Edmunds St. John 2001 Paso Robles Red Wine, Rozet Vineyard, "Los Robles Viejos." Opened this to pair with a peak-summer ratatouille with white corn polenta. Couldn’t have been better. When first opened, this was pure aroma even in the mouth, a floating cloud of leather and sun-warmed hillside herbs; over two and a half hours, a streak of ripe and dried cherry fruit emerged, and the wine took on body, without ever being pulled fully back down to earth. This was certainly fully mature, but with a lot of pleasure left to offer.
Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! 2023 Monterey County White Wine, "Full King Crab III." I think this is Chard and Chenin but don't recall the proportions. Light color, slight haze. Zesty lemon and a little yeastiness on the nose, zippy citrus and minerality in the mouth, but pleasantly rounded. This is very young; I like it now, but think I will hold my other bottle for several years.
Peter Lauer 2020 Saar Riesling, Ayler, No. 4. White flowers and lime on the nose, intense lime pith and cordial, some bitter grapefruit and white pepper, long finish with a little bit of Sweet-Tart, which is the only discordant note here; still quite good and more coherent than the last bottle I recall trying.
Le Sot de l'Ange 2015 Touraine Azay-le-Rideau Blanc, "La Goujonnière." I think this was a purchase from Red & White in Chicago, so I haven’t had a bottle of this in at least six years, and don’t have a strong memory of the last one. But this is terrific: heady aroma of ripe musk melon and jasmine, the same on the palate, but with an intensely lemony core, becoming a little rounder and waxier on the finish, but only a little. This is still sharp and intense enough that, depending on your taste, it could be drunk now or held 5 or more years. Quentin Bourse is the winemaker, I gather; I don't know if he or this label is still around but I'd love to check in with what he's doing now.
L. Aubry Fils NV Champagne Brut, 1er Cru. Disgorged 2021. Delicate mousse, steely entry, opening up into a broad midpalate of fruit and citrus. Just enough creamy toastiness to balance the structure. Mineral and steel returns on the finish. Lovely bottle.
Albert Boxler 2000 Riesling Sommerberg, L31. On the first night, this seemed pretty much gone. Deep golden color, not sherried at all, but showing only some faint petrol notes and a distant memory of stone fruit before vanishing on the palate. Not particularly different after two hours. Nevertheless, I closed it and popped it in the fridge and tried it 24 hours later, and was delighted to find that it seemed to have come alive: now, there was enough acidity for it to be propulsive, and while the flavors and aromas weren’t exactly dancing, they were lively enough for a wine probably a dozen years past its prime. Worked well enough with a dish of tarragon chicken that had been marinated with a little sherry and roasted on a sheet pan with a ton of onions. But I'm sorry I let this and a few other bottles of Boxler from circa 2000-2002 get lost. I guess I need to open them.
Ridge 2012 Sonoma County Red Wine, "Geyserville." This, on the other hand, is in a very nice spot. Feral undertones become muted as velvety blackberry fruit rounds out with some air, which also subdues the slight note of alcoholic heat on opening. Oak is fully integrated and there's very little spice on the finish, which makes the flavors seem translucent.
Unti Vineyards 2014 Dry Creek Valley Red Wine, "Segromigno." Like the 2014 reserve Sangiovese had earlier this year, this was a very good bottle. 80/20 Sangiovese and Montepulciano. Nice mix of high-toned tart cherry and black, tarry fruit, still a pretty fresh profile but with rough edges sanded off. Drink now or over the next few years. I like that this is sunnily and fruitily Californian without having been ripened or manipulated into anonymity. These last two bottles make me think I should check in on Unti's current releases.