Tonight, as Andrea cut up a kabocha squash from our CSA box, I opened a Laurel Glen 1999 Sonoma Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon "Counterpoint", which my database tells me I was supposed to drink by 2009. Man, was my database wrong. This is a beautiful bottle, caught in its prime, with plenty of ripe blackcurrant fruit still present, but framed by smoke, wet earth, funk, tobacco, coffee, and herbs. It all practically jumps out of the glass, and it's carried along by just the right amount of acid. This was a great bottle to lose track of!
Last weekend, we went to a Ridge wine dinner and had a chance to taste a few interesting things; I didn't take notes so these are brief recollections. The 2013 Monte Bello Chardonnay was in fine form, nicely focused but also rich. I found myself surprisingly lukewarm about the 2014 Lytton Springs and Geyserville, poured side by side; although they improved with time in the glass, I found them both a bit big and blowsy by Ridge's standards, though as usual I preferred the Geyserville's brighter, almost bloody edge and found the Lytton Springs more brooding and closed down -- though with time, it became more expressive. Much more pleasing was the 2014 Estate Cabernet, basically declassified Monte Bello fruit; this had great balance, verve, and typicity. Finally, in lieu of a Monte Bello, we were poured the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Monte Bello Vineyard, "Steep Terraces", a micro-production (9 barrels) 100% Cab from two parcels in the Torre section of the Monte Bello property. Super-concentrated and intensely structured, with bright red fruit and a finish of mouthwatering minerality/salinity as well as grippy tannins; delicious if ridiculously young; I'd love to taste this again in 20 years, but alas.
A few odds and ends: recently had a Forlorn Hope 2014 Carneros St. Laurent "Ost-Intrigen"; I've had mixed experiences with FH's wines but this was big success, thanks to the bracing acidity combined with the depth and concentration of sweet-tart and savory fruit, which made it an excellent food wine. Of two recent Unti Vineyards bottles, the 2012 Dry Creek Valley "Cuvée Foudre", a Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre blend, was a little too sprawling and unfocused for my taste, and a little hot too; but a 2012 Dry Creek Valley "Segromigno", a Sangiovese-Montepulciano blend, was delicious, with bigger shoulders than its Italian brethren but a comparable brightness and focus; the comparison confirms my sense that I like what Mick is doing with Italian varieties (and Zin) a bit more than his Rhônes, although I'm sure I'll taste something to mess up that generalization soon enough. Finally, a Cappellano 2014 Dolcetto d'Alba did a terrific sidestep in the mouth from a (relatively) ripe and primary center to its floral-herbaceous-funky edges, and made me lament that I didn't buy more when I had the chance... and a Camin Larredya 2013 Jurançon Sec impressed with a nice combination of rich, ripe stone fruit and a lean core with a spicy edge; this is different in style but as good as the Dom Cauhapé we've been enjoying.