2000 Maranges 1er Cru Clos des Loyeres, Vielles vignes, Vincent Girardin, France
Striking for its high acidity and, in this bottle, unfortunately TCA cork taint. Looking past that, it offers good sour-cherry fruit and some pinot noir character, moderate intensity and length. Much more a food than a sipping wine.2004 Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg, Paul Zinck, Alsace, France
Close-out price $21; regular price $29.
Rating: (Good +)
Nice riesling aroma and concentrated taste, with depth and complexity. There's a wave of spiciness in the long taste. Very good acidity, and just a bit off-dry. Well-derveloped with age, with a deep golden color, probably just a bit past its peak. A geat deal at the close-out price.2004 Terrabianca Chianti Classico "Croce" Riserva, Italy
Close-out price $14; regular price $28.
Rating: Very Good +
Flavorful and somewhat softer than I expect Chianti Classico Riservas to be, but that seems to be the Terrabianca style. Very good acidity, not too much tannin or wood, cherry fruit, with a long taste that's enjoyable to sip as well as with food.2004 Azelia Barolo, Bricco Fiasco, Italy
Close-out price $16; regular price $23.
Rating: Very Good -
Part of an Italian wine tasting: Very dark color with a purplish tinge. Substantial tannin and not that much aroma at this point. More than medium-bodied, with a fairly long taste. Given that it's a single vineyard Barolo in a superb year, better tasters than I know that this will develop to an excellent wine in many years. At this point, drinking this seems like infanticide.2004 Barbaresco, Bianco Aldo, Italy
Regular price about $80.
Rating: (Very Good)
Part of an Italian wine tasting: The color has an orange tint to it, and is not all that deep. Nice aroma and flavors with some delightful complexity, good acidity, some but not too much tannin or wood. Medium-bodied with a long taste.2005 Dona Blanc, Hartmann Dona, Mitterberg, Italy
Regular price about $35.
Rating: Very Good -
Part of an Italian wine tasting: Mainly pinot bianco. but probably a blend. Depth, intensity and a long taste, with vanillin oak evident. Good acidity, a bit of oiliness. Balanced, and very well made.2006 Pinot Bianco Schulthauser, St. Michael-Eppan, Südtirol-Alto Adige
Regular price about $35.
Rating: Very Good
Part of an Italian wine tasting: Clean and fresh, with good acidity, medium-bodied, with moderate intensity and length. Some varietal character unencumbered by wood. A slight mustiness in the aroma over time.2004 Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, Australia
Regular price about $20.
Rating: Good ++
Dry, with a touch of austerity, light grassiness component. A bit lighter than medium-bodied, with a moderately long taste. Something about the taste says that this wine would not tolerate any residual sugar too well.2006 Peter Lehmann The Seven Surveys, Old vines, Barossa, Australia
Close-out price $10; regular price $17.
Rating: Good +
Consists of 48% shiraz, 30% grenache and 22% mourvèdre. Juicy, flavorful sour cherries, very good acidity, without being heavy. Good intensity with moderate length; no great complexity but tasty and a good accompaniment to food.2002 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon, Marques de Casa Concho, Puente Alto, Chile
Close-out price $10; regular price $15.
Rating: Good ++
Lots of dark cherry fruit with good acidity, some cabernet character, firmness from some tannin and wood, fairly long taste. A bit reluctant in aroma, it opened up some over time. This wine will hold for much longer, and may develop some complexity over time.2005 Riesling Spätlese, Schloss Wallhausen, Nahe
Sale price $14; regular price $17.
Rating: Good ++
The lack of single-vineyard pedigree does no harm to this wine. The sweetness level is at the boundary of Kabinett and Spätlese, confirmed by the 10% alcohol level. Nice riesling aroma and character, tastes young and just a bit light, with a fairly long peachy taste. There does seem to be some remanent sulfur dioxide that creeps into the throat.2004 Chablis 1er Cru, Fourchaume, Domaine Fèvre (Nathalie & Gilles), France
Close-out price $12; regular price $17.
