Eclipse

Movia 2007 “Lunar” (Goriška Brda) – Like drinking electronica and eating Dadaism in a black light-lit funhouse. Absolutely, deliriously weird and yet utterly compelling. This is far from the most representative of the “orange wine” cohort, but its eccentricities are as appealing as they are legion. (6/10)

Grande

Le Piane 1984 Boca (Piedmont) – Clinging. Sharp acidity and dusty, brown, eroded roses with alpine minerality and thin shafts of bone sticking out everywhere. This was probably better a little while ago, but there’s still quite a bit of life to it. It’s just a creaky, arthritic life. (6/10)

And the wind cries Hunawihr

Zind-Humbrecht 1997 Pinot Gris Hunawihr Clos Windsbuhl (Alsace) – Very sweet, as befits the vintage. Intense pear syrup and spice jacketed in metal plate armor. A touch hot and short – also unfortunate vintage artifacts – but this is holding on better than many of its fellow ‘97s, especially given the grape. Drink up, though. (7/10)

Huit l'Enclos

Raynaud “Château Quinault l’Enclos” 1998 Saint-Émilion (Bordeaux) – Green cranberry, tobacco ash, and oak tannins that lend even more Kermit-hued underripeness to the blend. Biting and unpleasant, with a short finish. Leaves a residue of dried blueberries. One is forced to ask of the wine: why? (6/10)

Crooked timber

North Country Orchard “Crooked Tree” Cider (New Hampshire) – Pretty basic. This tastes more like apple juice with the slight warmth of cider than it does an actual fermented cider. Very pleasant, but not worth the upcharge over (good, local, fresh) supermarket cider. (7/10)

Var, matey

Triennes 2009 Vin de Pays du Var Rosé (Provence) – Pink melon and grapefruit, soft and plushy, with tarragon and something else herbal that I can’t put a papilla on. Balanced. Some lead sinkers appear amidst the finish. Just OK. (7/10)

Main street

Donaldson Family “Main Divide” 2005 Riesling (South Island) – Makrut lime, icy-bright sweetness, ripe apple zing. Fresh and zippy. (7/10)

Cliffy

Fromm “La Strada” 2001 Pinot Noir Clayvin (Marlborough) – A recent closeout, and dying. There are plenty of signs of heat damage somewhere along the line. Alas, this showed up in a local closeout bin and I was intrigued. But I’d avoid the lot based on the performance of this bottle, which should have been in the early stages of blossoming from its closed youth. (7/10)

Bravay for the straight guy

Bravay “Domaine de Ferrand” 1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Rhône) – Huge, and an early dalliance with fruit chews eventually veers towards something more mature. Still tannic and very ripe, but I think this has fully rounded into all the form it’s ever going to have. Drink soonish. (7/10)

To be, or Loubié

Domaine de Mourchon 2009 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret “Loubié” Rosé (Rhône) – Perhaps this is weird, but I’m reminded of the Renardat-Fache Bugey Cerdon…except, of course, minus the fizz. And it’s true that the fruit is a little more grenache-signifying (strawberry bubblegum). But the fruity fun, the vivacious balance, the short finish? Reminiscent. Interesting. (7/10)

Let's go

Luneau-Papin 1997 Muscadet Sèvre & Maine Sur Lie Clos des Allées “Vieilles Vignes” (Loire) – Brittle shells and a memory of generosities long passed. Not the best vintage to have aged this long, but it’s fine enough, and it’s worth nothing that there’s more heft and fullness after about six hours of room-temperature aeration, bringing in shiny metals and draped, desiccated fruit skins. Maybe the first sip underrates? Well, this is my last bottle, so I’ll never know more than what I’ve just written. (7/10)

Paint it black

Métaireau 1997 Muscadet Sèvre & Maine Sur Lie “carte noire” (Loire) – Corked. (7/10)

Kitaen

Quinta do Infantado Tawny Porto (Douro) – Caramel, brown sugar, baked plum. Silky and only a little bit hot. Simple, but nice. (5/10)

National guard

Trimbach 2004 Ribeauvillé Pinot Gris “Réserve” (Alsace) – This was always a concentrated, vibrant vintage for this wine, but the first signs of unraveling are apparent in this bottle, as the metal-jacketed spiced pear begins to separate into its three components, without the cohesiveness that has been a signature of the wine since release. Drink up, I think. (5/10)

