Eight of us from our regular monthly tasting group convened last weekend for a night of drinking red wines from the Northern Rhone and eating some delicious pizzas.
Some starters:
NV Pol Roger Champagne Brut Reserve. The bouquet on this particular bottle is rather mushroomy, with strong bloomy cheese rind accents accompanying the generally funky aromatic profile. It is rather earthy at the core, but there are some scents of brighter, fresher citrus trying gamely to poke through the murk. In the mouth, it has a big frothy feel and fills the mouth quite easily with dark earthy flavors and serious-edged acidic tang. There are red fruits in the fore of this masculine wine, which does settle down a bit and find a hint of elegance toward the finish. However, it feels just a bit too pushy with its single-mindedness at this stage of the game. It must be said, though, in the interests of fair debate, that my wife loved this wine.
2006 J&H Selbach Riesling Kabinett Mosel Saar Ruwer. This sports a lively nose of lime peel, chalk dust and perhaps white currants, along with a vague sense of some kind of petroleum product. It has surprising density of fruit and thickness of texture in the mouth, featuring citrus and orange flavors. It is barely sweet, and indeed finishes closer to dry than off-dry. On the whole, it is a bit simple, but not bad. Again, fair and balanced reporting compels me to share the fact that my wife was dying to find some place to dump this wine down the drain.
One blind, one non-blind ESJ:
2006 Edmunds St. John Gamay Bone-Jolly Witters Vineyard El Dorado County. Thanks to Peter for popping these 2 wines, the first of which was not served blind. The first thing one notices here is the raspberry Kool-Aid color of the wine. Beyond that, initial whiffs are very pretty, featuring pure strawberry fruit, licorice rope, soft herbs and citrus aromas. After a while, though, it seems to close in a bit and become a bit less forthcoming on the nose. In the mouth, this is really juicy, opening with bright cranberry and strawberry fruit before turning drier, more minerally and more citrus-tinged through the middle and back of the palate. The color had me expecting a bit more weight or heft to the wine, but in fact it is decidedly airy and seems to float above the palate more than anything. I wanted to “connect” a bit more with the wine, but came away liking it but just not “feeling it” if you know what I mean. I could easily see enjoying this one more out by the pool a bit earlier in the summer.
2005 Edmunds St John Syrah Parmelee-Hill Sonoma Valley. Served double blind. The nose offers up aromas of black licorice, industrial rubber, black beans, chocolate cherries, all kinds of earthy and herbal notes, smoke, black olives and a very interesting confectionary note popping up from below all that. It is cleaner and fruitier in the mouth—with a decidedly black fruit profile. It pumps the fruit out in big bursts, but is far from goopy or gloppy; indeed it has a dry-edged seriousness that comes on strong through the mid and back palate. It finishes fairly austere, with earthy, chalky notes accompanying lingering flavors of black fruits. Initially, this seemed to obviously be a California Syrah, but one with a more European-styled finish. That got me thinking of a young, riper Rhone (given our theme for the evening), but in the end I did settle in the right geographic area for this one. Those around me were much more certain than I was that this hailed from California, so perhaps I was just over-thinking this one? Interesting wine to serve blind. In any event, it needs a few years to come around.
Crozes-Hermitage:
1991 Belle Pere & Fils Crozes-Hermitage Les Pierrelles. Wow, this is quite feral on the nose, sporting decidedly gamy aromas of animal fur, hardened bacon grease, meat, earth, smoke, olive brine, and even some black fruit way down below (well, maybe). Although crazy, it really is pretty fascinating stuff to smell. In the mouth, it has a delightfully juicy quality to it around the edges of the tongue that really draws one in for sip after sip. For its age, this sure feels fresh, with fine, youthful tannins that are soft, yet still coat the teeth. There is a gentle sweetness to the black and blue fruits and smoky barbecue flavors. It is not overly heavy, really more in the mid-weight category and it flows gorgeously from entry to finish. This is a fine Crozes, showing balance, fresh lift and a lot of personality.
1999 Domaine des Remizieres Crozes-Hermitage Cuvee Christophe. The nose here also shows some funky notes, but entirely more like a fine Burgundy—featuring notes of clean horse barn, bridle leather, drying tobacco leaf, persimmon, dusted cherries and purple fruits. I must say this is much more complex, elegant and fully-realized aromatically than it was the last time I tried it 4 or 5 years ago. And it only gets fleshier and more explosive when one comes back to it at the end of the evening. In the mouth, it has a very nice rounded glycerin texture and is approaching full-body in weight. The fruit is deep and softly engaging, turning spicier and warmer toward the back of the palate and on the finish. Really, everything seems to be in its proper place, making for a fine drinking experience. Still, I think this can go a good while longer. For the flight, I would have to give this wine the slight edge.