Rating: Good ++
Toward the leaner side, as Chablis should be, with a nice balance of acidity, chardonnay fruit and oak. Medium-bodied, good intensity, and fairly long taste.2005 Morgan Sauvignon Blanc, Monterey
Close-out price $24; regular price $33.
Rating: Very Good -
Made in a bordeaux style, dry, with sufficient acidity and vanillin oak. Medium-bodied with a fairly long taste. Not austere, it has a pleasant roundness to it. I'm glad to see that Morgan still makes SB in this style - it's one of the better Californians, in my opinion.2006 Lolonis Fumé Blanc, Redwood Valley
Close-out price $10; regular price $15.
Rating: Very Good -
There's some residual sugar that detracts from this wine, so it's best served with a dish that has a bit of sweetness itself. Acidity is moderate, and there's medium body and a moderately long taste. No herbal character or noticeable wood.2002 Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Auslese, Bollig-Lehnert, M-S-R
Close-out price $10; regular price $15.
Rating: Good -
Sweetness appropriate to Auslese, deep golden color, mostly luscious peach turning a bit to apricot. Nice acidity to balance the sweetness, intense with some depth, and a fairly long taste to savor. There was some corky TCA taint noticeable on the cork and at the bottle opening; fortunately it had minimal effect on the wine itself.2004 Calera Pinot Noir, Ryan Vineyard, Mt. Harlan
Close-out price $9; regular price $13 (500 ml bottle).
Rating: (Very Good)
This became available just after the New York Times had a long article about some wineries which were making pinot noir in a lighter more aromatic style, and included Calera in their list. Indeed, this wine follows that description: perfumed aroma, gracefully medium-bodied with good acidity, a touch of firmness without noticeable wood or tannin, and a long taste.2006 Recanati Sauvignon Blanc, Shomron, Israel
Close-out price $29; regular price $50.
Rating: Very Good
Refreshing, clean, with good acidity. Toward lighter-bodied, with moderate length. Melon rather than grassy character.2006 Galil Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Galilee, Israel
Regular price $13.
Rating: Good +
Tasted like a hot-weather cabernet, fleshy and juicy, fairly soft without much tannin or firmness, only moderate acidity. Moderately long taste.2003 Château Labegorce, Margaux, France
Regular price $20.
Rating: Good +
Tasted after the Golan Cabernet (below). Much more French in style: noticeable tannin and some oak with moderate fruit, less acidity in a hot year, moderately long taste. Probably a better match to food than the Golan, which is the better sipping wine. Might improve with age if the fruit holds up.2004 Golan Cabernet Sauvignon, Galilee, Israel
Regular price about $25.
Rating: Good +
Some cabernet character, very pleasant to drink, good fruit with moderate acidity and light tannins. Moderate length. Part of a kosher wine tasting.2006 Baron Herzog Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg
Regular price probably about $15.
Rating: Good +
Off-dry and soft, without the acidity to give it some vibrancy. A bit of pear character, intensity a bit light. Part of a kosher wine tasting. I much prefer the Hogue Chenin Blancs of a number of years ago.2004 Freemark Abbey Chardonnay, Napa Valley
Regular price probably about $8.
Rating: Good
The label said that this had not undergone malolactic fermentation, so there was the promise of good acidity and a more burgundian character. Not quite so: moderate acidity, golden color, good intensity with a bit depth and fairly long taste. Might have a bit of residual sugar to give it some softness; no touch of austerity here.2005 Philip Shaw Sauvignon Blanc No. 19, Orange, Australia
Close-out price $10; regular price $16.
Rating: Good +
There's some grassiness here, but also a bit of heaviness and lack of focus. Moderate length. There's just not the crispness of an NZ SB or a Sancerre here; it's a bit ponderous without depth.2004 Johannisberger Klaus Riesling Kabinett, Prinz von Hessen, Rheingau
Close-out price $13; regular price $25.