Locke-d out

Bornard 2007 Arbois Pupillin Trousseau “Le Ginglet” (Jura) – Wines like this have such a small margin for error, it seems to me. The broad, brown earthiness and faded fruit is rarely more than a step away from early decrepitude, and in the wrong hands – or the wrong vintage – can easily fall over, dead. Not so here. Lithe earth laced with fruit, rather than the reverse, dusty and delicate, but with insistence and persistence. Some funk. Lots of dust. Disappears very quickly. (5/10)

Crystal logic

Lafage 2008 Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes “côté EST” (Roussillon) – 50% grenache (blanc I assume, though the label doesn’t specify), 30% chardonnay, 20% marsanne. Usually a reliable bargain wine, but performing very awkwardly from this bottle, showing pointed elbows of alcohol and jittery melon with sun-drenched lemons. Finishes white peppery. (5/10)

Terres it up

JP Brun “Terres Dorées” 2007 Beaujolais Blanc Chardonnay (Beaujolais) – Stone fruit with heat and shortness; I suspect some damage somewhere along the way. (5/10)

Sált & Pépière

Ollivier “Domaine de la Pépière” 2008 Muscadet Sèvre & Maine “Sur Lie” (Loire) – Precise, shelled, and saline. Very mild, though. (5/10)

Lamas

Umani Ronchi 2004 Rosso Conero San Lorenzo (Marches) – Pretty straightforward red fruit, the needle wavering between tangy and merely bright, with some externally-imposed structure. Fair enough. (5/10)

All together now

Copain 2007 Syrah “Tous Ensemble” (Mendocino County) – 14.2%. Very weighty and Californian, though appealing in that genre. Hot blue fruit, hot purple texture, hot black soil. Syrah, but only barely…though there’s structure and, eventually, the weight settles in. I suspect this will be better after a few years, but it’s not my thing now. (5/10)

Vaison dilation

Texier 2007 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Vaison-la-Romaine (Rhône) – Rally solid Rhônish flavors – nothing you haven’t encountered before – with a stronger dried-earth component than is the norm. Texier’s wines have long been good, but there’s a polish to them now…not sophistication so much as swagger…that works to their benefit. Very good. (5/10)

Penelope

Cruz Alta 2008 Malbec “Reserve” (Mendoza) – Coconut milkshake with chocolate Hershey’s would have rejected as too insipid, synthetic berry jelly, and powerful alcohol. Ugh. (5/10)

Hooked on a feeling

Gurrutxaga 2009 Bizkaiko Txakolina Txakoli Rosé (Northwest Spain) – In the context of pink Txakolina, this is heavy…which, of course, means it’s bright, brittle, and whipsnapped with strawberry crispness compared to most other pink wines. That said, it’s short, simple-minded, and a little stale. The weight doesn’t add anything here. (5/10)

Nader

Armani 2009 Corvara Pinot Grigio Valdadige (Trentino) – Decent straddling of the line between insipid plonk and something more mineral-driven and interesting. And there’s really not much more to be said about it. (5/10)

One bourbon, one scotch, & one beerenauslese

Kracher 2006 Beerenauslese “Cuvée” (Burgenland) – Sweet. Concentrated and sweet. Very rich, but I can’t quite identify in what vein its richness flows. Something stone-fruity? Maybe. It’s vague, if so. (5/10)

Garfunkel

Boxler 2007 Pinot Blanc (Alsace) – Spiky and disjointed, the acid/fruit/sugar combo completely skewed towards chaos. Not much spice, a lot of eroded minerality, and a powerfully imbalancing alcoholic heat that eventually overwhelms the wine. Here’s something I didn’t think was possible: a Boxler wine by which I’m actively repelled. This could come from Carneros, or somewhere hotter. (5/10)

Anselmi something

Anselmi 2006 San Vincenzo (Veneto) – Very advanced and a little bronzed, thus I suspect either heat damage or cork failure, and possibly both. Layers of spice and flower dust, honeyed but a little short, are still in evidence. But this is not an intact bottle. (5/10)

R you ready?

