2008 Domaine Brusset Gigondas Tradition Le Grand Montmirail
Ruh roh, forgot I had these! Shouldn't have: fading raspberry and black cherry fruit with a pruney edge, and totally lacking any interesting age-related secondary development (which 08 Beau and 08 Pegaus have had in spades). Drink up!
2014 Clos Cibonne Tibouren Côtes de Provence Rosé Cuvée Tradition
Fourth bottle of the '14 we've had, but the others were last summer and this a bottle brought by a recent guest. Where the others were a deep orange-rose color; this one a warm light-to-medium pink. Drank like a very good Provence rose but merely that. It was not recognizable to the eye or palate as the same (astonishing) wine.
2007 Castello di Ama Chianti Classico Chianti Classico DOCG Sangiovese Blend
Good aged Chianti, and at peak for my tastes. Bottle #1 was more vivid than bottle #2, but both showed elegantly maturing fruit and a mouthfilling finish.
2000 Cascina Gagliassi Barolo Riserva Le Coste Nebbiolo
Decanted for one hour (and it needed it). Just medium bodied with notes of tar and cherries, no obvious oak. Very drinkable with food but lacks any particular reward for the space it took up in my cellar. Put me down as neutral.
2013 Castello della Sala (Antinori) Chardonnay Bramìto del Cervo Umbria
This wine NEEDS air time. It presented initially as a bit muted, green and acid-focused, but after being open about four hours we returned to it and found an elegant, expressive wine with Macintosh apple and creamy oak. All present were geeks, and everyone loved it.
2012 Tikveš Bela Voda Povardarie Red Blend
Delicious now. Great QPR--drinks like zinfandel with some durable tannins.
2012 Maison Bleue Métis Columbia Valley Red Blend
70% Syrah, 25% grenache, 5% mourvedre. A very clean, pretty red wine, not delicate but just medium bodied and very nuanced with flowers and deep red fruit like pomegranate. None of the funk others mention (and I like funk). Just $20 locally (vintage close-out)--back up the truck.
2012 Maison Bleue Metis Blanc Columbia Valley White Rhone Blend
LOVELY wine. Has gained weight in the bottle (vs. 18 months ago) and acquired a little diesel aroma from age, which only makes it more interesting. Full, round stone fruit flavors. And only 13.4% alcohol. Hallelujeah for that.
2012 Charly Nicolle Chablis 1er Cru Les Fourneaux Chardonnay
Been drinking a case over the last year and a half, and enjoyed each bottle. A fleshier style, it continues to drink well and is actually showing a bit more toned these days, which is a good development.
2013 Domaine Besson Chablis Chardonnay
Biggish and ripe, which obscures that flinty/steely thing I love about Chablis, but tasty nonetheless and well worth $16 from Last Bottle.
2006 Dunham Cellars Merlot Artist Series Lewis Vineyard Columbia Valley
Has not held up well for a $75 bottle of wine. American oak screams from the first sip and integrates into something merely pleasant for the space of a glass before sinking into muddy flavors in the second glass. Eh.
2009 Mario Lucchetti Lacrima di Morro d'Alba Superiore Guardengo
In mid-2013 I gave this wine the death-score of 79 pts for flavors of black radish and vinyl, and then successfully ignored remaining bottles in my cellar until last night. What a surprise--last night's bottle was beautiful. Medium bodied, all cherry fruit with red roses and an intense white pepper nose, almost more like a lighter style Cornas than anything Italian. Truly enjoyed every drop. In a great place for current drinking with the tannins to ease gracefully into the next five years.