At the very end of November, I joined two friends at the local tavern for some outstanding grub and grog.
1994 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain Vendange Tardive. The only other time I have previously tasted this wine was 4 years ago, and it was definitely a memorable experience. So, I was very happy to see it sitting out on the table when I first arrived. For whatever reason, we decided to start right in with it, rather than wait for the end of the meal—and it was actually not a bad way to go at all. The color is a bit darker on this particular bottle, looking sort of orange-caramel in color. But the nose is still utterly complex and delightful—presenting the taster with a wild melange of lavendar, wild honey, orange blossom, quince, yellow raisin, fig paste and caramel aromas to contemplate and savor. It tastes of dates, yellow raisins, clover honey, dried apricots, soft caramel and some high-toned citrus notes that squeeze in at the end. It doesn’t feel heavy at all, but it is still languid and honey-textured, with beautiful flow and mouthfeel all the way through. It does seem a bit darker and certainly more advanced than it did 4 years earlier, but it is still a complete delight.
1990 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage. This wine delivers an immediate and wide-open bouquet that features lots of layers and complexity, with aromas of white pepper, slightly roasted red cherries, mushrooms, grilled green pepper skin, tobacco leaf, cigar ash and an unusual bit of dill. In the mouth, though, it is sadly apparent that the wine has seen better days. Although it is fairly creamy-textured, it has a rather austere and omnipresent acidic element that is really obvious and intrusive in all facets of its palate journey. The earthier notes are totally over-ridden by flavors of very tart crabapples and sour cherries and the whole thing is just really drying and ragged. I tried this multiple times over several hours to see if I could coax something softer or more enjoyable from it, but unfortunately there was no saving this one, which is a shame given how enjoyable the nose can still be.
1998 Delas Freres Hermitage Les Bessards. The first bottle of this I tasted in August 2009 was roasted and cooked, but this bottle (from the same source) was in excellent condition and showed quite well on this evening. Here we have a big, boisterous and broad-shouldered nose of cassis, blueberry, black licorice, white pepper, tobacco leaf, limestone, tire tread and an interesting twist of wintergreen that just gets better and better with more and more time in the glass. It is a mouth-filling wine, for sure, and is still showing a bit chewy-textured and moderately tannic, but with a creamy, lush and full-flavored mid-palate that definitely shows some serious extract but manages to stay balanced by a streak of acidic twang. Flavors of white pepper, ashy earth, chorizo and dark cherry and black currant fruit show excellent concentration and lead to a full, but more blocky finish. This is certainly tasty now, but will likely improve over the next 5 years, when I would try again.
2006 K Vintners Syrah Morrison Lane Walla Walla Vineyard. This wine is absolutely pitch black in color and leaves obvious streaks of glycerin all over the inside of the glass. It smells completely dense and packed tight with aromas of blackberries, black licorice, black peppercorn, tire rubber and dusty earth. It is real smooth-textured and robustly-flavored in the mouth, but also shows a lot of prickly acidity, abundant tannis and tons of oak, toasted barrel spices and smoke that make it feel young and awkward at times. There is luscious black fruit galore here to go with rich vanilla bean and spice flavors, but it really needs time to absorb the wood and smooth out the rough edges.
1996 S. Anderson Cabernet Sauvignon Richard Chambers Vineyard Stags Leap District Napa Valley. We ended with this wine from a producer I don’t believe I’ve ever had the opportunity to taste before. And I liked what I tasted, so perhaps I ought to seek out more. In this particular instance, we find a wine that smells of tobacco leaf, leather and red currants, along with faint whisps of mocha paste and cocoa dust. It is very classic Cabernet--with a Bordelais heart and some Napa accenting that just works really nicely. In the mouth, too, it is all class and could probably easily fool me in a blind Bordeaux line-up. It feels medium-weighted on the palate, but full-flavored and beautifully balanced. Tobacco, leather, peppercorn, cool earth, currant and cocoa flavors are ample but clean and refreshing. This is drinking great right now.
-Michael