Sampling summer whites:
2014 La Vieille Ferme (Perrin & Fils) Blanc France White Rhone Blend
This labels on this bottle give no clue as to origins or grapes, though I remember seeing Luberon and Ventoux bottlings in the past. I've tasted it in a few past vintages and the best were what you'd call "serviceable", but none were special. Enter the game-changer! THIS ONE'S SPECIAL. Golden yellow color with concentrated stone fruit (tastes like marsanne) on the palate, zingy yet elegant. Tastes like a $20+ bottle. Killer QPR for summer at just $10. I'm going to stock up (but I'm going to the same store to get the wine from the same lot because on the scale this is produced, there's probably some variation.)
2015 Sauvignon Republic Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
The '14 was great, but the '15 is screechy with more acid than fruit. Thumbs down.
2014 Maison Nicolas Perrin France Viognier
Full bodied and yet tense--apple, pear and apricot fruit with admirable structure and mouthfeel. Very classy, outperforms it's $15 price tag. Glad to have three more bottles.
2014 Badet Clement & Co Chardonnay Révélation Vin de Pays d'Oc
This was the most-talked about white in the room among 74 tasters last Friday night. Handsome, heavy bottle, classy label, and big California-esque oak and nearly-tropical ripeness on the palate. Mango, pineapple and yellow apple, big rich mouthfeel and an impressive finish. And only $6at Trader Joe's??? Even someone who prefers leaner, more sedate wines (me) has to admire the QPR here. Doesn''t seem possible.
2014 Cave de l'Ormarine Coteaux du Languedoc Picpoul-de-Pinet Picpoul Blanc
So refreshing! Pretty, sweet nose with dry apple and quince fruit buoyed by tart acidity. A crowd pleaser.
From a dinner for visiting Toronto dweller Mike Grammer:
2011 Château Climens Barsac Sémillon
Heady aromas of sweet jasmine and orange blossoms with ranier cherry and apricot on the palate. Absolutely fantastic.
1996 Marcassin Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard Carneros
Mike Grammer's bottle. STUNNING, remarkable, for any 20 year old Chardonnay but especially a 20 year old California chardonnay. I did not know that Marcassins had this kind of range. Pineapple, nuts, salt, honey, lemon marmalade and a flintiness that made some of guess Burgundy, wrongly, right off the bat. What a treat.
1995 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Cornas Syrah
A very good aged Cornas coming to the end of its career: sweet plum and berry with cocoa notes. Not as tarry as I would have expected.
2011 DeLille Cellars Roussanne Doyenne Red Mountain
Very pale. Doyenne's usual restrained style with help from a very cool vintage, this is crisp with subdued notes of green apple, white nectarine, seaspray and minerality. Would have been divine with fresh oysters.
2010 Maison Ilan Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Monts-Luisants Pinot Noir
My first Ilan! Not decanted. Mauve-y red; strawberry/raspberry/herbs. Barely medium bodied, starts out a bit flat and that picks up a little later but it didn't give a lot. Good, but I couldn't really assess it's potential.
2005 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Fiancée Red Rhone Blend
Saturated, jammy plum and blueberry fruit with some garrique, expansive on the palate. At present, a bit too big for my tastes.
1997 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon Hermitage
Wow. Smoked plums and a ham sandwich with a cup of espresso. Big, intense and youthful. (Was not decanted, but heroically pulled on the fly to replace a corked--sob!--Chave Hermitage.) Outstanding.
2004 Domaine Auguste Clape CornasSyrah
Not exactly sure what went wrong with this bottle, but it's wan and uninteresting. Definitely not Clape material--presume flawed.
1995 E. Guigal Hermitage Syrah
Quoting Mike G on my bottle: "Fragrant, roses and deep plum, dark chocolate, dried blueberry. Balanced with thrust and quite pure blackberry and sweet raspberry jam".
2003 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau
More rounded and giving than the last bottle opened in '14. Continues to be a poster child for the elegance and restraint possible in a hot vintage like 2003. (This was the only 03 Rhone I bought.)
From other recent days:
2011 Monte Xanic Syrah - Cabernet Sauvignon ed limitada Hans Backho Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California
Dense and ample body--hoped for a coolish-climate wine from 2011 but I guess it never cools down in Baja. Some discussion about whether the intent is to be old or new world--I voted old. Black fruit with black olives and a hint of bacon. Very dry. And very drinkable but it failed at delighting us either way.
2012 Terres des Chardons Costières-de-Nîmes Chardon-Marie Syrah
Blue and black fruit augmented by tar, bacon, roast beef, wild sage. Good!
2012 Masút Pinot Noir Mendocino
Excellent! Fruit gets a little deeper with every bottle we open with solid structure. No signs of maturity; seems on target for a long bottle life.
2011 Cascade Cliffs Nebbiolo Columbia Valley
From an interesting little (but overpriced) winery at the far east end of the Columbia River Gorge. Surprisingly accurate for a barbaresco-intentioned nebbiolo, but with more oak than most of us would wish for. Will not improve from here, though; drink up.
2011 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay Napa Valley
Although it was dogged by the Bevan Kick Ranch Sauv Blanc also present, this wine didn't show the force I expected and know it can have. No taint, just more like a wine in a dormant phase--all top notes, no depth. Let them rest.
2013 Bevan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Kick Ranch Sonoma Coast
Outstanding. Complex and mouth-filling; like no other California Sauvignon Blanc. Took to the Willows along with an '11 Montelena chardonnay which tasted laughably simple by comparison.
2012 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Old Vines Summa Sonoma Coast
As good a young California pinot as I've ever had. Perfect supple dark red fruits with attitude and elegance.
2012 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah In the Rocks Walla Walla Valley
Opened for Sue. Fruit, roasted meat, and seductive funk in balanced, equal measure. Captivating aromas, silky tannins, and medium acidity make it glorious for current drinking, no decanting required. Doesn't have the stuffing of an 08 or a 10--curious where it will go in time.
2011 Fort Ross Pinot Noir Symposium Fort Ross Vineyard Sonoma Coast more
A delicious California pinot (contains 3% pinotage), with raspberry-cherry fruit, herbs and a whiff of that Sonoma Coast salinity. Very nice.