Trimbach 2007 Riesling “R” (Alsace) – I don’t know what this wine is, I’ve neglected to ask while at Trimbach, and I’ve only ever had it at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. I presume there’s some sort of differentiation between this and the yellow-label négociant riesling, but if there is all I can identify about it is that this is a little more mediocre. Still dry, still bony, still mineralistic and firmly-structured, but also somewhat wan. (5/10)

Paestum to the wall

de Conciliis 2008 Fiano “Paestum Donnaluna” (Campania) – Heady, edging up to the precipice of lurid, then pulling back just enough to remain a beverage rather than an artifact. Wax, gravel, herb, and seed combine for both texture and aroma, and while there’s the requisite ashen undertone, it’s layered with structure and richness beyond the usual (5/10)

Jonathan Livingston Cigale

Chante Cigale 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Rhône) – Boring classicism, gauzy and faded. Some earth, some meat, some herb, some faded fruit. Snore. (5/10)

If Ulivi now

Bellotti “Cascina degli Ulivi” 2006 Monferrato Bianco “Montemarino” (Piedmont) – Semi-oxidative and deliciously so, bringing wax, rinds, peels, and light green herbs together in a heady-yet-light broth. (5/10)

Mauled

Maule “La Biancara” 1999 Gambellara Recioto (Veneto) – Starts off a little faded and browned-out, but then…wait…there’s a lot more here than at first sip. Rich old-cherry and old-furniture aromatics, a surprising vibrancy, and very strong acidity. Are those pepper dusts, or something more aromatic in the spice realm? Whatever it is, it adds to the intrigue, which grows with each sip. I kinda love this. (5/10)

In the Corsin human events

Corsin 2006 Saint-Véran “Tirage Précoce” (Burgundy) – Golden fruit lightened by air. Supple and relatively simple, despite a little trailing edge of spice. Good structure. Drinkable. (5/10)

Well & no good

Murrieta’s Well 2004 “Meritage” (Livermore Valley) – 51% cabernet sauvignon, 21% merlot, 18% petite verdot, 10% cabernet franc. Solid, straightforward, entirely decent. Dark fruit inhabiting the cassis/blackberry/black cherry range, medium-weight structure, a welcome note of green leaf and black pepper, but mostly about forward fruit and early generosity. Not overoaked, which is a blessing. Gets a little cumbersome late, and I think the wine’s future is portended by that tardy clumsiness. (5/10)

Barsotti voce

Edmunds St. John 2008 Gamay Noir Barsotti Ranch “Porphyry” (El Dorado) – A stark, bare rock face of minerality with some tart, rhubarb/raspberry-ish fruit. Ungenerous and light, but long. I’d like to see this one again after some time in the cellar; a little erosion would be welcome. (5/10)

Breath furmint

Királyudvar 2006 Tokaji Sec (Hungary) – Arid and a little muted, blossoming texturally but not as aromatically as I’d expect. That texture is dense, coating, and rich with promise, but other than some waxiness and a minor floral note, there’s not much going on. A strange performance. (5/10)

Proceed to the Schlossberg cutoff, then...

Weinbach 1998 Riesling Schlossberg “Cuvée Ste-Catherine” (Alsace) – Shockingly advanced. Very dark, and showing something that’s not quite oxidation (aside from the usual oxidative character that imbues really old wines), but rather the dusty creaminess of a much older riesling. The metallic edginess of the vineyard is still present, but starting to be overwhelmed by the aged characteristics. I doubt this is a typical performance for this wine, and though I don’t know where to place the blame for the quick maturity (heat damage is unlikely, cork failure is more likely), those who own it in quantity might want to check on a bottle, just to be sure. (5/10)

A Witters tale

Edmunds St. John 2009 Gamay Noir Rosé “Bone-Jolly” Witters (El Dorado County) – Raspberry and something in the peach realm, deft and light and gripping the palate as loosely as possible. Deft but not dodgy, light but not ethereal; very present without being insistent. (5/10)

Pozzan pans

Pozzan “Annabella” 2007 Merlot “Special Selection” (Napa Valley) – Over-toasted (assuming there are barrels involved; I don’t want to over-presume), charred…the Starbucks dark roast of merlot. (5/10)

Matthewpork

Markham 2005 Merlot (Napa Valley) – Solid dark fruit. Enough structure. Made from grapes. (5/10)

