1997 Swan pinot noir, Wolfespierre Vineyard, Sonoma
Showing beautifully right now. Dark maroon color, bold and luxurious plum and bing cherry fruit with a load of spearmint on both the nose and the satiny finish. We had a lot of fun discussing how this wine would be reviewed, and possibly panned for lack of varietal typicity, by a serious geek who did not know (and who would guess) that in fact the mint character is--or was, the vineyard was sold to a new owner who wanted to grow syrah, IIRC--a wonderfully idiosyncratic vineyard characteristic.
2007 St. Clair Vicar's Choice Sauv Blanc, New Zealand, $17
Pale and transparent. Lemon, chalk, grass and gooseberry with good acidity and balance. Very refreshing. Can't say I'd buy again at this price, though, with the Chilean Haras and California Groth both comparable and about half the price.
2004 Redbank Sauv Blanc, Australia
Very bizarre wine. Artificial lemon-lime nose reminds me of San Pellegrino Limonata. And the good stuff, if that's good, stops there. Very little flavor on the midpalate and a short finish. And here's the worst part: I have a case. We--no, my husband!--bought it in Spokane a few weeks ago, when we dined at a Greek Restaurant that just happens to have the best wine list in town. The sommelier was this chatty and attractive woman who we learned was the exwife of a local friend and restaurauteur, and after dinner (at which we drunk an entire bottle of wine, which followed an entire bottle of celebratory champagne before dinner) she brought us a glass of this saying, "Isn't it GREAT? I just love it. I think it's GREAT. I bought a whole palette of it. It was originally $12 and I'm selling it to others for $10 a bottle but I'll sell it to you [she purred, looking straight at Bob] for $7." I thought it was awful, but while I was in the bathroom Bob swallowed the hook and next you know we're lugging this case of crappy wine back to our hotel. After trying a glass last night AFTER the glass of St. Clair above, I am now under orders to shoot him if he tries to buy wine again.