2005 Roland Tissier, Sancerre:
Bright, clean sauvignon with a touch of grassiness/gooseberry. 12% alcohol and refreshing.
2007 Roessler, Pinot Noir Hein Vnyd.:
Impressive for its individual signature and its purity. A fun wine that would be a crowd pleaser for many yet I still find it interesting because it is so identifiable. Nice.
2001 Edmunds St. John, Syrah Peay Vnyd.:
At first I thought it sort of soft with some heat on the finish, but as it opened, I got more of the sauvage element in the wine and it firmed up. Not my favorite syrah from Steve but an interesting one even though its 14.9%; dynamite with a baby eggplant, tomato and goat cheese galette.
1996 Laurel Glen, Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Mtn.:
A little shower curtain when opened but that blew off to reveal a medium weight, somewhat elegant, complex cab. with some secondary development. Not a particularly deep wine but again, one with individual interest - a trait that I think may be as important as making sure a wine is sound.
12 hours later: the most expansive, pure and appealing nose of any CA cab. ever; tastes good, too. I surmise that this needs continued cellar time.
2007 Edmund Vatan, Sancerre Clos la Neore:
No grassy/cat pee smells; plenty of minerality expressed as stones, rain water and smoked salt, ripe fruit as a component of both the nose and palate but not overwhelming either, quite complex, spherical with no hard edges and a seamless delivery, tremendous structure and exceptional length. The best showing by a sauvignon blanc based wine of my life and a truly a world class experience. With goat cheese and crusty bread, the stuff of dreams. 13% abv.
2002 Luneau-Papin, Muscadet Clos des Alees:
As good as the 2005 version of this was a couple nights ago, this is more open with less integration and more nervous. Lots going on and real depth but showing young and in need of cellaring.
2005 Terres Dorees, Fleurie:
The most structured Beaujolais I have tasted; powerful black-raspberry scents and flavors, very deep but chiseled out of mineral/stone; the tannin and acid are prevalent throughout and I can’t imagine anyone guessing this as Fleurie if tasted blind; that said, everything is here for an extraordinary wine but this bottle needs a decade, at least. What a wine!
Best, Jim