Yesterday, Susan had three very prestigious friends arrive for a week of touring NorthernNewMexico. The grill guy got to choose the wines. He did OK:
1. TrefethenFamilyVnyds DryRiesling OakKnollDistrict/NapaVlly (EG; www.Trefethen.com) 2009: Light yellow color; strong minerally/Mosel valve oil/slatey/earthy light floral/R rather aromatic nose; quite dry acid/austere minerally/steely/slatey very Germanic light floral/R/valve oil flavor; long steely/slatey/Mosel valve oil light floral/R dry/austere/acid finish; very Germanic in style like a good Kabinett; not impressive now but should age into something special w/ 10-15 yrs. $24.00 (SFW&S)
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2. RollyGassmann Moenchreben de Rorschwihr Auxerrois (12%) 2001: Med.gold color; beautiful fragrant/aromatic/spicy/floral/PG-like quite perfumed nose; soft/rich/lush/ripe bit valve oil/complex very floral/perfumed/PG-like slight earthy/valve oil flavor; long soft/lush/ripe peachy/floral/PG-like slight petrol/complex finish; a lovely very PinotGris-like perfumed wine that'll go another 5 yrs or more. A steal at $17.00
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3. LesVins de Vienne AC: Condrieu (Cuilleron/Villard/Gaillard/Villa; 14%) 2007: Med.gold color; rather simple/fruity/pear very light peach/Condrieu quite shy/vapid nose; very tart steely/metallic/simple fruity very light pear/Condrieu lean/austere flavor; short some steely/metallic tart/lean/austere very light pear/Viog finish; this is one of the most vapid/eviscerated/austere renditions of Condrieu I have ever had; may turn into something like a Grillet, but I'm not tempted to give it a shot at $39.00
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4. Peay Estate PinotNoir SonomaCoast (14.5%) 2007: Med.color; lovely fragrant/perfumed strong cherry/black cherry/spicy/PN quite spicy/cold-climate earthy complex light pencilly/smokey/oak nose; quite tart somewhat tannic/lean/hard bright cherry/black cherry/PN some earthy/Burgundian some pencilly/smokey/oak flavor; very long lean/tannic/hard strong cherry/black cherry/PN some pencilly/oak finish; wonderful cold-climate Pinot aromatics but rather hard/lean on the palate and needs more age.
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5. Ampelos Gamma Syrah AmpelosVnyd/StaRitaHills (17 brls; 14.3%; www.AmpelosCellars.com) Lompoc 2006: Very dark color; rather pungent/smokey strong blackberry/Syrah some cracked black pepper/spicy/licorice classic cold-climate Syrah complex nose; rather tart somewhat hard/tannic very structured strong pungent/blackberry/Syrah rather black pepper/cold-climate light toasty/oak very structured flavor; very long strong peppery/blackberry/Syrah some pungent/licorice/cold-climate light toasty/oak finish w/ rather hard/structured tannins; needs 3-8 yrs of age; lots of cold-climate/peppery character & lots of blackberry/Syrah fruit; will be a good one w/ age.
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Trefethen: I was pretty dazzled by this wine. Not for what it is now, but what I think it will become w/ age. Very dry & austere and a no-brainer for aging. It reminded me a lot of some of AdamTolmach's recent Rieslings.
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2. Ampelos: From Peter & Becky Work's vnyd just into the Eastern edge of the StaRitaHills. This wine is a terrific example of a wine that has "put on weight". I recall it in its youth, on release, as rather a Pinotish-like Syrah, a bit Burgundian character, smooth/pleasant nice-drinking. So I was expecting more of the same. But it has really turned into a big, classic cold-climate Syrah from which I expect some great things.
Tom