A Few Good Wines

With a birthday and Thanksgiving separated by only a couple of days in the past week, there were no shortage of reasons to open a few good bottles. Today though, just a few quick impressions, as these were enjoyed for the pure sake of pleasure, at the table and without any note taking or overt analysis.


Vouvray "Clos du Bourg" Sec, Huet 2005
A really glorious bottle. Redolent of wet wool and damp clay when first opened then growing ever rounder and more honey and herb laced as the bottle grew emptier. I need to drink Vouvray more often... and I really need to drink Huet more often.

Nuits-St.-Georges "Les Grandes Vignes," Domaine Daniel Rion 2001
When last I tasted this, it provided a much needed breath of fresh air. The better part of two-and-a-half years later, it's continued to develop and continues to surprise, taking on greater weight with its slumber in the cellar. Rich red fruit laced with dark spice notes and beautifully ripe, round tannins. The wines of Domaine Daniel Rion are made in a very reductive style that can render them ungiving when young but, when all things are right, they can develop very nicely given a few years of patience.

Bacharacher Kloster Fürstental Riesling Brut Sekt, Weingut Ratzenberger 2000
This proves to be maturing more rapidly than the 1998, 1999 or 2001 versions of Ratzenberger's Sekt. Perhaps that's not surprising given the wet conditions in the fall of 2000. In any event, this has gone very much toward the truffle and oily end of the mineral spectrum, leaving behind much of the bright citrus and orchard fruits of this wine's youth. Still damn tasty but it's definitely time to drink up now.

Morgon "Côte du Py," Jean Foillard 2008
I thought it was fun. My wife thought it was serious. You know what? We were both right. Foillard's wines combine airy grace and delicacy with a depth that can be explored or simply accepted as fits the moment. The '08 may still be lacking something at its core but I think it's only a matter of time before everything settles into place. Even now it's delicious, with pure small red berry fruit allied to an earthy savor that made it a great match on the Thanksgiving table, especially with the turkey and the sourdough/shiitake/sage stuffing. (PS: Guilhaume published a neat photo essay at The Wine Digger a couple of weeks back on his visit with Foillard.)

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Johann Peter Reinert, Patrice Rion and René Renou – Notes from a Sunday

Today’s notes all go back to the same Sunday session from which yesterday’s write-up of Jacky Truchot originated. Though I initially intended to cover all four wines at once, the Truchot piece – once I got rolling with it – quickly took on a life of its own. I wouldn’t want the other three wines to feel neglected (though one of them would have been better left alone), so here we go….

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?

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Notes from a Sunday

The first wild salmon of the season, from the Columbia River I believe, provided ample reason to get together with some of the usual suspects last Sunday to enjoy a meal, watch the finale of the first road stage of the Giro d’Italia, see the Flyers lose to the Penguins in NHL playoff action, and pull a few corks along the way. A mostly unplanned Pinot Noir theme turned out to pay dividends at the table.

Marsannay Rosé, Domaine Collotte 2007
Salmon pink, with just a tinge of copper and rose petal at the edges. Clean and fruity in style, with aromas of spring peas and strawberry. Simple, feminine, very pretty and eminently quaffable, this bears – not surprisingly – more in common with other cool climate rosés, such as Sancerre and Chinon, than with the more herbaceous and often sturdier rosés of Provence and other sunnier climes. Choice as an aperitif, I could also see this pairing nicely with a picnic of cold chicken and crusty bread. $18. 12% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA.


Arbois Pinot Noir, Jacques Puffeney 2004
Though I think any of the evening’s wines would have worked well with the dee-lish dish of wild salmon, braised corn and shiitakes served up by my generous host, Puffeney’s Pinot Noir was serendipitously perfect. Twangy, edgy and full of savory acidity, with cherry pit and mineral elements on the palate. Initial aromas of wintergreen and sous-bois led with aeration to sweeter aromas of strawberry-rhubarb crumble, all finished off by a hint of seashell, solid mid-palate feel and pretty decent length. Excellent food wine and, while not inexpensive, a pretty solid value as it stands right up to most red Burgundy at the same price point. Plus, it’ll earn you more wine geek bonus points. $25. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, New York, NY.

Nuits-Saint-Georges “Vieilles Vignes,” Domaine Robert Chevillon 2004
Some of the foremost authorities on the wines of Burgundy write of Chevillon with words of reverence. To quote just one, Matt Kramer writes:

“Simply put, this is the supreme domaine in Nuits-Saint Georges…. This is Nuits-Saint Georges as it should be but so rarely is: concentrated, tannic, almost painfully intense, yet with no apparent winemaking signature.”
- from Making Sense of Burgundy, 1990

That the painful intensity and tannic structure have already subsided in this ’04 from Chevillon – if they were indeed there earlier on – goes hand in hand with my other immediate impressions. This is delicate, graceful and deep, far less dark and brooding than I would normally expect from Nuits-Saint-Georges, even in a lighter, livelier vintage. It is indeed free of discernible signature. Medium garnet color, with a nose of cloves and brambly wild blackberries. Fine, gravelly tannins provide lovely texture that, along with excellent acid balance, shoot sparks of red and black fruit across the palate. Another excellent food wine. Lovely contrast between precocious fruit and accents of sweetness. If only I had a few more for the cellar. $50. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Wine Cellars Ltd., Briarcliff Manor, NY (“acquired from a private cellar”).

Coteaux du Layon “Carte d’Or,” Domaine des Baumard 2004
While the prices of Baumard’s Savennières and Quarts de Chaume have crept up steadily over the last few years, his Coteaux du Layon wines have held relatively steady. Like those of Château Soucherie, one of which I wrote up in the last installment of Notes from a Sunday, they remain solid values. Its aromas include peach blossoms, mango and clover honey. Scintillating acidity delivers waves of intensely concentrated pear fruit across the palate. Very primary at first, only with substantial air did the expected minerality emerge, accompanied by an accent of miso. Paired admirably with strawberries macerated with fresh mint (as did the Puffeney, oddly enough). $20. 12% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Ex Cellars, Solvang, CA.

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Fuel for the Jaded

Just when I start to feel a bit disenchanted with something I’m passionate about – whether it’s food, wine, cycling, music, literature, film… you get the idea – it seems that something comes along to rekindle the fire. That something came today in the form of a bottle of red Burgundy: 2001 Nuits St. Georges “Les Grandes Vingnes” from Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils, to be exact. From its perfectly transparent ruby robe to the beguiling aromas that leapt upwards as soon as the wine hit the glass, it was a real eye-opener, the kind of wine that changes the rhythm of your breath and focuses your attention inward. Flavors of wild raspberries, blackberries, smoked meat and violets made me think of Burgundy’s frequent comparison to the Nebbiolo based wines of Italy’s Piedmont. The elegance of this wine, though, was pure Burgundian Pinot Noir. Gentle yet firm tannins combine with perfectly balanced acidity and focused fruit to make this one of the most memorable wines I’ve tasted this year.

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