Piyes

Trimbach 2006 Pinot Blanc (Alsace) – From a bottle opened 24 hours earlier and mostly consumed. Apricot and dry, vaguely citrusy stuff. Some minerality showing, perhaps a little more than usual. Fair enough. (5/10)

McNally

Albrecht 2006 Pinot Blanc “Cuvée Balthazar” (Alsace) – Completely oxidized, a victim of its Nomacorc. (5/10)

Allin

Dönnhoff 2008 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Trocken “GG” 25 09 (Nahe)– Petroleum to start. Rinds, rocks, and rectangular reds in both form and aroma. Turns ever more rusty as it finishes (and this takes a while). Striking. (5/10)

Yeast

St. Urbans-Hof 2007 Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Spätlese 028 08 (Mosel) – SULFUR! SULFUR!! SULFUR!!! This wine, Keith Richards-like, is apparently designed to live forever. Is there anything else? Yes: buried deep, deep within are tropical fruit (pineapple-dominated) and a very rough, vaguely quartz-like finish. But this much sulfur could make your average JJ Prüm point and laugh. (5/10)

Paula Barroubio

Miquel “Domaine de Barroubio” 2005 Muscat de St-Jean de Minervois (Languedoc) – White minerality and flowers with big acidity. So incredibly vibrant. Among the best that I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting from this appellation. (5/10)

Toll raud

Peyraud “Domaine Tempier” 1993 Bandol (Provence) – Corked. (5/10)

Do you Graach?

JJ Prüm 1999 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese 17 00 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) – Lightly sulfured. For Prüm. Very light petroleum aromas in the process of being supplanted (or is it the other way around? maybe) with Pink Lady apples and…are those peaches? Peach nectar, more like. Still kinda clunky at this stage. Ah, the wait for Prüm… (5/10)

You can count on her

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1988 Pauillac (Bordeaux) – Tobacco ash and gravel with a light dusting of pepper and the scent of dried roses. Still quite structured, of course, but showing really fine balance and just enough suggestions of maturity that it’s worth an experimental sampling. (5/10)

Vrigny, vini, vichy

Egly-Ouriet Champagne Brut 1er Cru “Les Vignes de Vrigny” (Champagne) – 100% pinot meunier, July 2006 disgorgement. Dark cherry and tangerine, with a dark, moody cast and finish. Very bubbly to the point of froth. Essentially red wine with bubbles, despite the color. (5/10)

Pora me

Produttori del Barbaresco 1996 Barbaresco Pora “Riserva” (Piedmont) – A recent purchase. Citrus, chalky tannins, gravel soup, and old woods harboring a memory of animal inhabitants long passed. (Not “old wood.” Old woods. Like an elderly forest.) A little worse for its wear. Intact bottles could be better, and if so perhaps not yet ready. (5/10)

Samain Gamgee

Josmeyer 2000 Riesling Hengst “Samain” (Alsace) – Corked. (5/10)

When the Lietz go down in the city

Lietz 2002 Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling Auslese 005 03 (Rheingau) – 500 ml. Alcohol, gasoline, and burnt apple. Burnt bark. Burnt iron. Did someone light a fire in here, or are we just having a sale on sulfur? And is that grey rot? Stewed garbage finishes it off. Weird, and in no possible universe can this be called good, or even drinkable. Hopefully, it’s just the bottle or a stage, because…ugh. (5/10)

O. yes

O. Raffault 1990 Chinon Les Picasses (Loire) – Very soft. Large-scaled herbality, espresso, raw musculature, and thick, almost syrupy black fruit. I guess this isn’t ready yet. But if one needs a Chinon to “convince” a dedicated, green-fearing Chinon-skeptic, this might do the job. (5/10)

Donà donà donà, donà

Hartmann Donà 2004 Mitterberg Rot (Alto Adige) – More skin than flesh, more tissue than muscle, more chill than warmth. Iced berries and gritty minerality. Not generous, and while that’s not usually a flaw for my palate, I really can’t get into this wine, which turns both a shoulder and a sneer. I feel like I should like it, because it’s got things I usually like, but I don’t. (5/10)

