2008 Navarro, Dry Muscat Blanc:
13.6% alcohol; lovely nose of juniper, ginger, white table grapes and flowers – about as pretty a nose as one can imagine; spring-water fresh in the mouth with pure, crystalline flavors that follow the nose in a lightweight but intense package; medium length. Delightful with a light pasta and veggie dish. About $19, retail.
(One of my ‘top wines’ tasted in 2010.)
2009 Broc Cellars, Vine Starr:
13.1% alcohol; a blend of chardonnay, skin fermented rousanne and picpoul; bright and crisp overall with fresh scents of white fruit, tree sap and honey; quite bright – almost angular – in the mouth with white fruit, some tannin and a very crisp and refreshing finish. Could use a year or two to soften but was excellent with mac ‘n cheese. About $20, retail.
2008 Edmunds St. John, Gamay Porphyry:
13.0% alcohol; gamay from porphyry soils at 3,000 feet elevation in Eldorado County; black raspberry, fennel, stone and earth aromas; much the same on the palate with considerable energy and a richness not present in the ESJ Bone Jolly bottling; medium length. Opened to accompany pasta with a fresh tomato sauce with chicken – perfect. About $20, retail.
2007 Edmunds St. John, Pinot Gris:
13.5% alcohol; if served refrigerator cold, almost no smell and little flavor – the closer to room temperature it gets the more texture, spice and fruit come out. At room temp., an almost creamy mouth-feel. This should be drunk now, I think, as I am starting to find a little fall off on the finish. Nice with cheese and crackers. About $10, on sale.
2007 Bedrock, Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Valley:
14.6% alcohol; this has a little merlot and petite verdot in it and spends 22 months in new French oak; smells of cassis and tannin; brooding and very dark in the mouth with no noticeable oak but little complexity, again cassis and tannin are the flavor impressions yet the tannins are not drying and quite fine, intense and concentrated; long finish. Showing very young but with promise. Tasty with Rancho Gordo® Christmas lima bean soup and homemade bread. About $40, retail.
2009 Stéphane Tissot, Arbois VV:
12.5% alcohol, poulsard; smells of milk-chocolate covered cherries; tastes much the same with tongue-tingling acidity (and maybe some dissolved CO2) and a healthy dose of tannin, slightly disjointed; medium length, moderately tannic finish. Nothing here gives any indication of the grape variety and there’s a ripeness level that doesn’t seem very Jura-like, either. In time, this may be more of what I want but, today, it’s just another fairly non-descript but pleasant red wine. About $25, retail.
(Aside: For me, Tissot’s wines have been about complexity, transparency and a deft touch – none of which is evident in this bottling, now. Perhaps, a Jura vintage to be careful about.)
2009 Dom. Christian Ducroux, Régnié:
12% alcohol; I have had several bottles of this since release and this was much the best; fresh and complete on the nose – gamay at its most alluring; loose delivery but the flavors are so true and delicious that its seems the better for the lack of focus, light-weight; medium length. A really expressive wine – rural character meets prep school. Excellent with grilled chicken. $15, retail and worth every penny.
Best, Jim