Glory! Nothing abysmal here. Spring forth...
Domaine William Fevre, Chablis, 'Vaillons', 2006
Calcium wash and packaged grass seed on the nose. Rather soft in the mouth, lemon chifon, light oak spice, surprisingly lowish acid on the finish. A nice chardonnay, but nothing to knock your socks off. B+
Eric Texier, St. Gervais, 'vieilles vignes des Cadinieres', 2005
Rather dark coloured for an all-grenache wine, almost dark cherry. Smoky dark mulberry-plum flavors, reticent and brooding on the nose. There's dusty berries and plums alongside a dirt road, softish, with a flat ending. More reminiscent of carrignan than grenache, this says 'drink now', because this daddy won't be around to pay child support. B+/A-
Yann Chave, Croze Hermitage, 'le Rouvre', 2005
A dark red color with tickly-me-Barney purplish highlights. Smoky Christmas-cake plums and rhum cake. Spiced plum cake on the palate with sweet, but full, tannins. Some slightly stewed, sweet, ripe fruit, but not overdone and definately worth the tarrif of a mid-20's wine. If I poke around more, there is a bit of sassafras root and roasted beet skin. Drinks nicely now, and if I had another bottle I'd like to revisit in 1-2 years to see how it ages (as it is now, short-to-medium term). A-
Az. Ag. San Savino (Capecci Domenico), Offida, 'Ciprea', 2006
Ah, finally, an Italian white; what took me so long?! Lemony snicket bright gold. Definate herbal quality to the nose, along the lines of minty-oregano, or lemon-mint...a slight (very slight) whiff of ripe Camembert or Brie. Delichiously aromatic, with lemon and brisk acidity and an herbal ending, field hay. This reminds me a lot like Collestefano's VdM. 13.5% and 100% pecorino grapes. A-/B+
Cascina Val del Prete, Barbera d'Alba, 'Serra de Gatti', 2006
A light cranberry-cherry red color. Smoky frutti di bosco nose. Sweet cherry and forest fruits, very lively and a nice weight for food. Slight touch of menthol on the finish. Drinkable and friendly. 14% Beautiful abstract painting on the label, by the way.
B+
Hiedler, Kamptal, Riesling, 'Heiligenstein, 2004
Interesting wine that morphed with time and food, going from complex (without food and in the beginning) to simple and acidic (with food and later) to simply a decent drink (the 2nd-3rd day with the acid in better balance), so I'm not sure what to think. This had a very lighter shade of pale color, crushed limestone and lime flower on the nose. Lime essence and elderflower, shard-like crystalline structure on the palate. Deliciously refreshing, but with food, the high (either 12.5 or 13.5%) alcohol shows up and deters enjoyment. This ranges from an A- to a B+.
Biondi, Etna Rosso, 'Outis', 2004
Clean, bright ruby color. Perfumed, roasted flowers and pomegranite on the nose. Red fruits with a sour quality, powdered candystick finish. Slightly rough, on the finish, with a little coarse heat. The second day this was better, but I enjoyed the 2001 Outis better, which I feel was a fuller wine with more stuffing and a better one for the ages than this year's model. Still, a wine I like to buy nearly every vintage. B/B+