11/30/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

Marvelous. 2 bottles of a 12-bottle case now consumed... both were perfect. Elegant, stylish, mature wine, well-blended and enjoyable. No point in further aging, but will probably hold for a few more years at this level: no discoloration, and drinks well on day 2.

11/30/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

OK, nothing wrong with it... but didn't have a ton of character. A pleasant white Burgundy, subtle, fresh, no real sign of age... but light, not rich and full. I love St.-Aubin, but would expect more from a wine of this age. Maybe the vineyard, maybe the maker... don't have enough experience to say. Know a few of the St-Aubin vineyards, but not Les Perrières.

3/31/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

Delightful. Rich and full, but not overpowering. Pretty, light color, creamy "mousse."

Enjoyed it with a fresh tuna in a tomato and caper sauce, the acidity held up to the tomatos, and the wine drank beautifully.

3/28/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

This was the "année caniculaire" — record high temperatures killed thousands of old people across France, and the vineyards suffered greatly. Harvest in the Jura was in August.

Very few northern wine makers did well with conditions to which they were so unused, and Rolet is not really an exception. The winemaker thinks this is one of his great wines, but I do not. 8 years in, the fruit has faded to a burn, the color (exceptionally dark for a poulsard right from the start) is fading to brown, and the nose is largely alcohol. Would no doubt do better with food (the structure is solidly in place), but the theory that this wine would age to eternity (as many Jura wines can) is shot.

On the plus side, the follow-thru is good. The wine remains long on the palate, and pleasant notes of leather and wood smoke linger, without the excessive vinous quality of the first taste.

After an hour: better. Raisin still predominant, but the alcohol has faded, and subtile fruit has returned. The follow-thru remains the strong suit. After a day: holding up well, no further evolution. I have gotten used to the "burned" taste, and am enjoying the underlying flavors. Still, overall, a rare disappointment from a good producer, who was clearly facing circumstances with which he had no experience.

3/28/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

A star in its class, drinking perfectly (unless you prefer the grassy explosion of the first year wines from this area). A beautiful sauvignon blanc. Smooth without being insipid: the acidity is there, and makes it exciting, but the wine is very well-balanced. Great on a baked cod.

3/27/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

A step up from this producer's "regular" cuvées, "Les Cailloux" and "Moulin à Vent." A more sophisticated, complex wine, no flaws, still needs a bit of time for flavors to harmonize. I have set drinking window from 2015, but people who like "fresh" would no doubt find it ready in 2013. Good "typicity," a good, main line white burgundy, at a reasonable price relative to quality.

3/27/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

A simple wine, but relatively "gras", more on the meursault end of white burgundy than on the chablis end. Producer says that these roots stay close to the surface (as opposed to his other parcel, "les Cailloux"), and that the grapes ripen fully. Certainly produced a rich, full Rully in 2008. Mostly inox vinification (1/4 in old wood), plenty of characteristic chardonnay, and nice power. A fall / winter wine, prefer the cuvée les Cailloux by the same producer (and at the same price) for spring / summer.

Still needs to blend a bit... producer said "a year," but my best guess is 3. Set drinking window from 2014.

3/27/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

Nice "mineral" quality, more on the chablis end of white burgundy than on the meursault end. The "cailloux" (stones) refer to the rocky soil: vine roots go deep to search for moisture, and bring up the flavors. Inox-only vinification, fresh and forward, but with plenty of characteristic chardonnay, and nice power. A spring / summer wine, prefer the cuvée Moulin à Vent by the same producer (and at the same price) for fall / winter.

Still needs to blend a bit... producer said "a year," but my best guess is 3. Set drinking window from 2014, though will test in 2013.

3/27/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

Almost ready. The rich, full leather n' smoke of classic madiran, tannins blending in nicely, plenty of fruit, plenty of power. Just what one wants in a Madiran... in, perhaps, 2 more years.

3/27/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

Classic Madiran. Mouthfull of splinters at the moment, but seems like it will develop beautifully. Rich, full, strong fruit.

3/27/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

Nice Montagne de Reims product: 85% pinot noir, balance is chardonnay, but all grows in Bouzy. The NV bought in 2011 was a blend of wines mostly from 2005 and 2006.

3/27/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

Beautiful summer rosé. Dry, with a lovely light pink color.

3/27/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

Tasted at the "salon des viticulteurs indépendants," Porte de Champeret. I sampled 15 burgundy chardonnays, and bought three or four which I felt were good representatives of their class at a reasonable price. This was one.

