Kurt “Indiana” Wieneke showed up for dinner and wine on the night of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference Finals, and he brought some serious mojo with him. Just one bottle, but that was enough, considering that we were packing as well. We decided to start things off with some Michigan magic, so we turned him on to some of Jim and Rae Lee Lester’s whites, which made beautiful music with Kim’s chicken piccata and got us primed for the drop of the puck.
2004 Wyncroft Lake Michigan Shore Riesling Madron Lake Vineyard, 13% alc.: We last tried this and the following wine on the same occasion, and both have come along nicely since then. Medium straw in color, it immediately elicited an impression of “steely acidity” from Indiana, and he wasn’t wrong. It shows medium+ intensity of under-ripe apple, mineral and a note of petrol that wasn’t apparent that first time we tried it. Medium bodied, with zippy acidity, this is drinking pretty well now, but its best days are clearly ahead of it, so if you have some, hold off; you might call this a work in progress. Jim blessed us with a magnum of the stuff that won’t be opened before 2014, at the earliest.
2003 Wyncroft Lake Michigan Shore Chardonnay Avonlea Vineyard, 14% alc.: This one is showing all kinds of things; rich golden color, big toasty oak and a rich, ripe tropical fruit mélange. Full bodied and unctuous, with excellent acidity, and as it opens, it reveals a nice balance between that ripe fruit and an underlying crisp citrus character, along with a note of butterscotch. This likes air right now, but it’ll like at least a few more years in the cellar even more. Drop this baby in a blind tasting of Chardonnays and see where people guess that it’s from; odds are, no one will name Michigan, unless they’re already very familiar with Wyncroft Chardonnay.
With game time at hand, we broke into the Rhônes, and they were powerful indeed. Indiana poured his offering first, and I can’t but help remembering my fervent wish the last time I enjoyed this, back in it’s youth: “…and can only hope that some kind benefactor opens another for me in five years or so.” It took a little longer than that, but it was well worth the wait. Thanks, Kurt!
1996 Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage,12.5% alc.: Still showing deep, dark color, with no bricking to speak of; after his first sip, Kurt likened it to “an herbal cough medicine.” For this taster, savory herbs shade the deep, dark black fruit, coming more and more to the fore as it opens. It takes about half an hour for the smoky bacon to emerge and mingle with the herbaceous underbrush, setting the tone for the wine and defining its unique, classic Graillot personality. Rich and lovely, and well structured still, yet eminently drinkable, this might be at its peak, or it might still have a way to go.
Imported by Europvin U.S.A., Emeryville, CA
1999 Domaine du Cayron Gigondas, $23.99, 14% alc.: These have a track record of taking at least 10 years from the vintage date to start drinking well, so, while I was a little leery about opening this, I gave it an hour in a decanter and it paid dividends. Still showing good dark color, with a huge core of rich black plum, iron, herb/underbrush and a note of something like cola, all anchored with earthy bass notes; this is “getting better every minute,” according to Wieneke. Kim adds an impression of “kind of poopy,” but ultimately, the iron and cola really take over as it opens. There’s plenty of structure left here, but it’s really drinking well and it’s still on the way up. We’ll sit on our last couple of these for at least a few more years to see how they evolve, but it is already some great Gigondas, and much improved from the last time we tried it.
Imported by Kermit Lynch, Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA
Reporting from Hockeytown,
geo t.