WTN: See ya

I head to the leftcoast tomorrow but thought I'd post these before I fly . . .

2007 Do Ferreiro, Albariño Cepas Vellas:
13.5% alcohol from 200+ year old, own-rooted vines; white fruit and spice nose, full and appealing; medium bodied but considerable concentration, intense flavors follow the nose, fresh, bright, spicy, balanced and long. Excellent by itself but, with rustic shrimp bisque, off the charts.

2006 Silver, Chardonnay:
14.2%, unoaked (all stainless and cement) and made by Mer Soleil; clean, varietally correct and balanced, not a lot of character but some and a medium length finish. Better then expected – so often the unoaked chards. seem hollow – this does not. I understand this is about $23, which seems about right for its quality.

2007 T. et P. Matrot, Meursault (375 ml):
13% under screwcap; impressive for its character and individuality as well as its sense of place; probably needs a few years to peak but drinks well now and, no matter what one thinks of the closure, having a Meursault in 375 under screwcap makes this a great country.

1999 Juge, Cornas Cuvée SC:
13.5%; Burgundy weight but wonderful syrah intensity with Cornas scents and flavors; black fruit, bright, grippy, smoky, nervous wine that seems barely contained in its structure; from turned earth to grilled fruit to floral tones, the nose alone is worth the price of admission. Along side homemade bean with bacon soup and corn bread, as good a match as there will ever be.

2006 E. Prissette, Côteaux de Languedoc:
14% and 50/50 syrah/carignan; smells of cured meat and red fruit (reminds me a little of CdP) but it also has a nice mineral streak in both the nose and palate, very nice balance and a certain elegance. Not especially intense or concentrated but quite drinkable.

2004 Giacosa, Nebbiolo d’Alba Valmaggiore:
13.5%; much more typical of the grape then a recent 2003; overall impression is a more four-square version of Barbaresco – good aromatics, wonderful texture, slightly rustic and blocky but solid, concentrated and with a considerable finish. I like this far better than the 2003 and it should cellar well.

Best, Jim

I always liked Juge Cornas, but I haven't been able to find it in this area since the late 1980s, more's the pity....

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I like the Silver too. Pretty heavy on the malo, but it does seem to lend substance.

2007 T. et P. Matrot, Meursault (375 ml):
13% under screwcap; impressive for its character and individuality as well as its sense of place; probably needs a few years to peak but drinks well now and, no matter what one thinks of the closure, having a Meursault in 375 under screwcap makes this a great country.

Yes. To both the wine and the closure.

I always liked Juge Cornas, but I haven't been able to find it in this area since the late 1980s, more's the pity..

There was a spurt of availability around 98-01 vintages here (C and SC), but I haven't seen lately,

Matrot has best availability of half bottles of white Burgs that I know of. And they're reasonable.

Safe travels, Jim

I had a pour of Do Ferreira Rebisco Albarino recently that matched well with an appetizer of acorn squash soup with white truffle oil. (One of my favorite Albarinos so far was from Licia.) I also like the Mer Soleil Silver Chardonnay and I'm glad that more unoaked Chardonnays are becoming available from California.

The Do Ferreira sounds lovely, but is even possible to have 200+ year old vines that still produce grapes?

The Do Ferreira sounds lovely, but is even possible to have 200+ year old vines that still produce grapes?

I have seen photos of those vines, and they do look, amazingly enough, as one might imagine 200+ year old vines to look. They are huge, much larger than even the old, head-pruned Zin vines I've seen in California.

Mark Lipton