I've been trying to get in a rhythm of posting things in 2-week clumps, but Andrea's been out of town, so I've not been opening wine much for the last week and a half. Here's the latest batch, in which the low end overperforms:
Mas de Boislauzon 2022 Vin de France Rouge, "La Chaussynette." 80/20 Grenache/Syrah from a little niche of non-AOC territory cut out of CdP to accommodate a recalcitrant vigneron in the 1930s. Juicy red fruit with a hint of a serious Syrah edge; big presence without heaviness. Really good stuff. I apparently "overpaid" for this at $17 (it can be had for $13 or 14), but the real overpayment is when you spend $60 or $100 for an embossed bottle instead and wind up with a syrupy mess.
Scopa 2023 Catarratto, IGT Terre Siciliane. Actually 70 Catarratto and 30 Grillo. Scopa is the proprietary label of Coeur Wine Co. and this was suggested to me by a local shop, for $17 after mixed case discount. The fruit's primarily citrus, and while it walks up to the edge of Lemon Pledge, it doesn't get there (which is good, obviously). Salinity, medium body, turning brassy and spicy on the finish. Broad-brush but with decent structure, this would be a solid house white, and I appreciate the 12.0 abv too.
Rhys 2012 Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains, Horseshoe Vineyard. What I wrote on CT (and it's true): "I spent two hours today discussing the ascetic practices of early Christian monastics who isolated themselves in the dry, austere, silent desert of the Prouincia Aegypti, hoping that the radical renunciation of the pleasures of the body would make them receptive to the presence of God. This was like that, but without the God part. Decant for eternity, or hold." I always thought I knew what side I was on in the apocalyptic struggle between the AFWE and the Armies of Gob, but I seem to have found my limit.
Frog's Leap 2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Opens up within half an hour and continues to develop over two more. Lots of cassis and plum fruit, some wet leaves and tobacco around the edges, bright finish. Nothing profound, but a nicely developed and satisfying middle-aged Cab.
A. Rafanelli 2015 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Classic sunny blackberry fruit, somewhere between velvety and unctuous, but with a sense of proportion and elegance that’s partly house style and partly the beginnings of maturity. 14.9% but doesn’t show heat at all. This was my only bottle, and while I’m confident it would have picked up a little more complexity over the next several years, it’s also in a great place now; no regrets.
Pieropan 2021 Soave Classico "La Rocca." From a restaurant wine list; my first La Rocca though I’m familiar with the regular Pieropan Soave and the Calvarino too, and didn’t realize that this is (often? always?) slightly botrytized. Anyway, a surprise but a very compelling one. Big, bright, musky and brassy, honeyed, with some wood spice too. Quite long. Worked well across a variety of dishes. Will definitely get this again.
Lancaster Estate 2012 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This (and there are two more) was a purchase about which I was never especially enthusiastic from a trip to Napa for a friend's wedding a decade-ish ago; the winery was bland and corporate and the wine is too. It's ripe, identifiably Cabernet, accessibly soft, and without any very distinctive features. "Good" if you like airbrushed and blowsy, which I guess people do. (Current vintages retail for $160; winery's first description of itself is as an "elite collection," and the button that takes you to the online store doesn't say "buy" or even "purchase" but acquire.)
Peter Lauer 2021 Ayler Riesling No. 4. Ripe stone fruit and roasted pineapple quickly transitions into focused stone, smoke, and citrus zest. Long. Reads much drier than I think it probably is. I like this a lot, and definitely more than the 2020, which wasn't bad, but this is integrated and focused in a way that wasn't (when tasted a couple of months ago).