2005 V. Dauvissat, Chablis La Forest:
13% alcohol, served with salad, grilled chicken and a leek and goat cheese tart; expansive nose of unsweetened lemon drop and mineral; angular and extremely intense in the mouth (almost too much) with more complexity then the nose, excellent concentration and depth and huge sustain. Too young to drink well now but showing evidence of a bright future. Good, not great, with the meal.
1996 Allemand, Cornas Reynard:
12.5% alcohol, served with Rancho Gordo, Borlotti bean soup and salad; syrah at its medium bodied best – deep and expressive but not anything that one could label as big or awesome or some such – balanced, contained, rustic but absolutely arresting; one of those wines that has come a long way since release and has developed into a special bottle. Serving this to a syrah lover is like winning the lottery (for both the server and the servee). ‘Killer with the soup.
2007 Pépière, Muscadet Granite de Clisson:
Tasted over 24 hours; bright and cutting upon opening; deep, structured and full a day later; the easiest no brainer in my cellar – nothin’ but net.
1999 Chevillon, Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles:
Opens to a touch of forest floor and then devolves into a simple, albeit smooth, integrated and balanced pinot. A decade gets me medium grade, pleasant wine without individual character. If I have to wait another decade for this to come around, it’s too long.
The best pinots I’ve had in awhile are the 2005’s from de Villaine and the 2006 OGV from Inman Family. Oh yeah, and the 2008 barrel samples from Rhys.
So far, everything else tried in the past couple years is a pretender.
Best, Jim