For fun, before posting, I went back and checked what day it was on the biodynamic calendar. There was perhaps a wee bit of slightly mild correlation.
2003 Señorío de P. Peciña Rioja Crianza 13.0% Flower Day
Cherry judiciously imbricated with dilly vanilla. Satisfying density, perfect alcohol, good acidity (esp. for the vintage), juicy fruit, the twain delivered in balance. Downed in a flash, almost anxiously, and empirically verified to be one of the most impressive and delicious QPRs of recent times. Gotta get me more of this.
2009 Terres Dorées Beaujolais L’Ancien 12.0% Leaf Day
Plastic cork (boo). Fragrant Gamay smiley face strawberry made more serious by an attractive mix of stemminess, forest floor and spices. Before food, tastes surprisingly tart and acidic, less hedonistic than expected. After food, falls into a comfortable balance, but never quite reaches the cruising altitude of my favorite Gof4 Morgons & Descombes.
2008 Occhipinti SP68 Sicilia IGT 12.5% Leaf Day
L0209 bottling. Blend of Nero d’Avola and Frappato, I wonder if from grapes that don’t qualify for the varietals. Dark sour cherry with sage and cloves. Before food, good acidity bite, slightly candied sweetness. Remained fragrant and enjoyable throughout the meal, with good density, light tannins and ideal alcohol. Ideal for avuncular picnics. Shows more balance than a bottle we had last November, but remains short of the Nero d’Avola Siccagno, a thing of beauty, and not as giddily enjoyable as the straight Frappato, the epitome of Spacecadet.
2007 Eric Texier Côtes du Rhône Brézème 12.0% Leaf Day
Aromafest of myrtle, smoke, tar and lavender. Attractive juiciness, clear acidity, light tannins, the package ending somewhat short. The perfume is just lovely, but I would have liked to see more density, perhaps more extraction.
2005 Claude Courtois Las Cailloux du Paradis Racines 12.5% Fruit Day
Lively cherry and forest floor. Attractive mouth feel, savory, with good body, perfect acid/sweet balance, and additional flavors of olives and black peppers. Goes just lovely with food, everything just beautifully in its place. Mongrel hippie blend attains natural yuppie breed standard.
2007 Bernard Baudry Chinon Domaine 12.5% Root Day
Leafy sour cherry aroma with hemoglobin iron, leather and a touch of dishrag, that blows off. Pleasantly tart acidity, good weight and balance, very fine. A pleasure to drink, and meshes superbly with food.
2008 Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges 12.0% Leaf Day
Lovely cherry and leather aromas with cab franc leafiness. Savory, bright acidity, more acid than sweet even after food. Fine aromatherapy, but needs a bit more fruit and body for balance. Prefer the 07 Baudry Domaine.
2007 Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontés Salta 13.8% Yuck Day (i.e., neither of the four)
Sees no oak, from vineyards 1.500m high. Ripe tropical aromas, pineapple and peach, with some minerality. Tastes ripe too, with too much sweetness, and additional notes of green pepper (Marcia says oregano). Finishes somewhat bitter, and the acidity seems poorly integrated; tastes industrial. Avoid.
2006 Domaine Savoye Morgon Côte du Py Vieilles Vignes 12.5% Flower Day
Candied raspberry/strawberry aromas, on the elegant but simple side. Nice juiciness, pleasantly acidic, good acid/sweet balance after food, clean and focused. Good stuff, just not more than the Σ of the parts for those looking for Magic Click.
2009 Puzelat Telquel Touraine VdT 11.5% Yuck Day
Plastic cork (boo!). Critter label. Smells like teen spirit, the personification of Goth strawberry. Body is surprising, given the lowly and laudably civilized alcohol, and the acidity is racy and tasty. But there’s secondary fermentation, a legion of homeopathically-sized bubbles doing snap, crackle, pop to the degustatory papillae, those overworked little orifices vainly dressed up for serious analytical work that shall not take place tonight. Marcia says it feels like critters racing across your tongue. But she likes them. Kermit Lynch (in AotWR) lauds such presumably but not certainly unintentional bubbles as signs of a true natural wine. He likes them too. True natural wine this is, and no doubt a pleasure to guzzle festively, though I can’t help feeling the bubbles interfere with the transition from fun to pleasure. A case of grower sham pain.
