2002 Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Semper Excelsior Clos des Noelles
Another great bottle. Cream soda nose at first, that becomes more mineral oyster shell with time. Good weight with lovely integrated lemon lime acidity that lifts the wine without any crunchy sharp edges. Long finish. Fast becoming one of my favorite versions of muscadet, and drinking very well at the moment.
2005 Éric Texier Côtes du Rhône Villages St. Gervais Vieilles Vignes Cadinnières
Young but drinking very well already. Dark opaque red purple color, vibrant multilayered nose with ripe blue black grenache fruit. The fruit is moderated by a spicy earthy character. Mid weight in the mouth with fine tannin that never gets too drying. Nice acidity. Really good now, but I would guess it will age very well due to great balance and material.
2006 Domaine du Vissoux / Pierre-Marie Chermette Fleurie Poncié
The voluptuous side of Fleurie. Ripe red fruit balanced by a mineral edge, and just a bit of high toned VA. Plush soft mouthfeel, that finishes with some spice and ripe tannin. I've mostly been a Cuvee Traditionelle fan when it comes to Vissoux, but this is pretty convincing tonight. Much more enjoyable than a bottle opened in June. Definitely getting into a nice drinking window.
2001 Sella Lessona San Sebastiano allo Zoppo
Much better then a taste 6 months ago, when the oak was more prominent. Very fine aromas of red nebbiolo fruit, some floral/rose hip, and rusty minerals. There is also some oak but not in the forefront. Fine grained tannins and crisp acidity make this really need food. Some oak tannin also shows up a little in the finish. Still much better integrated and more open than the bottle last summer, but the wine starts to tighten up aromatically after an hour or so of air. The butternut squash ravioli with butter sage sauce was a little bit too sweet for this wine, but not a terrible match.
2005 Domaine Chignard Fleurie Les Moriers
A very good bottle. Sour cherry, red raspberry fruit with some stem and leaf. The acidity has toned down a lot since my last bottle of this, but it still comes off pretty fresh. The finish still has a noticeable bitter quinine note that disappears somewhat when drinking this with food. This bottle had a little tannin left and I think could hold for a while, depending on where on the curve you like to drink these. A good match with a not too spicy pinto bean chili.
2002 Huët Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu
Damn internet led me to believe that it might be worthwhile opening one now; this bottle wasn't too happy to be disturbed. Nose is very reticent. Palate shows sweet tart acidity and nice balance and length. With air a little talc powder minerals and some honeycomb develop, but this bottle was wound up very tight and mostly closed.
2007 Nigl Grüner Veltliner Freiheit
Drank at Prospect St Cafe, popped and poured. This is a lovely foil to a seared scallops appetizer. The wine is aromatic with citrus, snap pea, and apple fruit. Some leesy minerals as it opens. Lively bright acidity and a little dissolved CO2 add to the peppy feel. It isn't very concentrated or long, but it was great with the crabcakes also, and at 12% abv was very refreshing. A good alternative to Muscadet for me.
NV Cedric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Brut Inflorescence Val Vilaine
Enjoyed this a lot. Decanting really helps. Deep nose of red apple, some minerals, some ginger spice underneath. Really good concentration, great acidity, very dry. Low volume of bubbles. Long and clean. Great with kumomoto oysters and dungeness crab. Major yum.
2001 Stolpman Limestone Cuvée
Nice nose with some smoke and meatiness to go with powdered cherry and cassis fruit. The mouth is pretty plush and on the sweet sweet side, with decent structure from the tannins, little acidity. It seems very much of its place, maybe not my favorite style of wine but was drinkable.
2005 Domaine François Cotat Sancerre Les Monts Damnés
The nose is great with citrus oils and wet stones. Tonight the wine seemed a little heavy to me though. It didn't have any heat from alcohol, but there seemed to be a noticeable taste of alcohol. My wife loved it so it might have just been me. Hold.
2001 Nikolaihof Riesling Smaragd Im Weingebirge
Golden yellow color. Crushed slate minerals, citrus and herb/ peppermint in the nose. Rich full palate that has impressive high quality acidity buried under the glycerol. Great wine, one of the best whites I've tried this year.
2001 Vincent Dauvissat Chablis 1er Cru Séchet
Pale yellow youthful color. Minerally and lean on first pour, with slightly under ripe yellow fruit, lemon, green pineapple. With air it becomes just a touch fuller, subtle honey over the yellow green notes. Stays very linear and focused. There is a light touch of oak noticeable towards the finish, the right size frame for the material. Very deft touch by the winemaker, and a very enjoyable wine.
2000 Castello di Verduno Barbaresco Faset
This wine is totally messed up by the oak, with whiskey barrel lactone aromas on the first sniff. With time there is some nice nebbiolo fruit that pokes through, with cherry and black plum and balsamic, but the wood mars the finish too, with oak tannins quite drying. A shame,as I get a sense there is some classy fruit underneath the barrique.
Happy Holidays!