Julien calendar

Villerambert-Julien 2007 Minervois Rosé (Languedoc) – Sharp, then soft, then anonymous. OK…strawberry, leaves, cranberry, some sun-dried soil, some tomato…but mostly a chug-and-forget rosé. Very, very dry, and perhaps not entirely to its benefit. This has been significantly better in other vintages. (10/08)

Minervois mouse

Julien “Château Villerambert Julien” 2001 Minervois (Languedoc) – While it smells authentic enough (leather-wrapped meat, just a bare hint of blackberry), the palate just sort of sits there, reflecting the nose but adding nothing other than a vague shrug in the direction of tannin. Maybe age will help, but this lacks the out-of-the-gate complexity and interest of the region’s better producers. (4/08)