Leaning stove

Pisa Range 2003 Pinot Noir Black Poplar (Central Otago) – Dark beet and blood orange. Still powerfully youthful, and in fact it might be hardening a bit. I keep reading Kiwi wine cognoscenti suggesting that many of the early-00s pinots are on the downslope. So I’ve opened a handful. So far, the only conclusion I can reach is that they’re out of their minds. If anything, these wines haven’t even hit their midlife crisis yet. (5/10)

Wing it

Donaldson Family “Pegasus Bay” 2002 Riesling (Waipara) – Creamed dust and papaya. But otherwise flat, dull-fruited, and short. Something went wrong here, and since other bottles from the same source have been fine, I’m going to blame the cork. (5/10)

Down in a höhle

Dönnhoff 2001 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese 008 02 (Nahe) – A misty memory of dust. Peachy-creamy and supple. Is it “better” than it was in its youth? I don’t know if I accept the utility of that word here. I liked it young. I like it differently now. (5/10)

Pét control

Huet 2002 Vouvray “Pétillant” Brut (Loire) – L02 PSB, for those tracking such things. Sophisticated, with crisp acidity, chalk, aspirin and the faintest prickle…so faint that, were one told that this is not pétillant, but rather just blessed with a little residual CO₂, it’d be believed. Like most young Huet mini-bubbles, nowhere near as generous as some of its peers. And like most young Huet mini-bubbles, it would probably outlive and outclass them all. (5/10)

Napariño

Abrente 2009 Albariño (Napa Valley) – Only 13% by the label, but absolutely consumed by its alcohol. So much so that there’s almost nothing else to be said. Grossly, pathetically imbalanced. Where’s the…well, anything other than ethanol? (5/10)

Don't hop the whale

Harpoon “100 Barrel Series” Single Hop ESB (Massachusetts) – Were I more fascinated by hops, I’d no doubt be more intrigued by this beer. I’m not, and so…I’m not. (5/10)

Enrico Caluso

Ferrando Erbaluce di Caluso “Cuveè del Fondatore” (Piedmont) – Sparkling…and yes, that’s really how they print the accent on the label. Dark-fruited for a white sparkler, with the expected herbs. Bitter, fierce, and wild. Not easy to like…but nonetheless, I do, very much. I think. (5/10)

Mrs. Moon

de Conciliis 2008 Cilento Fiano “Donnaluna” (Campania) – Boring and alcohol-dominated. While there’s some simplistic ashen, waxy throb underneath the booze, it would take an awful lot of wine to surmount this much heat. (5/10)

Ascheri film

Ascheri 2005 “do ut des il Gusto della Solicarietà” Verduno Pelaverga (Piedmont) – Fruit with a bite, partially due to acidity but also thanks to an angular pink-purple sharpness all its own. Plum, raspberry, and razor blade. Very interesting. (5/10)

A rosso is a rosso

Vajra 2006 Langhe Rosso (Piedmont) – Very pretty. Crushed, partially dried old roses, dark and a little dusty, but still pure. Soft earth. Gorgeous texture. And all for an absurdly low price. Hard to beat, really. (5/10)

Par

Bisson 2007 Golfo del Tigullio “Ciliegiolo” (Liguria) – More interesting than good, with an unfocused burst of random florality and fabric softener luridness. Makes an impression, but I’m not sure what that impression is. I keep wanting to like this, but it never quite lives up to its price…which is high for a rosé. (5/10)

CPE

Trimbach 2006 Pinot Blanc (Alsace) – Fuzzy and maturing, which is a good thing here; the primary apricot zing has coppered and rounded. Matters fall off on the finish, though. It’s still a light, small wine, but it’s more interesting than it was. Drink up. (5/10)

Christine l'Heureux

Brunel 1995 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Cailloux “Cuvée Centenaire” (Rhône) – Meat liqueur heavy on the salt. Youngish in a way, still showing blackberry amidst its more mature, meat-jerky stew components, but it’s fairly solid and unexpressive. And is that a remnant of vanilla? I wish I liked this more. (5/10)

My belle

Michel “Domaine de la Charbonnière” 2000 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Cuvée Vieilles Vignes” (Rhône) – Corked. (5/10)