3/13/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

I have a weakness for this typically Swiss treatment of pinot noir, but this one is particularly successful. A rich, full-flavored wine, balanced by nice acidity... the color is close to irrelevant, probably, though psychologically important.

The twist-off caps are unnerving, but the Swiss tell us we are all going to come around sooner or later, at least for wines that don't need age.

3/3/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

Marvelous. Not a trace of age, rich and full, well-rounded, a perfectly-melded wine. You can almost chew it. It has a clean finish, slight tartness, and stays on the palate forever.

I called it "off-dry," but hesitated: it is pretty dry at this point. But the fruit is still there, and removes any hint of "austere." Wife Laura identified "citrus," then "cabbage," then said "that makes it sound icky, but it's not."

1/31/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

Very enjoyable. Nice acidity, but a bit of roundness, not a characteristic I usually like in Sancerre, but I did in this one. Interested in trying the special cuvées....

1/2/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

Suave yet strong, beautifully accompanied a plate of lentils. Showing no sign of age, other than perhaps a diminished fruit, nicely replaced by game-y undertones of the forests that surround the vineyards. From a magnum, hit of the night from a selection of 10 unpretentious (but similarly-priced) wines.

1/2/2011 - bluemarble wrote:

Not a perfect marriage with our food (quenelles d'écrevisses with a fennel-muchroom-leek veg side), but an adequately good wine.

The new oak barrels that add 2€ to the price are not too heavy-handed, and they mask some flaws in their regular cru. On the whole, a lighter, thinner (in a good way) wine than one would expect from this part of the world. One can feel the arid land and the mistral, befitting in a "bio" (organic) wine.

Still these are red wine lands, and it is not clear that the whites bring much to the table. When you are "hiding flaws" with wood, you are starting in a bad place. The flavors have not well-melded 5 years out, and maybe never will. The wine is starting to age: diminished fruit. And the subtleties that one finds in the best Côteaux d'Aix (and which we would probably find here) are masked by the oak, along with the flaws.

In sum, and despite affection for the family and their dedication to quality, I think I will mostly stick to the reds (and the apricot juice, and the olive oil...).

12/25/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Front of palate has acidity (too much — nose predicts this) and oak (not too much, hint of vanilla on the nose, too). Not much fruit, but then the wine is 9 years old at this point, not a big name, and a ho-hum year.

The above doesn't sound good, but the wine becomes pleasant when you hold it on your palate.

Partner referenced lemon at the moment of swallowing, and saw citrus note at other points (also a little bit of wood).

Follow-through is long and satisfying, real staying power, and flaws fade. Overall experience is good in a "classic white Burgundy" register. Worth 10€, not worth 20. 15? Depends on what you like.

12/25/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Snore.

There is nothing wrong with this classic Bordeaux white, but it really is not worth 30 EUR when perfectly good Burgundies can be had for 15.

Nice balance, not much follow-through... all that money must be going to the chateau grounds, which are beautiful.

12/24/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

I rarely give numerical ratings, because they are so subjective. But it is truly difficult for me to imagine anyone disagreeing with the statement: "this is a very good wine."

A 40-year-old white, with no trace of age, beyond the sophistication of Sophia Loren at 50... Why chenin blanc produces insipid wine around the world, and gems in Vouvray, is a question I cannot answer. But this now-dry Vouvray, which perfectly accompanied a tarte tatin (deep dish apple pie), has very few flaws. Like drinking liquid gold. Does the flavor concentrate over time?

Low acidity, but no need for it: whatever sugar was in the wine to begin with is a distant memory. A nice cap to the evening, voted ex-eco "best wine of the night," with competition an 04 riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg, a 95 Dom Perignon, a Corton Marécaundes Grand Cru, and a Château Soutard 2000. Pretty heady company for a wine that probably cost 7 euros in today's funds when it was released....

12/24/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Muted nose, as for a younger wine: maybe not ready? Remains true 2 hours after opening.

Very nice fruit on the front of the palate, well-rounded, subdued tannins, nice acid/fruit balance... but follow-thru may be a bit disappointing (palate not clean, two good wines previously). The fact that the tannins show more on the follow-thru lends credence to the idea that the wine may yet be a bit young. Soutard is known for longevity, but really?

Still, no sign of age, either on the palate or in the color, so who knows? Can certainly go more years... 5 safely, maybe 10? Maybe more....

