A smatter of interesting stuff from over the past week or so:
2012 Erste & Neue Kellerei Lagrein Alto Adige - Südtirol A friend brought this to an last weekend's geek-only Bocce-Burger fest and all the geeks were quite impressed. There's a lot of substance in this wine with good red and black fruit and balance. Not super old school but nor is it outwardly international, certainly it lacks the plastic shower curtain and vinegary volatile acids that have plagued most la greins I've tried. A bargain in the $12 range.
2001 Dehlinger Syrah Russian River Valley
Last of four bottles I bought circa 2003 and the first to finally 'show'. All priors tasted of black fruit and raw yams with aggressive tannins; this one was relaxed, harmoniously full of supple red fruit and good aged syrah character. Not terribly complex and I don't think it has anything to prove beyond here, but it was effortlessly enjoyable. Too bad we opened the others too soon.
2001 Luigi Giordano Barbaresco Montestefano Nebbiolo
From magnum. Opened last weekend for bocce. PnP'd, though moved to a decanter for sediment separation of which there was a minor amount, and it drank great straight away. Rich red color with orange rim, full of cherries, tar, roses, spice and leather. Complex nose, elegant length and finish. Just outstanding.
2012 Ridge Geyserville Sonoma County Zinfandel Blend, Zinfandel
Bought and tasted same day. Young but wide open, displaying the friendly sophistication that is the Geezer's hallmark. Good vintage! Been a long time since we luxed out with a baby Geeze; glad we did.
2012 Domaine de Chaberton Gamay Noir Okanagan Valley VQA
Picked up a bottle on a BC camping trip and was pleasantly surprised. Oak a bit overly prominent at first, but the wine integrated into a balanced pour of new world beaujolais after about an hour with peppery cherry-strawberry with nutmeg spice, balanced acidity and tannins.
2012 Evesham Wood Pinot Noir La Grive Bleue Eola - Amity Hills
Dark fruit and earthy with mushrooms, Asian spice and herb; very traditional, as is the EW way. Generously open and good for sipping but even better with food. Outstanding value at around $30.
2013 Savage Grace Wines Syrah Les Collines Walla Walla Valley
Winery sample; very recently bottled. Modern, feminine, med-bodied syrah. Unusually pretty and effusive floral nose with an uncommon purity of red and blue fruit on the palate and lacking that sour-lactic quality that I often find, and don't care for, in PNW syrahs. A great sipping syrah. Will go on shelves at about $30.
2013 Teutonic Wine Company White Willamette Valley White Blend
Simply put, the most interesting white wine I've had in a LONG time. It's the palest shade of pearl pink, owing to the pinot noir in the blend that also includes chasselas, sylvaner, and muller-thurgau. Nose is whiteflowers with a big round vitamin minerality that doesn't quite prepare you for the little explosion of complex but restrained fruits on the palate that segue into a finish that briefly tastes of peanut butter. Acidity is brilliant. Which is not at all as weird as it sounds. Sampled it at an in-store tasting in B'ham today and immediately bought six bottles. $25.