Starship ballad

Michel Perraud 1999 Cornas “Sarah” (Rhône) – Grippy but light-styled, showing rough (and surprisingly red) fruit, earth, nuts, olives, and ground peppercorns. But really, that grocery list makes the wine sound more interesting than it actually is. Mostly, it’s simple and short…a wine with training wheels and a flimsy frame. (5/10)

Angrier than a Rosacker of cats

Mallo 2002 Riesling Rosacker (Alsace) – Salted rocks, banana leaves, and aggressive minerality pushed to the side by over-softening, wimpy residual sugar. The salinity is strident, and there are darker, smokier elements within, but why must such nice raw materials be rendered so spineless? This is at worst a very good, and at best an unparalleled, terroir. Mallo’s house style is soft and sweet, to be sure, but it serves this wine – which could have been great, but instead is merely good – very, very poorly. (5/10)

Mohua the lawn

Mohua 2008 Pinot Noir (Central Otago) – Starts off with the bitter beet, dusty blackberry, and blood orange rind so common to New Zealand pinots (is this a clonal issue? it sure seems ubiquitous), but then goes absolutely nowhere. Half of a good wine. Where’s the second act? (5/10)

John Colt

Beaumont 2008 Chenin Blanc (Walker Bay) – Heavy, slurpy, and ham-handed. Yellow fruit and overdriven yellow tomato, thick and unstructured, with a whack of alcohol on the finish. This is the absolute opposite of how I thought Walker Bay would express chenin. Huh. (5/10)

John's society

White Birch Belgian Style Pale Ale (New Hampshire) – Fairly enticing. I’ve realized, after extensive sampling (perhaps too-extensive), that most domestic Belgian knockoffs don’t really do it for me, outside the spiced white ale genre. The reason is that they mostly stop at heaviness and sweet alcoholism without the complexity or inner life. Here, thankfully, there’s more: spice, swirl, and light within. Perhaps even a woodsy note? Tasty. (6/10)

White Birch Belgian Style Pale Ale (New Hampshire) – A confident, white-hued interpretation, perhaps not overly authentic but very, very appealing despite the idiosyncrasy. Fruit, spice, not too much weight, and a pleasant counterpoint of mild bitterness. Nice. (5/10)

Spock, mind-meld with the big pizza blob thing

d’Orta e de Conciliis 2008 Falanghina del Beneventano (Campania) – Aggressive citrus-aisle fruit, with a little too much alcohol and a lot too much polish. Never goes anywhere. I feel like it’s trying to say something, but I can’t comprehend anything interesting given all the shouting. (5/10)

Fidelity

Castro Ventosa “El Castro de Valtuille” 2007 Bierzo Mencia “Joven” (Northwest Spain) – Aromatic, like freshly-crushed handfuls of dried flowers and dried berries, but with a weird imbalance between stridency and abruptness. It screeches forth at volume 11, and then…poof. Too much intensity up front, not enough to sustain later on. (5/10)

Haberle a merry little Christmas

Lageder 2006 Pinot Bianco Haberlehof (Alto Adige) – I don’t know if this is mature, because this is as long as I’ve ever let a bottle of it age, but this is certainly rounding into something more interesting than its fallow infancy. Fruits have yellowed (but the pinks and greens remain), minerality has helixed with texture to provide something sinuous in the background, and there’s a slowly-enveloping sense of roundness. Quite impressive. (5/10)

Jumpin' Juniper

Juniper Crossing 2005 Shiraz (Margaret River) – It’s the power of suggestion, perhaps, but this does taste like its eponymous aromatic. Maybe it’s pine needle, maybe there’s a cedar element, but after consideration it really does smell of juniper and forest. There’s dark, dark, dark fruit as well, though the weight of it isn’t as heavy as such opacity usually indicates. It’s a simple, basic wine, but it does have that intriguing individualism, and I enjoy it as the bargain it is. (5/10)

Take your Fentimans

Fentimans Dandelion & Burdock Drink (England) – My first, and possibly my last, note on a soda. No alcohol here? No. I know it’s shocking. But the floral and complexing bitter/medicinal notes here are rather extraordinary. Frankly, I’d love to taste a version of this in which the sweetness was entirely abandoned, but then we’d be talking about some sort of non-alcoholic amaro. Which would be fine with me. This is absolutely one of the best sodas I’ve ever tasted. (4/10)

