Brief notes from the last ten days, traveling in SF and at home:
Stony Hill 2009 Napa Valley Chardonnay. Classically styled, rich but balanced, stone fruit with some structure on the back end, still very fresh; the table (at Zuni) liked it enough that we killed three bottles, and there was very little variation among them.
Rhys 2012 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay, Horseshoe Vineyard. Stunning. Ripe guava and melon on the nose make this seem surprisingly exotic at first blush, but in the mouth these flavors quickly transition into a long citrusy midpalate, with an energetic interplay between minerality and a very judicious oak note on the finish. This is the first of a handful of Rhys Chardonnays bought last year that I've opened, and descriptors aside, it just has that special something extra -- deftness of composition, effortless complexity, I don't know what to call it -- that makes you stop whatever you're doing or saying, widen your eyes, and pay attention. Our Chard-drinking habits were set in the early 2000s: the occasional reasonably priced old-school Californian with crab cakes or just for nostalgia; a fair bit of 1er Cru Chablis; very little higher-end white Burgundy. This bottle is a revelation, and certainly one of the most compelling Chardonnays I've ever had. I won't be buying it in quantity, given the prices (This was around $80). But, wow.
Veyder-Malberg 2014 Wachau Grüner Veltliner Hochrain. Excellent, lithe, concentrated, nice combination of lime pith and pepper, good length. Very satisfying. At Prospect (sister to Boulevard).
Giuseppe Mascarello 2013 Barbera d'Alba Scudetto. I like the way the weight and texture of this wine pull it toward the ground while the aromas pull it toward the sky. Floral but also a little funky, ripe red and black fruit. Plus, the profoundly air-conditioned back room at Tosca Café made it tolerable to drink on a 100F San Francisco day.
Once and Future 2015 Sonoma Valley Zinfandel, Bedrock Vineyard. Textbook big but not over-the-top old-vine Zinfandel: ripe, smooth red and black berry fruit with a well-tuned balance between richness and acidity; a slowly building earthy-cocoa- tannic finish. This clearly has aging potential, and I think it needs it, not because it's especially unyielding now, but because, as obviously well-made as it is, it's a little too textbook for its own good. Whatever extra something the Rhys Chardonnay had, this doesn't, quite, though it might come into view with time.
Frog's Leap 2012 Napa Valley Red Wine, Heritage Blend. A blend of Charbono, Petite Sirah, Valdiguie, and some other stuff, even a little Riesling. Surprisingly funky on first opening, which I don't remember from earlier bottles, and it takes a lot of coaxing to get some fruit out in front of the tannin. When it arrives, it's tasty, though never especially interesting. Drink up; I don't think this is going anywhere.
Porter Creek 2003 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, Reserve. This is probably a few years past its prime, as it struggled for breath at first, and eventually came alive, but in a quiet, faded way. The last of our Porter Creeks from the early 2000s, apart from one Syrah, if I can find it. Those cases had an excellent run.
Occhipinti 2012 IGP Terre Siciliane "SP 68" (Nero d'Avola/Frappato). Like the Frog's Leap, this had an animal muskiness that I didn't recall from earlier bottles, but in this case it (a) doesn't entirely blow off; and (b) turns out to be backed by sufficiently bright and deep fruit that it turns out to be a virtue. Still going strong.
Having written all that down, I see that's a surprisingly long run without anything French. Must address that.