It is time to catch up on random notes from the late summer that I never got around to posting on. The first set is from a little post-golf lunch at Tom’s, with Peter and my Mom.
2007 Weingut Josef Leitz Riesling Rheingau Eins Zwei Dry “3“. This sports a crisp, steely nose with framing aromas of apple skins, baked pear and stone fruits. It is similar in the mouth, crisp-edged, dry and steely, but with notes of softer poached pears and peach. It turns a touch more sour-fruited on the tight finish. My mom was an immediate devotee.
2002 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard Willamette Valley. This wine has a very nice bouquet featuring aromas of meaty dark berries, plums, smoke, soft baking spices and dried leather, along with softly sweet accents of chocolate cherries. It is a little fuller and richer-seeming in the mouth than just about any St. Innocent I can recall tasting--offering up flavors of dark cranberry, black cherry and grainy-edged wood. The texture is similarly grainy, but it has great structure and nicely-balanced medium-bodied weight to it. It feels relatively fresh and has good flow, turning a bit spicy on the dry-edged finish. Despite being nice to drink right now, I think this could use another 2-4 years.
2005 Auteur Pinot Noir Sonoma Stage Vineyard Sonoma Coast. The nose here features aromas of sweet charcoal smoke, bits of rubber, white pepper, grape stems, dark cola syrup and a darker well of candied black and blue fruits. In the mouth, it is smooth and peppery, with flavors of cola, black cherries and wood spice, but with too much alcoholic warmth and a bevy of fine but slightly gritty tannins. It is fairly heavy-weighted but does not feel especially ponderous. Overall, it feels not ready for its close up any time soon.
2006 Stoller Pinot Noir JV Estate Dundee Hills. This is on the light and fun side, with aromas of juicy sweet cherries and berries, red licorice rope, pine needles and herbs that are fresh but not too deep or profound. The entry to the palate shows tons of light cocoa dust, before the bright red fruits come in to dominate the mid-palate and finish. It is fine-textured, with an airier, tangy profile featuring a squirt of citrus acidity and a hint of chalkiness on the finish. This is an easy-drinking Pinot on the simpler side for casual summer sipping.
2004 Fattoria di Felsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva. This is a decidedly serious Chianti Classico. Right now, it only hints at its future aromatic profile—offering some stingy cool scents of black cherry, toasty wood, dark incense and menthol. The wine is serious and structured in the mouth, but already displays a gorgeous smooth texture with no hard edges and a fine sense of acid balance. The fruit feels like it is lying in a magma chamber well below the surface, waiting for its time to erupt. Right now, though, it is backwards, with fine tannins coating the teeth. Patience will be well-rewarded.
-Michael