2016 Vincent Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge
Ample cherry fruit with excellent acidity. Not wildly complex but that was a bonus as I paired it last night with a very complex dish (Thai-marinated duck breast with Lan Chi and shitake noodle salad). Superb value at $25ish.
On Thursday night, we Zoomed with a friend and his new lady. He's a distributor and supplied the following two wines from the Becky Wasserman portfolio:
2017 Domaine de Bellevue (Jérôme Bretaudeau) Muscadet Gaia Melon de Bourgogne
Chablis nose: steely with chalk and white flowers. Very chardonnay-like on the palate with apples, pear and light spice. Pretty in the glass, looks unfiltered. Great palate and finish. Not at all like Muscadet as I know it from the tall, skinny bottles--more elegant than vivid, nervous energy--but overall a very good impression.
2017 Danjou-Banessy La Truffière Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes Grenache-Carignan Blend
Light body, cherry and rhubarb fruit that develops some black cherry with more time, good spice, bright acidity. Very refreshing--blind would have guessed Beaujolais. A perfect wine for those of us who are increasingly seeking out lighter style reds. Rahsaan, you'd love it.
From earlier in the week when we had patio weather:
2015 Underground Wine Project Idle Hands Red Blend Columbia Valley Red Bordeaux Blend
PnP'd. Nicely concentrated black and blue fruit on nose and palate. Bitter, toasted oak is initially prominent but integrates after 30 minutes. A full bodied monster compared to the wines above but a good monster with coffee and black raisins, and without overt sweetness or alcohol. This is described as a Bordeaux blend but I'd bet on there being some syrah in the mix. Bought 8 bottles for an event that won't happen due to Covid and now I'm stuck with them--not exactly sorry.
2013 Chappellet Zinfandel Napa Valley
This winery has my maiden name: no relation, but I feel a stupid kinship nonetheless and the wines rarely disappoint, so.... Deep blackish purple. Brambly deep berry flavors with black coffee on the finish. Very claret-ish and Napa-heavy, could use a tad more acidity.