12/24/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

No sign of age whatsoever. Muted but agreeable nose, pleasant forward fruit, fills the mouth with a full and rewarding burgundy flavor. Long but delicate follow-thru. Might not stand up to a lot of foods.... was weak against a heavily garlic-ed lamb, but improved over time. Was it the opening of the wine (caraffed for about 20 minutes prior to service), or the end of the garlic?

12/24/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

A remarkable expression of the Jura "terroir," which everyone thinks comes exclusively from the Savaginin grape. This wine, vinified in the traditional manner (that is, not oxydized), is beautiful at 13 years. Hazlenutty, flavored with the Jura pastures, a nose that reminds of straw.... And a rich, full, flavor that stands up to the local gruyere ("compté"), and only bows slightly to its savagnin-blended cousins.

Color is lemon yellow, which would disquiet in a Burgundian chardonnay. No trace of age or fading on the palate, but caution is in order.

Personally, I would prefer this wine on a veal (or turkey) cutlet, and would save the Jura cheeses for its stronger (savagnin) cousins. But, for those not used to the semi-oxydized flavors of the savagnin, Etoile chardonnays are a good introduction to this very unusual wine world.

12/24/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

I enjoy this wine. Perfectly balanced, well-structured... according to the web site, 60% pinot noir, but from vineyards in the Côte de Bar, SE of Troyes (so, Audes wines, contraversial). Remainder is chardonnay from the Côte de Blancs.

Had it as an opening act to a Dom Perignon 95, and thought it held its own (price differential something like 1 to 20?). In the sense, you could tell that these were wines with the same objective, not that they were equivalent wines. Excellent value for money, at least at the 15 EUR it goes for in France....

12/23/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Perfect with a "munster au lait cru". Simple but flawless, rich and full, not a ton of complexity. This is a great "end of the evening" wine, when you want the purity of the grape without having to think too much. Not a trace of age, could probably go another 5 years. No sense of sugar / sweetness, rather dry but fruity.

12/23/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Bottle was badly corked. Strong on the nose, less so on the palate, but I don't have much experience with the grape, and so could not taste through it.

12/13/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Too much oak at first, both on the nose and on the palate. But as it warmed up, the wood faded, and the wine came through beautifully. By the end of the bottle, rich, full, vineous white Burgundy. So... don't overchill.

Not "fruity" as much as floral. Soft, round, harmoneous. Went wonderfully with fish and leeks. Don't like numerical ratings, because there is a lot of context there, but in my world, this would be a 95 (full disclosure: I don't often get up to the $50 / bottle entries).

12/12/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Wine is ready: has plenty of fruit on the front of the palate (raspberry, quickly morphing into black cherry), but melds quickly into a nicely-structured wine, not a powerful one, but well-made and pleasing. No sign of decline, can probably go for a few more years. But it is not clear that much further evolution is to be expected.

12/11/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

A blend of Muscat d'Alsace and Muscat d'Ottonel, raised on Molseim's Grand Cru vineyard.

This northern vineyard tempers the aromatic quality of the grape (see Neumeyer's Pinot Blanc), to yield a fresh and delicate wine, without a hint of "cloying." Wonderful nose, but not at all overpowering. "Delicacy" is the hallmark of the wine, which is unusual for a muscat...

12/11/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

This poulsard-based wine (50+ percent, with the rest split between trousseau and pinot noir) is aging beautifully, as Jura wines tend to. Hunting around for tasting notes, I found MW's saying that it was past its prime in 2002. Uh, no.

It is a light wine, think northern Burgundy (Fixin), but the fruit has held beautifully, and it now has the timeless quality of light but complex wines that have finished their adolesence, but show no sign of decline. Color is a rich red, just a touch of fawn but not particularly around the edges — in other words, may have been close to the original color. I tasted it blind, and could not narrow its age to anything more certain than "5 - 20." I am not a MW, but still...

Nose is exciting: sublte, complex, shifts from fruit to forest notes over time. Taste follows the same pattern, if there is a flaw it is in a too-high acidity. But this married well with a chef's / mushroom salad. Wine was finished on Day 2 with a cheese course (a Jura compté): had lost a bit, but not much.

12/10/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

An excellent crémant, dry, a bit "champagny" — almost tastes like there is some wood in the blend. Where there may be, given the age of the wine. The northern vineyards (Molsheim) give a finer, dryer structure to the wine than most crémants d'Alsace. A previous entry says that this is all-chardonnay. I don't know if that is true, but I have let it stand: the aromatic grapes that often go into the blend (especially pinot blanc) don't seem to be present.

All and all, excellent value for money.