Fentimans “Curiosity Cola” (England) – Yes, this is a soda note. But I think it belongs here anyway. A bitter slosh of herbs and amaro-like anti-sugar complexities, with just – barely – enough sugar to compensate, though this is decidedly on the not-sweet side of sodas. I completely love it. (6/10)

By gham

St. Peter’s Sorgham Beer (England) – Beer people are always surprised when I say that I don’t like lager. Well, I don’t, much. There’s just something watery and unsatisfying about the style, no matter how well-executed, unless it’s in contrast amidst a tasting or present on a very, very hot day. All the reasons I don’t like lager apply to this, an ale that will find its principal audience among the gluten-intolerant. I applaud the effort. I can’t applaud the beer, which is bitter, watery, and insipid. (4/10)

D'arcy

Shipyard “Pugsley’s Signature Series” Smashed Pumpkin Ale (Maine) – As much pumpkin as I’ve ever tasted stuffed into one of these ales, and light on the spice (but not absent its lurid influence). Mostly, pumpkin ales are exceedingly heavy and a very acquired taste. Usually, that’s due to excess spice. Excess pumpkin is a new experience, for me, and just for the sake of originality this has appeal. But it really, really tastes like pumpkin. (4/10)

Oh, brother

Anderson Valley Brewing Company “Brother David’s” Double Abbey Style Ale (California) – Mildly thick and a little herbal, which is a new experience in this style. A little spicy. A little insufficient. (4/10)

Anderson Valley Brewing Company “Brother David’s” Triple Abbey Style Ale (California) – Heady and heavy, with the requisite spice and liqueur-like tendencies, but lacking much other than the bare fact of each. (4/10)

Kevin Smith

Brewdog “Chaos Theory” Ale (Scotland) – Bitter, but in a confident fashion, laying everything up front and demanding appreciation strictly as-is and on the merits. I could quibble that I prefer beer with a little more generosity, but really this is pretty solid. (4/10)

Brewdog “Dogma” Ale (Scotland) – Brewed with honey, kola nut, poppy seed, and guarana. And the point? Excess bitterness to no complexing or enriching ends. Pretty dull, honestly. (4/10)

Brewdog “bashah” Black Belgian Style Double IPA (Scotland) – No. Too much. No. (7/10)

Beach

The Bruery “Orchard White” Ale (California) – More “ale” than “white,” so those for whom the spicing and froth of true white ale are a bit much will probably be well-pleased. For me, it’s a handwave at a style, but in failing to achieve that style lessens even its base qualities. (4/10)

The Bruery “Black Orchard” Ale (California) – Vibrant and vivid, full of deep and rich flavors. Unfortunately, one of those flavors is rubber. Still, the rest is appealing, and though this is the complete opposite of a quaffing beer, and both demands and requires attention, the rubber can be ignored. Almost. (4/10)

The Bruery Saison Rue (California) – Not fresh, as I expect a saison to be, but rather leaden. If this was labeled as a Trappist knockoff, I’d be unsurprised. As it is, I’m merely whelmed. (4/10)

Digital Mystikz

de Morgenzon “DMZ” 2008 Chardonnay (South Africa) – Sticky vinyl, soupy imitation butterscotch, bleary-eyed booziness. Awful. (4/10)

North & South

de Morgenzon “DMZ” 2008 Shiraz (South Africa) – Big, goopy, dull-witted, and not even reaching simplicity as the opposite of complexity. This is very poor. (4/10)

The COSby show

COS 2007 Frappato (Sicily) – Volatile acidity, first and foremost. Thankfully, it fades a bit, and then there’s strawberry and grayish-white minerality. A very delicate wine. The minerality grows with air, but I’d like a little more aromatic interest here. Juicy acidity. The finish is a little reminiscent of a prune eau-de-vie. (5/10)

Grig Louganis

La Mondianese 2007 Grignolino d’Asti (Piedmont) – Surprisingly dark, solid, and insistent for a grignolino. The oxidation is there, but it’s subservient to a pale lavender fruit, rich and full, that hides the pale openness so endemic to the grape and region. Complexity is provided by a rich stew of well-dried petals. Fascinating. (5/10)

