2004 Domaine du Cros, Marcillac:
Made from a grape called fer servadou (a/k/a fer or masois or pineac or brocol) in an AOC in southwest France, this is a character driven, smoky, spicy red wine with structure, rusticity and a little too much green bell pepper for me. With a bit less green, this would be really fascinating stuff.
(I don’t know if the “green” is a result of vintage, AOC or producer so I will probably try a riper vintage of the same wine when it comes available.)
Day two: So much less green that it is now just a faint accent – not unlike good Chinon – and so much more vivid and bright. A very interesting wine. 12.5% alcohol, imported by Wine Traditions and about $13; maybe again.
1999 Nigl, Grüner Veltliner Privat:
Solid GV with a slightly fruit-sweet edge in the absence of food; with some four cheese ravioli with sun-dried tomato pesto this lost its sweet edge and became deeper, complex and a complete wine. Truly a bottle that blossoms with food.
Day two: the sweetness is gone and it’s taken on weight and cut; this is really dandy juice.
13.5% alcohol, imported by Skurnik and about $23 on release; (sigh) were that it cost that today.
2001 Bouchard Père & Fils, Volnay Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot:
Way too oaky when first opened – wood that kills the nose, chokes the mid-palate and dries the finish – and then, the miracle happens (after about an hour open); the oak diminishes on the nose and lets through black fruit and stone aromas, the palate opens up and gains depth and density, and, the finish lengthens and becomes juicy. I have no idea how this metamorphosis occurs but was delighted to have the wine with grilled duck breast once it changed. Probably needs five years in the cellar or a good bit of time in the decanter. 13.5% alcohol, imported by Cliquot and about $25, on release; I got plenty.
2002 Luneau-Papin, Muscadet Semper Excelsior:
Deep, rich and dense are not words usually used to describe Muscadet but this is not your usual Muscadet (an extra year on the lees and fruit from vines grown entirely in schist); remarkable concentration yet this wine has good cut, is full of life and verve, and fills the mouth as few white wines do. For those who have tasted both, I preferred this to the 2005 Pepiere, Granite de Clisson, although I admit that I have had the Clisson only once and that it is a newer vintage – who knows what it will become? 12.5% alcohol, imported by Louis/Dressner and about $20; quite simply one of the best white wines I have tasted at any price.
Best, Jim