1999 Eric Texier Côtes du Rhônes Villages Brézème Mise Tardive, $13.99, 12.5% alc.: Cousin Larry Meehan has stated more than once over the last year or so that this wine is not only coming around, it’s drinking very well. My better half agrees with him, qualifying that by saying that there’s a lot of bottle variation. Seems that they sampled two bottles with a local retailer a week or so ago, one of which was “good,” and the other one being “bad.” She bought four based on the “good” one, and she and Larry tell me that the one they opened and drained upon returning to Gang Central was also “good.” I didn’t get any of that one, but I did get some of two others over the last several days and both were “bad” ones. This time it’s my turn to qualify my remark, because they really don’t seem much different than the last few we tried in '04; they’re still green, weedy and astringent. True, there’s a nice core of black plum and berry buried underneath, and the tannins have toned down with time, but the dank characteristics undermine it all. These two weren’t undrinkable, but they weren’t very enjoyable either, so maybe that DOES make them undrinkable, because who wants to drink sour wine, and that’s exactly how they taste, sour. I wish the hell I could get my hands on one or two of those so-called “good” ones; maybe the fourth one will be the charmer.
Imported by LDM Wines, Inc., New York, NY
Reporting from Day-twah,
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