A solid foot of snow in Chicago over the last day and a half makes this a good day to catch up on notes.
Several years back, after tasting some at a now-long-gone restaurant up the street, we bought a bottle of Bonny Doon 2006 Monterey County Riesling, Ca' del Solo Estate, Méthode Champenoise, "Riesling to Live," but then we didn't so much lose track of it as lose interest in it. It's been back and forth between the wine fridge and the fridge fridge ("we really need to find a time to drink this") so many times that I was sure it would be dead by now. But this week, with a takeout order of pork laab and pad prik king, we finally opened it, with a backup close at hand. No need: it was perfectly fresh, with a healthy mousse -- in fact, it seemed basically unevolved, thanks perhaps to the crown cap. Bone dry, zesty, minerally, with citrus and apple notes, nicely balanced between richness and definition. Very good!
Last night, with Japanese (including a salmon-belly aburi nigiri that I could happily scoop up, dolphin-style, by the dozen), another bottle of Ingrid Groiss 2015 Weinviertel Grüner Veltliner, "In der Schablau," which remains my favorite of the past year, complexly flavorful and propulsively energetic.
The other day, a Ridge 2001 Santa Cruz Mountains Zinfandel, Jimsomare Ranch was felled by mild TCA (bah!) and replaced with a Lodi Native/Maley Brothers 2013 Lodi Zinfandel, Wegat Vineyard. Along with McCay's TruLux, this was one of our two favorites of the six Lodi Zins in this sampler (with one more to go), and now I see that they're both West Side vineyards, planted on St. George rootstock in the mid-20th century (1958 in this case, 1940s for TruLux). Lots of rich brambly berry and a little earth, but the most distinctive thing here is a strong, bright streak of red fruit that, along with the zippy acid, seems to lift the whole wine up towards the sky.
Other recent items: A Harrington 2013 Santa Clara Valley Teroldego, Fratelli Vineyard didn't disappoint: this had been our favorite of several Harringtons we tried in 2016, so I went back for a few more. Ripe, dark, meaty, and herbaceous, and just as good as I remember it; terrific pizza wine. Domaine Huber-Verdereau 2014 Monthélie "La Combe Danay," a well-priced Burgundy ($29) with a forward palate of ripe, floral Pinot fruit framed by rich earth; very straightforward and not especially complex but tasty.
[Other than that, I've been playing around with Vieux Carré variations; so far the winners are the "Antica Piazza," 1 Bulleit Rye; 1 PF 1840 Cognac; .5 Antica Carpano; .5 plus 2 barspoons Nonino; Ango and Peychaud (stir, orange peel); and something so far unnamed (Plaza Antigua?) that replaces rye with Zacapa 23, Benedictine with Nonino (needs work), and Peychaud with Bittermens Tiki.]