older, but for me, this is in the perfect spot to accompany fish in a light sauce or other similarly sauced white meats.

2005 Desvignes Morgon Côte du Py Javernières
I’ve posted on this several times before and it is a great wine. I think it may be the Beaujolais of the vintage. So much baby fat, but so much firm structure. This is wonderfully balanced already.

1998 Thomas Pinot Noir Willamette Valley
The best bottle of this I’ve yet had. Maybe I just drank the others too soon? It takes a while for the reduction/FlaJim gunpowder to come out. It is a bright, svelte wine with lots of brambly berry-ish fruit that don’t glob or glom. Wisps of forest and herbs float around to compliment the fruit with a snappy finish. I was really very pleased with this bottle.

Sunday Dinner #2

It’s a nice time, Sunday dinner with my brother and his family. Reminds me of growing up. We always had a nice relaxing Sunday dinner, lingered over wine and conversation.

These matched some hearty, braised beef short ribs and assorted other stuff.

2005 Coudert Fleurie Cuvée Tardive
Sappy and juicy but not really expressive yet. There is an old-vineyness to this wine that I find hard to really define. It is a sort of steel core of fruit with herby insects buzzing around in a hum (the Alary had it a bit too). It’s a very cool sensation that I’m very much drawn too in a wine. This is everything you would expect from a great vintage of Coudert. I don’t know whether it will match the 1991, but it will sure give it a shot. I’ll wait another year before trying another one.

2000 Alary (l'Oratoire St Martin) Cairanne Cuvée Prestige
Started out with tons of sappy, beautiful fruit. Grenache in a good way. Herbs and woodsy sorts of notes buzzing around with a hint of earthiness, but only a hint. Great texture in the mouth. Sort of luscious, but held together by some structure. However, after a while it began to close down and the nose became really muted and the flavors stumbled. The mouthfeel was still good, but it just wasn’t the same wine. So I guess this isn’t ready yet, or maybe needed decanting, although I doubt that decanting would really help all that much. I’ll try again in 3 years or so.

Sunday Dinner #1

In the South, Sunday dinner is something that takes place in the late afternoon. It is a fine tradition and one of Will’s better ideas. He’s also a hell of a cook.

Pierre Peters Blanc de Blancs Brut
Nice, bright, good bite, but I can’t really be bothered to pay that much attention to Champagne.

2001 Barthod Bourgogne Les Bons Batons
Really good showing for this. Starts about a bit mute, but after 20-30 minutes, it really opens up. Brambly, carousing fruit with plenty of sous bois notes to round the complexity. I really can’t think of anything more I could ask from a Bourgogne. In my opinion, Barthod makes the finest example.

2006 George Descombes Morgon
What I liked about this wine is that I could just drink it without really having to pay attention. Sunday dinner is about conversation and this didn’t get in the way, only enhanced it.

With cheese
2002 Huët Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu
Right at cellar temperature. Has really rounded and lost some of it’s orginal hard edge. I was surprised at how gentle it was. Not sloppy or flawed, just a lot friendlier than I would have expected. I find chenin blanc based wines to be the perfect foil for a cheese course and this served that purpose with aplomb. As it opened up, it started to stretch out a bit and find focus. If you have a good stash, it might be a decent time to check in.

The cycle turns

While you wait for me to compile my Thanksgiving notes.

Things tend to turn in cycles. I had a run of mostly disappointing experiences with wine.

With old friends Eric and David.

2004 Mount Eden Santa Cruz Mountains chardonnay
Probably the best wine of the evening. Half a bottle that had been opened that morning. Really good resonance of mountain chardonnay. A bit sweet on the palate but not in a way that really bothered me. Decently mineral and muscled. I’ve always liked Mount Eden wines and this gave me reason to keep the faith. I haven’t tried the cabernet in a few years, I think I should.

2002 Breton Bourgueil Clos Sénéchal
This was two-thirds of a bottle open for four days. Surprisingly in decline. It was very good the day I opened it and I thought just being corked in the fridge it should be fine. I was wrong. Oh well. Note to self, drink it all when you open it. It’s only 11.7% alcohol.

2005 d'Angerville Bourgogne
Of the reds, this showed best; however, it went in and out. It would put on weight, then get sloppy. Will probably be better with a few years under its belt, but that was small consolation.

1999 Fourrier Gevrey 1er Combes aux Moines
After the great bottle of Champeaux in the not-to-distant past, I really had high expectations for this wine. I was pretty disappointed. Kind of muddled and fungal (not unusual for Combes aux Moines) but it never really settled in or came together in any interesting way. Maybe I should have decanted it or maybe it just blows.

2000 Potel Clos de la Roche
Pretty crappy. A close-out with good reason.