From the past week or so:
J. J. Christoffel 1999 Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Riesling Auslese, Ürziger Würzgarten. $24.00 (in 2001). Astonishingly undeveloped, the only thing that gives away any age on this is the softening of the acidity. Otherwise, it's very primary, lemon-curd and slate, moderate RS, fairly intense up front but quickly becoming unfocused. I'm afraid the collapsing structure means this wouldn't have gone anywhere interesting even if I'd left it another decade, so I'm glad to have gotten some pleasure out of it now.
Massican 2015 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc "Sauvignon." $40.00. Pretty much the only way to get me to buy a Napa Sauvignon Blanc, especially at this price, would be by pitching it as Friuli-inspired. And this certainly has the opposite of what I'd think of as a stereotypical California profile: with an initial pop of slightly floral and surprisingly austere fruit quickly being suppressed by a wave of what almost seems like tannin: think of the drying effect of greenness, but in black and white. As the bottle says, they harvested extremely early in 2015, so maybe there just wasn't enough hang time for these grapes to develop much flavor; or maybe the wine's just closed down. I left some in the bottle to try on night two, so we'll see, but for now, this doesn't do much for me.
Edmunds St. John 2012 El Dorado County Syrah, Fenaughty Vineyard. $30.00. A big wine by ESJ standards, but not blustery or overblown, this has a lot of depth, with a nose of cooler, floral Syrah opening out on the palate into warmer, riper, broader tones, which reminded me of CdP at times. Still balanced and no perception of alcoholic heat (it's 14.1%). In many other hands, a wine of this scale would have been accented (or drowned) by new wood; it's an unusual pleasure to be able to enjoy it on its own terms instead.
Harrington 2015 San Benito County Trousseau, Siletto Vineyard. $29.00. I hadn't loved the 2014 version of this wine, which didn't seem especially Trousseau-like to me, and was also over 14%; but this vintage is a totally different beast: herbaceous and mushroomy cranberry fruit that floats lightly across the palate, mouth-watering and slurpable. I'm glad I gave it a second chance.
Domaine Guiberteau 2015 Saumur Rouge. $19.00, discounted from $21. I'd tasted this last month before buying, and the first bottle exceeds expectations; while I remembered it being good but austere, it takes on weight with air and time. Herbs, raspberries, graphite, solid concentration and balance, good value at either price.
Couly-Dutheil 2001 Chinon Clos de l'Echo. $58 on a restaurant wine list. Very good and I think fully mature, showing a little bit of volatility around the edges at first, then mild red fruit on top of pleasantly strong tobacco and leafiness, with a little bit of pencil at the end. Keeps its focus through the finish. Great deal.
(At the same meal we also had a 375ml bottle of a white Tablas Creek 2006, but I can't remember whether it was the Esprit de Beaucastel or the Côtes de Tablas; in any case, it was still alive and kicking and turned out to be a good pairing with the early stages of a challengingly weird tasting menu -- challengingly weird for the somm, I mean, not for the diners.)