Back vintage picked up at good price in well-stored retailer's shop. Bottled under a synthetic plastic closure (of the older, solid type)*, which might have been the reason why the wine still had gas, even 5+ years after bottling. Even after de-gas, wine wasn't showing much, seemed to have lost fruit and was just astringent and acidic. I had thought perhaps wine was past peak with fruit having passed away. I put it away for a day to find the wine much improved, having fruit returned and astringent character lifted. *The closure had an oily, off-putting smell which I haven't encountered. Did not seem like the right closure for aging, but the underlying wine is there if you work on it.
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A corked 88 Gruaud Larose made this a quick fill-in. The second bottle from a case. It was a bad second choice because this wine just needs a lot of time before drinking. Tasted out of the bottle, it was unpleasantly firm and alcoholic, but within a half hour this passes and the red cherry fruit fills it out. The it becomes a paradox, because I never truly get into the wine but it is improving markedly with every sip, so I keep coming back to it and then it's gone. Not in a rush to open any of the other 10, but will open 4-6 hours in advance the next time I do. A very clean and straightforward wine, one liked by my guests more than me. My half-hearted enthusiasm for it is definitely driven by my aversion to obvious heat in wines, which this definitely toys with.
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2nd to last bottle from a half case. This is over the hill, particularly on the nose. Nose is entirely secondary: honey, musty, waxy. Advanced color to match. In the mouth, a bit more life left, however the sugar and acidity seem to hit at different times and are disjointed. A nice wine several years ago, but seemed to mature faster than 2004, a wine I've always preferred to the 2005.
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2015 Stein Riesling Blue Slate
10/12/2021 - ajggiant wrote:
Back vintage picked up at good price in well-stored retailer's shop. Bottled under a synthetic plastic closure (of the older, solid type)*, which might have been the reason why the wine still had gas, even 5+ years after bottling. Even after de-gas, wine wasn't showing much, seemed to have lost fruit and was just astringent and acidic. I had thought perhaps wine was past peak with fruit having passed away. I put it away for a day to find the wine much improved, having fruit returned and astringent character lifted. *The closure had an oily, off-putting smell which I haven't encountered. Did not seem like the right closure for aging, but the underlying wine is there if you work on it.
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2009 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape
11/29/2015 - ajggiant wrote: 91 Points
A corked 88 Gruaud Larose made this a quick fill-in. The second bottle from a case. It was a bad second choice because this wine just needs a lot of time before drinking. Tasted out of the bottle, it was unpleasantly firm and alcoholic, but within a half hour this passes and the red cherry fruit fills it out. The it becomes a paradox, because I never truly get into the wine but it is improving markedly with every sip, so I keep coming back to it and then it's gone. Not in a rush to open any of the other 10, but will open 4-6 hours in advance the next time I do. A very clean and straightforward wine, one liked by my guests more than me. My half-hearted enthusiasm for it is definitely driven by my aversion to obvious heat in wines, which this definitely toys with.
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2005 Eugen Müller Forster Mariengarten Riesling Kabinett
2/24/2015 - ajggiant wrote:
2nd to last bottle from a half case. This is over the hill, particularly on the nose. Nose is entirely secondary: honey, musty, waxy. Advanced color to match. In the mouth, a bit more life left, however the sugar and acidity seem to hit at different times and are disjointed. A nice wine several years ago, but seemed to mature faster than 2004, a wine I've always preferred to the 2005.
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