Asia

Argento Malbec (Argentina) – Non-vintage, but lot 12925 if that means anything to anyone, and from a 187 ml airline bottle. First of all, kudos to Argento for putting this wine in plastic rather than glass; no need for the heavier, more expensive material given the quality and the destination aboard an airplane. And second, it’s actually not that bad, once one readjusts expectations; it is, after all, non-vintage ultra-commercial wine. Blueberry and blackberry vie for dominance, and while both are a little soupy the only other element that really stands out is an alcoholic spice and heat that eventually takes over the finish. It’s not overwhelming, but it’s definitely present. No structure to speak of, though the alcohol itself provides a certain sense of foundation, and while thought applied to the wine leads to a realization that it’s pretty candied and syrupy, it’s a nice candied syrup. (4/10)

Smoothanless

Cragganmore 1984 Scotch Whisky “Distillers’ Edition” (Speyside) – Heady and somewhat dominated by alcohol, but still loaded and layered with caramels, nuts, and creams. Big. Very, very big. (4/10)

Plymouth Plantation

Voyager Estate 2006 Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon (Margaret River) – Grassy grapefruit rind, crisp and slightly overdriven. It’s a very refreshing drink, but it’s the refreshment of a fruit-based soda more than a wine. Still, it seems churlish to complain, because this is neither advertised as nor attempting to be some vinous sophisticate. I suspect it would be even better with food. (4/10)

Palliser o' mine

Palliser Estate 2005 Pinot Noir (Martinborough) – If there’s a “standard” New Zealand pinot noir character, with adjustments for climate and vintage, this has it: dark and intense berried fruit, beet (and lots of it), a little hint of blood orange rind, and liquid earth with a fully-integrated structure, even in its youth. Straightforward, approachable, and tasty. (4/10)

No quarter

Macallan 25-year Scotch Whisky (Scotland) – Sultry and shy, enveloping rather than impressing. The nose has moved through the elegant wood stage into something fruitier, darker, and much more mysterious. Not an enormous amount of fun to drink, but an incredible aromatic experience. (4/10)

Lower than the Massenbflat

Massenez Eau de Vie Poire William (Alsace) – Pear and sweat, with the sweet-salty character that seems to mark this particular fruit and genre, at least from Alsace. Quite good, with an added lift of sophistication. (4/10)

As the Crozes flies

Jaboulet 2006 Crozes-Hermitage (Rhône) – Watery and insipid, as if liquid smoke had been added to the most timid of artificial blackberry drinks-in-a-box. Embarrassing. (4/10)

Ezra

Klein Constantia 2007 Riesling (Constantia) – Intense but not delivering on all its promises. Chalky minerals and sun-heated whitewash, very dry “fruit” remnants, a fair bit of weight, and good structure. But it doesn’t go much of anywhere. (4/10)

Abit for umani

Umani Ronchi 2008 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico “Casal dei Cavalier” (Marches) – Straightforward brittle, biting greenness. Not much else. Clean, simple, drinkable. (4/10)

Forsoni, not for Hitachi

Forsoni “Sanguineto I e II” 2004 Rosso di Montepulciano (Tuscany) – Earthen strawberries, dark and dusty, though this is either in an odd transitional stage or showing signs of wear, as structurally it’s a little disjointed and rough. I don’t have sufficient years of experience with the wine to know which it is. Still, despite the inconsistencies, it’s as appealing and food-adoring as it always is. (4/10)

The difference between Loveau and Lustau

Lustau “East India Solera” Sherry (Jerez) – Very, very, very sweet. No surprise there. Sticky nuts, caramelized and ensyruped, taking on the character of liquid toffee. What more is there to say? You either want something like this or you don’t. (4/10)

Wren

Renwood 2002 Zinfandel “Old Vine” (Amador County) – 15%. Twisted red and black berries fading to pine and layered with too-prominent coconut. This is about half spiced rum at this point. Which isn’t an entirely unusual fate for aging zinfandel, but this was better in its youth. (4/10)

Arthur "Two Hands" Jackson

Two Hands 2003 Shiraz “Bad Impersonator” (Barossa Valley) – 15.0%. Really not bad at all. Powerful, for sure, and this is a decidedly berry-dominated expression of syrah, but that’s not unexpected. There’s black pepper and some iron-flake minerality, too. Balanced in its steroidal fashion. I admit that, to my surprise, I find this quite appealing. (4/10)