Met up with Tom Glasgow, Mary Ellen Glasgow, and Kevin Foley while in town for business. We had a beautiful 7 course meal at Matyson that featured all fish. The food was beautifully prepared and went very well with our lighter-bodied wines. Thanks very much to Tom, Mary Ellen, and Kevin for meeting up with me - I had a great time!
- NV Tarlant Champagne La Vigne d'Antan Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut - France, Champagne
According to Kevin this was disgorged on 23 Feb 2006. I thought this was really nice with fresh melon, herbal, and mineral notes. Despite its linear tones, the body has nice heft to it. Great stuff. - 2008 Paolo Bea Bianco Santa Chiara Umbria IGT - Italy, Umbria, Umbria IGT
Really dug this orange wine. The nose had interesting white floral notes, almonds and orange peel. The palate was lithe but packed with flavors of chamomile, almond, lanolin and vanilla. Nice depth with zippy acidity. (90 pts.) - 2010 Clos Roche Blanche Touraine Cuvée Gamay - France, Loire Valley, Touraine
One of the finer 2010 Gamay's I've had. The nose had crushed stones, red fruit, dried leaves, dark florals and juicy dark fruit tones. It's palate struck me as incredibly elegant - especially considering the state of other 2010 Gamay's at this point. Beautiful dark floral notes, with CRB's trademark (in my eyes) dried leaf undertone. In a beautiful spot now, but has the structure, acidity and fruit to last a long time. Could this rival the CRB 2002? (91 pts.) - 2007 Frank Cornelissen Etna Contadino 5 - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
Frank's wines are always esoteric and thought-provoking and this didn't disappoint in that regard. The nose offered up roasted vegetable tones - Kevin thought cabbage. With the roast veggies, it had dried red florals, and some cherry pipe tobacco. The palate was light-bodied and again featured vegetal tones, red florals, and a spicy radish element. Lots of fun. (88 pts.) - 2009 Les Chais du Vieux Bourg Poulsard Côtes du Jura - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Bright red fruit on the nose with peppery undertones. The palate was fresh, juicy and spicy with cranberry, pepper, red floral notes, and cherry. Wasn't as deep or expressive as the 2008, but this is probably a bit more accessible than the darker 2008. (88 pts.)