Blonk de blancs

Edmunds St. John 2002 “blonk!” (Paso Robles) – Tastes like it’s just coming into its maturing phase – which is not to say it’s all the way there yet – with older, bronzed stone fruit and a lot of dusty trails running through the foundation. It gets a bit twisty with food, but with more aeration finds its voice and starts to hum an old, folkish tune with a decided desert twang. (11/08)

Moulin

Terre Rouge 2005 Syrah “Les Côtes de l’Ouest” (California) – Corked. (11/08)

Billi club

Mount Langi Ghiran 2004 “Billi Billi” Shiraz (Victoria) – Alcoholic (14%) and volatile when first opened, so I close it back up and move on to another wine. Twenty-four hours later, everything has changed: the alcohol is subdued, the volatility is gone, and in their place are a gentle, pure expression of leathery blueberries and a soft…dare I say it?...almost Burgundian texture. No one will actually mistake it for Burgundy, because it’s both varietally expressive and rather hefty, but it’s a very pleasant wine. A second bottle gets to the good stage right after opening, which is an odd bit of variability for a wine under screwcap, but both are enjoyable. (11/08)

The Roederer less travelled

Roederer Estate Brut (Anderson Valley) – Fairly dense (or perhaps wee-heavy would be a better descriptor…if you’re Scottish), showing a pleasant mix of ripe lemon, ripe apple, and gentle intrusions of strawberry and raspberry. Lees are present, but submissive. This is very primary, but I remain of the opinion that this is about the best of the entry-level domestic bubblies. A second bottle is a little heftier and more red-fruited, which improves it for my palate. (11/08)

Not now, Darling

Darling Cellars “Onyx” 2002 “Noble Late Harvest” (Groenekloof) – 375 ml. If Sauternes had acidity, this is what it would taste like. Yes, that’s unfairly snarky. So to be serious: richly botrytized copper fruit, maturing more quickly than any but the cheapest Sauternes would, yet still fairly fresh, with quince-like acidity that eventually comes to dominate the finish. I’d hold this for a few more years, but probably not longer than that, as I think the acidity will eventually be unpleasant in contrast to the wine’s other qualities. Right now, however, it’s very close to world-class sweet stuff. (10/08)

Barbera-ella

Easton 2002 Barbera (Shenandoah Valley) – 14.5%. Massive fruit, perhaps too dense for its structure, with a bit of nagging volatility and a brief, angry snarl at the end. I’m not sure where that’s coming from, but all doesn’t end well with this wine. And certainly, it’s unrecognizable if one’s lens is Piedmontese barbera, though it fits nicely into the dominant Sierra Foothills expression. Maybe it’s just a little bit too old? (10/08)

Easton down, Easton down the road

Easton 2006 Zinfandel (Amador County) – 14.5%. Suave zinfandel, carrying its weight with ease, and dressing up its usual tangled-vine Amador gnarliness in a fine, tailored suit…which it wears well. Those for whom differential character in zins is the primary goal will be slightly disappointed in this wine, but it’s very hard to criticize it from any other perspective, as it could hardly be more sluggable. (10/08)

Poverty line

Poverty Lane “Farnum Hill” 2006 Kingston Black Cider “Reserve” (New Hampshire) – This remains a serious, complex cider. This bottle shows more of the molten iron and lead components that sometimes lurk in the background, with the deep, rich apple flavors taking on a bronzed characteristic. And yet, there’s a bell-tone of loftier, more skin-derived flavors in the finish. Very, very good. (10/08)

Brute force

Bleasdale “The Red Brute” Sparkling Shiraz (Langhorne Creek) – Boisterous and a bit volatile (the acidity, not the personality trait); basically a middle-of-the-road Aussie shiraz lent bubbles. It’s fine, but there’s nothing compelling here. (10/08)

Sere smile

Seresin 2006 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) – Zippy and strappy sauvignon blanc right down the center of the variety’s aromatic range, showing neither too much capsicum nor too much tropicality, and bringing with it a core of firm minerality (barely perceptible, but there nonetheless). If only most Marlborough sauvignon tasted like this. (10/08)

Don't kill the whale

Southern Right 2008 Sauvignon Blanc (Walker Bay) – Classic lemon-lime and grapefruit in a hue several shades darker than the norm, with a bit of sweat and toil lingering about the perimeter, and a lot of persistence on the finish. This clearly has designs on levels above its pay grade, but given that it’s sauvignon blanc I don’t know if it can meet them; it’s quite a drink now, though. (10/08)

Right of way

Southern Right 2007 Pinotage (Walker Bay) – The usual black fruit explosion, but with a bit more varnish than usual; with “age” (he says, sarcastically) this wine’s varietal characteristics are coming to the fore. It’s still quite good, and better than most expressions of pinotage, but I guess there’s only so much lipstick one can apply. (10/08)

Tam

Kumeu River 2005 Chardonnay (Kumeu) – Stone fruit with fine balancing acidity, restrained citrus, and a lot of sun and crystalline soil. Very, very impressive, with the structure to age and develop for a long while. (10/08)

Joan

Westport Rivers 2000 Brut Blanc de Noirs (Southeastern New England) – Very stark, with dry raspberry pits and leafy strawberry hulls lending timid, trebly voice to a thin, tinny old recording on acetate. (10/08)

Age is Bekaa-ning

Chateau Musar 2001 “Hochar” (Bekaa Valley) – Tastes twenty years old, and not in a good way. The well-known Musar bottle (more likely cork) variation strikes again. (10/08)

Cheval Blanc (uh, not really)

Marietta “Old Vine Red Lot Number 47” (California) – Pleasant enough, but in this incarnation this perennial value (no longer quite so cheap, though) tastes like dry gnarly-vine syrup, with a few tiny berries grudgingly giving up their freshness. Not Marietta’s best effort. (10/08)

TGV towards Marseilles

JP Brun “FRV100” (Beaujolais) – Turning sweeter, mostly because the fruit is starting to diminish. The last few bottles of this have been all over the map, which suggests to me that it’s nearing the end of its most useful period. But who knows, really? (10/08)

TCA, TC nay

Tablas Creek 2002 “Côtes de Tablas” Red (Paso Robles) – Corked. (11/08)

Tablas Creek 2002 “Côtes de Tablas” Red (Paso Robles) – Juicy and succulent, with a freshly-crushed handful of blue, purple, and black berries given a bit of heft from black soil and a good sun-drenching. Pure pleasure. (10/08)

Jack or Rebecca

Willi Schaefer 2004 Riesling 01 05 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) – Simple, exposed minerality with a delicate hint of sweetness and a bit of fadeaway. This is where it has been for a while now, so it’s probably premature to say it’s actually fading. (10/08)

I Gruet myself

Gruet Brut (New Mexico) – Dominated by its acidity, with a scraping yellow-fruited bite and no real complexity, yeast, toast, or even enough of its fruit to make up for the zip. It’s attention-getting and palate-clearing, but it’s not what it has been in other releases. (10/08)