1990’s Cornas:
1990 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas. The Clape Cornas opens up a bit subdued, smelling of seared meat, cool bacon fat, smoke, brown spices, candle wax and lavender soap that taken together are interesting intellectually but perhaps a bit muted aromatically. Coming back to this a few hours later, though, the nose has really begun to expand, freshen and liven up—suggesting that this really would benefit from a few hours in the decanter. It begins its journey across the palate by at first feeling meaty-textured and a touch on the densely chewy side, though one can sense the partial resolution of the tannins taking place. However, it begins to feel more elegant than particularly deep the longer one ponders its progression. It has fine cohesion, engaging red fruit flavors, and a very nice and clean finish. All in all, it might be in a kind of in-between phase right now, but is still a really interesting and enjoyable treat.
1999 Alain Voge Cornas Vieilles Vignes. This is a bit murkier in appearance than most of the wines tonight. On the nose, it is a bit on the wild fruit side—featuring aromas of mixed wild berries, stemmy elements, bark, spiced cherries, dry aged leather and spice cake. In the mouth, this exhibits lovely freshness and acidic precision to go along with cherry and red currant fruit flavors that are otherwise fleshy, soft and giving. It is not a huge or especially deep wine, but rather one with fine balance, solid drive and a fresh, tasty personality--all done in well-measured moderation. Sneaky tannins do eventually come in and begin to coat the tongue, so it may be best to hold off a short while, as this has good stuffing for further development. Still, it offers outstanding drinking right now. I chose this as my wine of the flight.
2003 Cornas:
2003 Alain Voge Cornas Vieilles Fontaines. This wine is another winner from Alain Voge. It offers up an explosive bouquet of black licorice, soupy blueberries, black Necco wafer, rubber, dark mocha, parma ham and all kinds of exotic spices. It is luxuriant and incredibly generous in the mouth, gushing with beautiful red fruit and spices but also exhibiting solid structure and fine-honed acidity. The fruit hovers on being a bit sweet at times, but generally plays it clean, eventually finishing drier, with great length and class. The tannins are in abundance, but are soft and in harmony with the wine’s personality—this should offer fine drinking for a while, but it would be interesting to stash some away for 10+ years, for sure.
2003 Patrick Lesec (Michel Perraud) Cornas Le Vignon. In contrast to its flight-mate, this ’03 Cornas is rather brooding, black and dense on the nose, only giving glimpses into its nature. Some aromas of vulcanized rubber, fennel, bark, gravelly earth and grape stems peak out from time to time. With a good amount of time and air, it begins to soften a bit, but remains decidedly aloof. It has a really austere edge in the mouth, with dark fudge brownie tannins and somewhat jangled acidity. It is a bit awkward and unfriendly, really. There are some chocolate and coffee ground flavors, but they are overwhelmed by the teeth-staining and palate-coating tannins that feel a bit ferocious right now. It finishes with just a feeling of blackness. This puppy needs many years, and I am not really sure what it will be like when it eventually gets there.
1990’s Hermitage:
1998 E. Guigal Hermitage. There is a sense of fine breeding and distinction on the nose here, with aromas of spiced blueberry fruit, brown sugar, maple-cured bacon, smoky meat and mulling spices. In the mouth, it offers up dense rich fruit but also great lift and freshness, along with an appealing satiny texture. The tannins are fine through the mid-palate, but really seem to grow and actually clamp down a bit on the finish. Still, this is a classy effort that is bright and fresh but serious all at the same time.
1999 Texier Hermitage. The nose on this Hermitage is somewhat reined in at present, showing cool dark fruit, some meaty elements, crisp leaves and bacon fat. On the palate, it is cool, aloof, masculine and tightly-coiled. There is some chewy density to the fruit and surely plenty of tight acidity. Sneaky tannins clamp down hard on the black, acidic finish. Although extremely promising, this is not what I would call real welcoming at this stage of the game, and I would give another 5 years or so before trying it again.
Sweet wines:
2001 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Condrieu Ayguets. From 500 ml bottle. The color in the glass veers toward orange, rust and amber. It presents a really fascinating bouquet that changes and morphs, but at different times seems to smell like dried apricots, burnt orange peel, orange-tinged crème brulee, raw vanilla bean, caramel and graham cracker. It is viscous in the mouth, but with a wonderful mouthwatering tanginess. Flavors of dried apricots, orange-scented candies, dark peach and darker Muscat muskiness pump right through it. This is very nice stuff and it must be said that my wife was ga-ga over this wine.
2004 Peller Estates Cabernet Franc Icewine Niagara Peninsula. From 375 ml bottle. Just as things were winding down, our host arrived with this bottle in hand. Well, OK, I guess we’ll try it! The bouquet on this wine feels nicely layered but also somehow lacquered—with aromas of sweet raspberries, deep cassis funk, green tobacco leaf, musk and rhubarb. It seems to come very close to the edge of being over-done, but it consistently steps back from the ledge just in time. I have similar feelings about it on the palate, where it has a musky, exotic feel that never feels quite over the top, but so easily could. It stays luscious and tangy throughout, with crushed red berry compote, sweet rhubarb and red licorice flavors flowing languidly across the palate. It is a bit of a wild ride, but all the more fun for it.
-Michael