After a very long day (evening board meeting) I came home and felt like a glass of white. There was a "party orphan" bottle of 2005 R.H. Phillips "Night Harvest" Chardonnay, I said what the hell (as I was not likely to want to open it for dinner wine). Sweet and buttery, a bit dilute, dull but mostly unoffensive. Dominated by sweetness. Well, mostly unoffensive on day 1. Retasted (well, at least resmelled) on day 2, this had morphed into a foul cheesy beast. I like stinky cheese, I don't like Chardonnay that smells like old stinky cheese with vanilla and rancid popcorn "butter" poured on it. . Yuck. Day 1, C+/C, day 2 D-
I remember thinking RH Phillips Chards were alright for style in the past
Friday was the big day- we dropped David at Newark airport to head off to college in Scotland, and then I drove Betsy to Lincoln Center for work (she held together seeing her baby off pretty well). I drove home (Betsy had a ride for after work), with a stop at PJs uptown to pick up some old Rioja. Then home for some takeout futomaki. The Chardonnay was gross, but couple glasses of the 2005 Schloss Saarstein "Saarstein" Riesling QbA were rather lovely. Very focused and bright for an '05, fine acids over a base of lime fruit and mineral. There's a spicy note that I can't place at first, a really old memory hovering there- wait, I've got it. The canned spiced peaches my grandmothers (Alabama and Georgia) used to make. Never was really wild about them as a kid, but the aroma is a nice accent to the Riesling. Good value at $10. B+/B.
I also had a glass of the 2005 Peuy Saincrit (Bordeaux Superieur). Nice for the level, restrained, just a hint of oak, nice black cherry and plum fruit, a soft-Merlotish style but with some ripe tannin and sufficient acidity to keep it lively. Not a lot of complexity or length, but certainly pretty good for $9 Bdx., and it holds up well overnight. I'll probably buy again. B
Most of the Bdx Superieur went into a sauce for my lamb on Saturday night. I decided to try another bottle I didn't have high expectations of- a Bordeaux second wine from 1997! I actually got a pleasant surprise. The 1997 Forts de Latour (Pauillac) didn't remind me of Latour, or Pauillac. I think if I had been trying blind I would have guessed midlevel Margaux or even Right Bank from a fairly ripe vintage. But a good one! Ripe and round, with almost lush black plum and blackberry fruit, low acid, resolved tannins. A little earth and lead pencil, good length, quite smooth. A pointe. I'm surprised enough by this to check Winesearcher. An auction has it for $45 plus vig, retail starts at $60. No interest at that point. But this is a fine wine for a second wine from a vintage I don't especially favor. B+
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.