2000 Muller-Catoir Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Kabinett (Pfalz) $24.99
Beautiful summer eather prompted me to open a Riesling Kabinett, my favorite summer beverage. I've drank through several bottles of this wine over the years since release, and it has never shut down. This bottle showed some beginning development, with a more discernable richness on the palate to go with grapefruit, peaches and spice aromatics. It actually seemed a bit heavy on day 1, but I recorked the bottle and put it in the fridge overnight. Last night it was much brighter, though I still think there's a touch of botrytis honey on the palate. Delicious wine, but atypical kabinett.
A couple of Rhones from a while back:
2001 Bois de Boursan Chateauneuf du Pape (Price unknown)
So young, but full of fruit and a dash of Rhone funk. Plenty of stuffing for mid-term aging here, but at this early stage it's still all about primary fruit and structure.
1998 Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf du Pape $25.99
Just starting to come into its own. There's some leather and spice on the nose, along with plummy, spiced fruit, and on the palate it's becoing silky. Still a few tannins to resolve, but mighty drinkable right now. I've got two more, and they will be going down in the next 2-3 years while I wait for the real big boys to come around.[/b]