2009 Baudry, Chinon Rosé:
13%, bone dry, clean, crisp and well flavored; a wine I have written about before and one that continues to impress. Charming.
2004 Alfasi, Merlot Reserve:
$6, 13%, from Chile, imported by Royal Wine Corp, NY, NY; baked earth and red fruit nose – sort of reminds me of aged Rioja, some bottle bouquet; gentle and complex on the palate, slightly earthy but not dirty, balanced, shows an aged character and finishes with an earthy tang.
You could serve this wine to me blind and merlot is one of the last guesses I’d have. Enough ripe fruit to please the fruit seekers, enough earthy complexity to please the terroirists, and, an absence of that “dirty” note that many wines from Chile seem to have. All for $6 – an over-achiever that is certainly worth a buy.
N/V Le Lupin, Multiplicity:
14.5% abv, this is a Rabbit Ridge, Paso field blend but smalls and tastes like it starts with zinfandel; reminds of “Dago red” but with less of a rustic character; sort of disjointed but friendly, quite aromatic and meant for burgers. $9 retail – curiously, $6/bottle and $60/case on the website.
2005 Josmeyer, Pinot Blanc Mise de Printemps:
$12, 12% abv; not quite ripe apricots on the nose along with the smell of the white grape juice my Dad used to get from the table grapes he grew; in the mouth, much the same with an underlying mineral water note. Pleasant wine that went well with a pasta prima vera.
2005 Château d’Epire, Savennières Cuvée Spéciale:
14% abv, $19; so much better than at release as to be a completely different wine; very expansive nose that is beyond complex and into the realm of ethereal – chamomile, flowers, honey, quince, citrus zest, minerals, bitter almond and pineapple – all very fresh and brisk; flavors follow the nose with additions of anise and apricot, slightly honeyed, viscous but not cloying, bright and fresh and nervous, intense, compact, balanced and quite long. What was once a closed, stinky and disjointed duckling is now a swan and, judging from the improvement, may become a Phoenix. Character driven and still quite obviously, young.
Beautiful with fresh herbed goat cheese and crackers.
Best, Jim