Rating: Good +
A really good deal at the white-label price, this wine has a bit of spice, good acidity, peachiness in aroma and taste. Medium-bodied with a moderately long taste; true Kabinett-level sweetness. A pleasure to sip, or with left-over roast chicken.2001 Johannisberger Klaus Riesling Spätlese, Prinz von Hessen, Rheingau
Close-out price $8; regular price $12.
Rating: Good ++
Looking like it might be just a bit past its peak, with deep golden color and sweetness more in the upper Kabinett range. Good acidity and a bit of complexity in the moderately long taste. Accompanied roast chichken. Surprisingly, the trocken version was a better wine.2004 Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Spätlese, Josef Leitz, Rheingau
Close-out price $12; regular price $17.
Rating: Good ++
Tastes quite young, with proper Spätlese sweetness, good acidity, medium body, and moderately long taste. Not the complexity I would expect just yet - some age might help. One of the two wines in a class on German wines.2002 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Kabinett, St. Urbans-Hof, M-S-R
Close-out price $25; regular price $35.
Rating: Very Good -
Fairly typical Mosel with some peach character, good acidity, Kabinett-level sweetness. Moderate intensity and length. One of the two wines in a class on German wines.2006 Talley Chardonnay, Arroyo Grande Valley
Sale price $15; regular price unknown.
Rating: Good ++
Good chardonnay fruit with better acidity than many Californians; oak is well-integrated. Medium-bodied with moderate intensity and length, with a bit of honey and just a touch of acetone. There's a bit of hollowness about the taste as well.2005 Chablis, Laurent Tribut, France
Close-out price $15; regular price $30.
Rating: Good ++
Has all the characteristics of a proper Chablis: acidity and flintiness with sufficient fruit and balancing oak. Moderate intensity with a bit of depth, with a pleasantly long taste.
Close-out price $14; regular price $21.
Rating: Good ++
Red-tag close-out sales this month:Whites:
2006 Talley Chardonnay, Arroyo Grande Valley ($15, orig. $30) 2004 Freemark Abbey Chardonnay, Napa Valley ($10, orig. $16) 2006 Lolonis Fumé Blanc, Redwood Valley ($10, orig. $15) 2005 Philip Shaw No. 19 Sauvignon Blanc, Orange, Australia ($13, orig. $25) 2005 Mount Nelson Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealnad ($9, orig. $16) 2005 Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Margaret River, Australia ($8, orig. $12) 2007 Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Margaret River, Australia ($11, orig. $20) 2004 Shaw & Smith Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, Australia ($10, orig. $17) 2004 Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume, Nathalie & Gilles Domaine Fèvre, France ($24, orig. $33) 2005 Viré-Clessé, Climat "La Verchère", Bret Brothers, France ($24, orig. $33) 2004 Johannisberger Klaus Riesling Kabinett, Prinz von Hessen, Rheingau ($8, orig. $12) 2005 Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Kabinett, Schloss Schönborn, Rheingau ($8, orig. $12) 2005 Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Riesling Kabinett, Schloss Schönborn, Rheingau ($12, orig. $18) 2005 Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Riesling Spätlese, Schloss Schönborn, Rheingau ($12, orig. $18) 2002 Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Auslese, Bollig-Lehnert, M-S-R ($9, orig. $13)
[500 ml bottle]2005 Riesling Spätlese, Schloss Wallhausen, Nahe ($12, orig. $17) 2004 Riesling Grand Cru, Pfersigberg, Paul Zinck, Alsace, France ($14, orig. $28)
Reds:
2004 Calera Pinot Noir, Ryan Vineyard, Mt. Harlan ($29, orig. $50) 2007 Patricia Green Pinot Noir, Estate, Ribbon Ridge, Oregon ($23, orig. $33) 2006 Peter Lehmann The Seven Surveys, Old vines, Barossa, Australia ($10, orig. $15) 2004 Chianti Classico Riserva "Croce", Terrabianca, Italy ($16, orig. $23)
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