Holiday Wines from the mountains:
1997 Huet Clos du Bourg 1er Trie Moelleux:
On super sale ($40!) at Gordon's wine in Waltham, but with questionable storage (no SOS, but the label looks like it's been through WWIII).
This took a while to open up....but after an hour or so, was really singing with lots of honey, pineapple, and LOADS of green tea. Not too sweet, not too acidic, just a well balanced, complex wine. Interestingly, this was opened at my girlfriend's family for Christmas, and her uncle came by, and he's never had anything beyond Beringer White Zin in his life, and he took one sip of this from someone else's glass, tossed his can of Budweiser into the trash and drank 2 glasses of this, proclaiming it "sweet, mellow, and damn delicious". I wouldn't pay full sticker for this, but it was very good.
2005 & 2006 Hudelot-Noellat Bourgogne:
The local wine store had both these bottles, but at rapacious prices (we're out in the middle of nowhere, so, not like there were better options). The 2006 was delicious, with sweet cherry fruit, nice concentration, and amazingly silky tannins. Definitely a cut above your typical decent Bourgogne, and well worth the price. The 2005 (probably stored on the rack at room temp for the past year) was tight, with a hint of black fruit, very silky and gamey and a touch of spices, with a nice shot of acidity at the end; went great with a turkey dinner. A better-stored example might have more fruit to it, but even this bottle would be worth revisiting in a couple of years.
Both the H-N Bourgognes were notable for a very silky mouthfeel and good concentration....with none of the stalkiness I've seen described in notes on pre-2005 H-N wines (under a different winemaker). I would say they were excellent for the level and fine QPR.
2006? Hogue Riesling:
Bought for the White Zin drinkers. Too sweet, and too cloying; I can't imagine what the "Late Harvest" version that was adjacent on the shelf must taste like. This was poured down the sink by others in favor of the Beringer White Zin; tasting both, I can't say I blamed them.