N/V Bottex, Vin du Bugey-Cerdon La Cueille:
8%, pink bubbly, with a fine bead, a fresh fruit taste and made to be drunk ice cold on a hot day – for one glass – the second glass is too sweet. $15, from Kermit Lynch.
2004 Quinta do Ameal, Vinho Verde Loureiro:
Still wine from the loureiro grape at 11.5% alcohol; powerfully scented with aromas of stones, almonds and apples; vinous, bone dry, very slightly bitter, perfectly balanced and quite long. Not what I am used to with vinho verde but certainly a distinctive, savory and character driven wine. Worth every nickel at $10. European Cellars imports.
2004 de Villaine, Bourgogne La Fortune:
Always, this wine plays in the treble register – it has notes in the bass and mid-range but its delineation and aromatics take it ‘up a notch;’ fantastic with rare, grilled, wild salmon. 12.5% alcohol, imported by Kermit and about $19.
2004 Dom Saint Luc, Coteaux du Tricastin:
My third or fourth bottle of this beautiful, full-flavored but utterly weightless wine; a fine southern Rhone – woven of lace. 12.5% alcohol, imported by Kermit, and, wait for it . . . about $9. Stealing, my friends; stealing!
Best, Jim