2003 Montinore Estate Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
A bit rustic and fairly full-bodied, without much PN perfume or subtlety. Good fruit, with an easy touch on wood and tannin. Moderately long taste. Close-out price $10, regular price $15.2004 Klein Constantia Sauvignon Blanc, Constantia, South Africa
Rating: Good +
Everything well-integrated, without SB grassiness. Good fruit and acidity, with some depth and a fairly long taste. Regular price $16, less 20% discount.2002 McIlroy Pinot Noir, Aquarius Ranch, Russian River Valley
Rating: Very Good
Note added 4/4/08: Doesn't seem like the same wine. There's not the refreshing acidity that I remember from before, and it seems to have acquired a bit of weight and also softness (as in some residual sugar). Moderately long taste. Maybe it's just the extra two years of age, but I wouldn't go out of my way for this one.
Rating: Good +
Relatively light-colored, with lots of perfumed aroma. Very good acidity to go with cherry/raspberry fruit, without sweetness. Any wood and tannin have been held well back; one gets the impression of a winemaker that knew not to burden the fragrant pinot noir fruitiness. A bit lighter than medium-bodied. Moderately long, but very enjoyable taste. A new winery to me, probably a small one (308 cases made). Regular price $16.2000 Saintsbury Pinot Noir, Brown Ranch, Carneros
Rating: Good ++
Dark color, with lots of fruit, but little perfumed aroma - a closed-in kind of wine. More than medium-bodied, with tannin and wood present, but not excessive. Some depth develops over time, but not as much complexity as I expected from a single-vineyard wine. Fairly long taste. Does it need a few more years to come together? I'll let the next bottle age longer to find out. Close-out price $19, regular price $27.1999 Philip Staley Petite Sirah, Somers Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley
Rating: Good ++
Note added 1/12/08: The second bottle, opened almost two years later, indeed had opened up. It was still firm, but more of the fruit emerged (cherry-blackberry) with good depth and some complexity. Moderate aroma, and a long taste.
Revised rating: Very Good -
Petite syrahs can be very much closed in for a long time, whereas this one displays unusually warm and fragrant fruit. Fairly full-bodied, with blackberry and cherry components. There's still some soft tannins, but not an excessive amount. Wood is well integrated, and the taste is fairly long. Quite a good bottle. Close-out price $14, regular price $21.2000 Gloria Ferrer Syrah, Carneros
Rating: Very Good -
Strong acidity, with moderate sour-cherry fruit. No real depth, flavor interest, complexity or length to it. A bit disappointing compared to some good pinot noirs I've had from Ferrer. Close-out price $14, regular price $20.2002 Montagny 1er Cru, J. M. Boillot, France
Rating: Good
A great deal even at the regular price; there are Puligny-Montrachets that don't taste this good. Golden color. Refreshing acidity to go with a perfect balance of fruit and wood in the dry burgundian style. Medium-bodied with flavorful intensity, and a fairly long taste. A store close-out, apparently because the labels are missing (except for one bottle), although the cap testifies to J.M. Boillot and store stickers say '02 Montagny. It's my good fortune. Close-out price $15, regular price $25.2002 Pinot Grigio, Plozner, Friuli
Previous notes from July '05 make the wine appear a bit more lush at that time.
But then two more bottles (without the labels but with the Boillot capsule) tasted more like a California chardonnay, without the acidity and burgundian balance, and a trace of residual sugar. What gives here?
Rating: Good+ to Very Good (totally inconsistent notes, as if there were two different wines).
Pinot grigio is usually quite light and often innocuous. This one has some character, starting relatively light, but developing a bit of body over time. Very dry, and so a bit austere, with good acidity, and a moderately long taste. Maybe just a little past its prime. I found that it also made a good base for kir. Close-out price $11, regular price $16.2003 Clancy's, Peter Lehmann, Australia
Rating: Good +
A blend of 42% shiraz, 41% cabernet sauvignon and 17% merlot. A good deal of fruit, but also highly acidic, with some butteriness. Moderate on tannin and wood, with a bit of firmness. No particular complexity though, and moderate length. It opened up more over time. Close-out price $10, regular price $15.2000 Dürkheimer Abtsfronhof Gewürztraminer Spätlese, Fitz-Ritter, Pfalz
Rating: Good +
The deep-golden color with copper tone says that the wine is past its peak. However, gewürztraminer responds well to extra ageing; it doesn't harm the wine and often gives it a bit more character. Sweetness is on the border of Kabinett and Spätlese. Moderate acidity, good varietal character without much complexity. The taste is fairly short. Close-out price $10, regular price $15.2005 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand
Rating: Good
Lots of grass, with bracing acidity, medium-bodied with good flavor, a bit austere. Fairly long taste. The parade of very good 2005s continues. Regular price $17, less 20% discount.Bermuda trip: In our four-day stay we ate at several restaurants, and can make a few wine generalizations: Wine lists offered a goodly number of choices from different parts of the world; the restaurant markup tends to be close to 3x the U.S. store price; vintage years don't appear on the list (hence all the question marks in the notes below).
Rating: Very Good -2005? Montana (Brancott) Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand
A bit milder than most, some grassiness with good acidity. A pleasant wine without too much character. Restaurant price at Harley's (Fairmont Hamilton Pricess) $10 for a glass.2001 Terrabianca Campaccio, Tuscany, Italy
Rating: Good
A blend of 70% sangiovese and 30% cabernet sauvignon. Very aromatic, fairly soft with moderate acidity, moderate intensity, very flavorful with some complexity and long taste. A wine without sharp elbows - there's none of the harshness of some sangioveses or the austerity of cabernet, nor excessive wood. Elegant and well-balanced. Restaurant price at the Ristorante Primavera $37 for a half-bottle (Store price here for a full bottle $36).2004? Chablis, J. Moreau & Fils, France
Rating: Very Good
Dry without being flinty, with good acidity, intensity more than a bit light, moderate length. No noticeable wood, chardonnay character is subdued. Good seafood accompaniment. Restaurant price at the Lobster Pot $30 for a 500 ml carafe.2004? Simi Chardonnay, Sonoma County
Rating: Good
Note added 4/25/07: 2004 Chablis from J. Moreau et Fils bought at close-out, for $7 instead of $10. The notes and rating above describe the wine fairly well.
Golden color, with lots of flavor and some depth; light on oak or any residual sugar, decent acidity, and fairly long taste. One of the better California chardonnays in a full-bodied style. Restaurant price at Harley's (Fairmont Hamilton Pricess) $13 for a glass.2004 Pinot Bianco, Jermann, Friuli
Rating: Very Good -
Lively and fruity, with lots of intensity, varietal character and some depth, nice acidity, long taste. A real find. Restaurant price at Little Venice $48.
Rating: Very Good +
Red-tag close-out sales this month:Whites:
2002 Montagny 1er Cru, J. M. Boillot, France ($15, orig. $25) 2000 Savigny-Les-Beaune 1er Cru, "Les Gravains", Vincent Girardin, France ($15, orig. $22) 2001 Saint Aubin 1er Cru, En Remilly, Vincent Girardin, France ($15, orig. $22) 2002 Wawerner Herrenberger Riesling Spätlese, Dr. Fischer, M-S-R ($11, orig. $15)
Reds:
2003 Clancy's, Peter Lehmann, Australia ($10, orig. $15) 2000 W. H. Smith Wines Pinot Noir, Hellenthal Vineyard, Sonoma Coast ($19, orig. $27) 2001 Chateau Trimoulet, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, France ($21, orig. $30)
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