Saar Wiltinger Schlangenbraben Riesling Spätlese, Johann Peter Reinert 1993$18 on release. 8.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
Much more developed than when last tasted about two years ago. Fully mature but not showing the petrol aromas so common to old Saar wines; instead, its bouquet is loaded with scents of orange oil and white flowers, along with a suggestion of partially botrytis-affected fruit that I hadn’t picked up in the past. Its texture was very soft and comforting, though it was certainly not without grip. The wine’s mineral and fruit-driven flavors have completely integrated, rendering a slightly saline, savory core. Preserved lemons, wintergreen, sweet dill and nougat all emerged as the wine developed in the glass, with a slow move toward room temperature revealing the wine’s acidity and mineral depth even more clearly than when cool. Quite delicious (that should be clear, I hope), though I believe it has reached its full potential.
Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru “Clos des Argillières,” Domaine Michèle & Patrice Rion 2001
$52 on release. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
While I ended up comparing the wines of Jacky Truchot with those of David Duband in yesterday’s post, this is the wine we actually tasted alongside Truchot’s Chambolle. Totally different terroir and very different winemaking approach, but it’s still educational to taste comparatively like this. Though three years older, Patrice Rion’s wine is younger in its developmental curve and is still in a fairly reductive state. Quite tight when first uncorked, it then opened up relatively quickly, revealing aromas of tobacco and concentrated black fruit, along with plenty of firm, spicy plum and blackberry fruit on the palate. A half-hour later, though, it shut right back down. “Les Argillières” is considered by many to be one of the top, if not the top, crus in the commune of Prémeaux, located at the southern end of Nuits-Saint-Georges. (The ½ acre “Les Argillières” and 10.4 acre “Clos des Argillières” are two climats within the same Premier Cru.) Patrice’s wine is showing more force than finesse at the moment but it does suggest the potential for better things to come with age.
Bonnezeaux “Tri de Vendanges,” René Renou 1999
$13 on closeout. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Robert Kacher, Washington, DC.
The color was fine – lighter than expected if anything – but that’s about the only positive thing I can say for this. Flabby and smelling of paint, rotten corn and, vaguely, vomit. I didn't expect much given the closeout price... but what the hell happened here?
