2014 Domaine Dublère Chablis Grand Cru Valmur. The first bottle of a few. Concentrated aroma and flavor, showing a touch of smoke, at first, over dry but stickily candied citrus peel. The initial mouthfeel is big despite the wine seeming, over the whole arc, only medium-bodied. Has a longish minerally finish that turns a little vegetal at the end. I opened a 2014 Valmur from Bessin in April and thought it was better than this -- more integrated, a little more "Chablis" -- but this isn't bad, and has room to continue to develop, maybe for the better.
(Other than a couple of spit tastes, including of an excellent 2010 Stony Hill Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, this was my first wine in a few weeks, and it seems I'll be in a state of permanent hyper-moderation, which I've decided to interpret as a good opportunity to enhance my overall health; an excuse to buy a fancy Zalto spittoon; and a way to substantially increase the effective size of my cellar, measured in terms of drinking-years, without actually buying more wine.*)
*Which does not mean I'm going to stop buying more wine, of course.
Catching up on some stuff I didn't post from the first half of May:
Château Carbonnieux 2017 Pessac-Léognan Blanc. Very nicely balanced bottle, middle-weight, green without being explicitly sharp, waxed edges for a smooth glide. Still young and has a long life ahead.
Ingrid Groiss 2017 Weinviertel Gemischter Satz, Braitenpuechtorff. Didn’t know what to expect from this given the bottle age, but perhaps thanks to the screwcap it’s still fresh, though without quite the sharp edges I recall from youth. Paired well with Ottolenghi chard fritters served alongside miso roasted salmon. I have several more of the 2017 along with some more recent purchases (2022, I think). Terrific value and a delicious wine.
Ingrid Groiss Weinviertel 2020 Grüner Veltliner, Sauberg Tradition. An electric zip of spice cutting through a viscous green sky. Rich, vibrant, delicious. Wish I had more of this, and readier access to Groiss’s wines in general.
Jonata 2013 Ballard Canyon "El Alma de Jonata." First impression is of a complex but vertically disjointed wine, with a lot of ripe Cab Franc aromatics (this vintage is 81% CF) stacked on top of a dark, tarry, almost gritty tannic structure. With air, the layers integrate, which results in a wine that's more pleasant to drink but also a little less interesting, sacrificing aromatic complexity for texture. Still, the basics are solid, and I'd drink it again, though recent vintages are now way beyond what I'd pay for it. If I had another bottle I'd hold 5+years on the theory that this is in a slightly awkward adolesence.
Larkmead 2015 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, "Lillie." This is almost certainly at or just past peak, and it’s in a very nice place, rich in texture with bright honeydew and gooseberry fruit softened by age, enough acidity to be lively, and the light oak treatment (15% new for 8 months) now almost imperceptible. For something that, if I were generalizing, I’d say wasn’t my style, I like this a lot, which is why I guess I shouldn’t generalize.