With a few family members recently. Not quite sure how we ended up with such a mish-mash, but it all worked with the different dishes we paired them with.
2007 Ponchione Roero Arneis Monfrini. This wine has a crisp, mineral-driven nose featuring chalk, fresh-cut herbs and grapefruit in a taut, tight package. On the palate, it has a sense of verve to it, with some sharply-defined flavors of toasted herbs, smoke, blanched almonds, honeydew melon and grapefruit. It fleshes out a bit with time in the glass, but for the most part stays tight, lean and focused, with a clean, dry finish.
1999 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Riesling Piesporter Goldtropfchen Spatlese. This opens with fairly effusive notes of diesel fuel, musky animal fur, waxy lemon peel, lychee and melon, with some brown baking spices coming in later and a hint of blue slate running way down beneath all of that. In the mouth, it is showing a good deal of spritz, even after a long while in the glass. The sweetness level is pretty restrained, with flavors veering toward lemon peel and other citrusy notes, along with some browned apples. It shows some nice breadth through the mid-palate, but stays pretty more than powerful (though one can sense some emergent elements of power lying beneath the surface). It is certainly enjoyable, but I would say I prefer their Kaseler Nies’chen Spatlese from the same vintage over this one.
2005 MacPhail Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Vineyard Sonoma Coast. There is a lot going on aromatically with this Pinot Noir. Notes of sassafras, autumn leaves, black tea, nutmeg nut, dirt, cranberry and general funk lead the first wave of aromas, followed by sweeter, almost confectionary notes of bright dusted red cherry and raspberry jam. Later on, a strong spicebox component really begins to come forward, along with some cola nut notes that add to the complexity. In the mouth, it fans out quickly, with a strong spicy character to go along with the predominant flavor of cherry liqueur and the earthier notes of ripe stems and leafy elements that come on more toward the back. Grainy oak is a bit detracting at times, but also probably contributes to the intense spiciness of the wine. The wine has a very bright, almost tingly fresh finish and is just vibrant all around. I really enjoy MacPhail Pinots, but might suggest holding off until the oak integrates a bit better over the next year or two.
-Michael
