Saturday, August 29, 2009

Terres Dorees Jean-Paul Brun 2007 Beaujolais Blanc (Chardonnay)

This is the first time I've blogged a still chardonnay. It's not that I dislike the grape, but that there is a long list of white grapes that come first in my heart: Riesling: always first, then Muscat or Viognier, then Gewurztraminer, then Verdejo (which I've just learned), and perhaps then Chardonnay, too often bottled only after years in new oak, which can flavor the wine to the exclusion of other influences. But no oak here. Just chardonnay and a winemaking style that allows it to flourish. Surprise! What Beaujolais winemakers do for Gamay, they can do for Chardonnay.

Medium golden color, hint of petillance on opening, blows off quickly.

Smell of pear and minerals, floral notes.

Buttery peach flavor, lemon, almonds, apples.

A winning bottle for $17.99, exactly the right thing to re-introduce me to chardonnay. I still dread over-oaked examples, though.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Mas Carlot 2006 Clairette de Bellegarde

The 2009 Hugh Johnson Pocket Wine Book says of Clairette de Bellegarde: "Obscure AC nr Nimes: fresh white."

Before opening the bottle, I was tempted to plan posting "Mostly harmless" and leave it at that.

Not a highly-regarded grape.

Pale piss-yellow color, petillant bubbles form on the glass.

Fresh grapefruit smell, apple, floral hints.

Mild grapefruit and green apple flavors, alcohol warmth builds from the middle, a bit of carbonic acid produced by the petillance is appeciated.

An acceptable bottle for $16.99. I admit, the only reason I bought it was that I'd never tasted this grape. I doubt I'll do so again, but this wasn't the flabby horror that I'd come to expect and displayed some grace and balance of fruit and acid.

So rather than a dismissive "Mostly harmless", I'll close with a comprehensive "Interesting"!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Prazo de Roriz 2005 Douro

A blend of Portuguese grapes often used to make Port: 35% Touriga Nacional, 35% Touriga Franca, 10% Tinta Barroca, 10% Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo in Spain and Aragonez elsewhere in Portugal), 10% Tinta Cao.

Prazo de Roriz is the second label of the highly-regarded Quinta de Roriz, all grapes used in this wine are grown at the Quinta.

Opaque deep purple-red color.

Black cherry smell, plum, oak, tobacco, dark chocolate.

Tart full-bodied fruity flavor, prune and cherry, restrained oak, bitter chocolate. Dusty-seeming tannins.

An excellent bottle for $16.99. My appreciation for dry table reds from Portugal continues to grow. Port was first made by adding brandy to the wines of the Douro in the 17th Century to help the wine survive the journey to England. Today, while Port is still in fashion, it's also quite feasible to ship the wine without brandy. I approve.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Sepp 2007 Neusiedlersee Zweigelt

Very dark purple color, red in the depths.

Smell starts with a hint of Welch's grape juice, then developes into plum.

Ripe juicy blackberry flavor, plum, black cherry, ends with smooth tannins. Medium-weight.

Very nice bottle for $13.95, a bit simple but fruity fun. An Austrian red I hadn't expected to encounter. I tried another bottle with a a very light chill, which worked well on a hot humid evening, though the aroma and flavor become a bit less intense.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Jose Pariente 2008 Rueda Varietal Verdejo II Victorias

Distinctly yellow color with green and golden notes, slightly petillant.

Smell of grapefruit peel actively being crushed, with the tiny sting in the nose one would expect.

Concentrated taste of grapefruit, grapefruit peel, grapefruit rind, tart fruit salad (the kind that comes in glass jars with lots of grapefruit, perhaps ruby grapefruit, and not so many maraschinos) with cleansing bitterness in the finish. I yearn for tapas. Petillant on the tongue. Full-bodied.

An outstanding bottle for $19.99. As distinctive in its grapefruit way as Viognier is in an apricot way. I remember Spanish whites as light-weight neutral boring flabby over-oaked wines lacking in virtue. My memories are invalidated by this bottle.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Les Domaniers de Puits Mouret 2008 Cotes de Provence Rose

Salmon-to-orange color, slightly petillant.

Smell of tea, tropical fruit, hint of bandaids.

Dry, medium-bodied, flavors of blackberry, peach, black cherry. Petillance noticeable here from the beginning.

Very pleasant warm-weather bottle for $24.99, considerably over-priced. The hidden cost of internet wine-buying and "free shipping," I think as well as that Domaines Ott has some relationship with the marketing of this wine.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Domaine Carneros 2005 Carneros Sparkling Wine Brut

By Taittinger.

Very pale straw color.

Bread, apple, and melon smell, pillsbury doughboy with a fruit-basket.

Chardonnay character evident on opening, then pinot comes rushing in the middle, apple and melon taste, red raspberry, with maraschino cherry, a bit more enthusiasm than I would expect in Champagne appelation wines but Carneros? No prob! Toast (and things!)

An excellent bottle for $25.99, which nudges up my limit for blog posting. I think I must explore Taittinger Champagne bottlings; this suggests they might know what they're doing. (Hmmm, a quick review of my local wine merchant shows no bargain-basement bottlings of the real goods, still, that's what this is for, I suppose.)

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Feudi di Guagnano 2007 Salento Negroamaro Miralde

Dark ruby color.

Smell of wet leather and black cherry.

Black plum and black cherry flavors, touch of refreshing bitterness in the finish.

A very pleasant bottle for $16.99, this begs for pasta and tomato sauce and has enough acid to stand up to it.

Negroamaro ("black bitter") is one of the two grapes used, along with Malvasia Nera, in Salice Salentino.