12/8/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Marvelous! A great wine. Bought in 2008, aged 5 years before disgorging, so no doubt wines from the early 2000's. A blend of chardonnay and the red grapes, but clearly mostly red. Rich, full flavor, round in the mouth. A flavor of... what? Wood? My wife suggested melon. I think she is right, but it is an unusual register of flavors. We drank it with food (smoked salmon pasta), which is wise: though it might be good as an apéritif to a connaisseur, it is certainly an acquired taste on its own. Conversely, it married perfectly with the smokey flavor of the salmon.

12/7/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

I think that this is the best pinot blanc I have ever had. That is not saying much: I am not usually a fan of the grape. But this one lacks the usual misplaced sugar content, while holding onto the floral / fruit qualities that make the wine so agreeable as a sipping apéritif. Note that it is NOT the ideal pairing with foie gras.

I poo-poo'd it at a vineyard tasting, and was going to just pass it by, but Mme. Neumeyer insisted, and I left with a case of 12.

A beautifully-structured wine, no trace of anything unpleasant, a lively acidity which balances the full fruit... you don't think a ton about a $9 pinot blanc, you just enjoy it, when it's as good as this one.

12/6/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

According to the web site, this wine is aged in oak (even fermented in oak). You get it more on the nose than on the palate, but it is present on both. Must be large barrels, however: it's not the only flavor.

Very aromatic wine, might stand a bit of age. My first conclusion upon tasting (and without knowing anything about the grapes) was that it was a sauvignon blanc. Web site suggests that there might be chardonnay, plus a local grape (tressallier), but doesn't give any percentages. Tastes like an overly fruity sauvignon blanc to me, sancerre from a really hot year. But my wife got chardonnay, and her palate is good. She agreed with adjectives like "round," and "floral," and added "buttery" without knowing anything about the wood.

We both enjoyed the bottle we drank, but aren't rushing back to the store to buy more. Might do well with a foie gras, we'll finish this bottle tonight with that.

Later: yes, perfect for foie gras. The aromatic quality produced a sauterne-like sensation, without the cloying sweetness.

12/5/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

An unusual strawberry nose. Maybe raspberry, too. Lots of fruit on the front of the palate, tannins come behind. Follow through is long, satisfying, and fades slowly. Wine is well-balanced, free of any defect, an excellent representative of its class. Mountain reds are more "racehorse" than "bull," and this one is no exception. In the Savoie, it yields this. In Italy (where it is called refosco), the result is SO different! But not really better or worse... It has held its age well, and shows no sign of decline.

After 2 hours in the open bottle, fruit starting to fade.

Brilliantly accompanied a peppery endives au jambon with mushrooms and bechamel sauce. Did better on a goat cheese than on a gruyere cousin (compté, from the Jura, just to the north).

12/5/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Rolet, the Jura's biggest producer (not saying much in this atomized growing area), remains my reference for consistently high-quality aged savagnin. This Côtes de Jura "Tradition" is made up of roughly 50 - 50 savagnin "sous voile" (grapes left to partially oxidize under a layer of mold, in casks that are never topped up, for 4 years), and chardonnay held in steel tanks. The wines are combined, bottled in magnums, carefully stored in their state-of-the-art winery in Arbois, and released about 10 years out.

The result is a wonderful, rich, full, balanced wine, ready to drink and of great personality (an acquired taste, let it be said in passing). Nose of dry sherry, hazelnut. The natural (high) acidity of the savagnin is tempered with age and chardonnay. Ideally suited to the regional specialties involving cream, morel mushrooms, vin jaune sauces... Can stand up just fine to white meats, and ideally suited to the region's cheese specialties, like compte-based fondue, or melted & garlic-seasoned vacherin ("boite chaude").

From experience, can age 20 more years without risk, if properly stored, and will continue to mellow and improve over that time.

11/29/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Pleasant and simple. Flawless, which is all you ask of a Bordeaux style wine at this price point. The wine provides more. 20% malbec ("cot", in the vernacular) to add a bit of local color.

Wine is completely ready, no doubt brought up without wood, natural tannins and pleasant fruit, no great complexity. In this, a very good year, the high percentage of cabernet sauvignon (40) matured fully.

11/29/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Retasted the same bottle after two days in the fridge, then allowed to warm to room. Better! Clearly, can still stand a bit of age. Explosive fruit, followed by forward tannins. The leather / tobacco on the palate two nights ago seem to have faded in favor of younger notes (though they are still very present on the nose). Mondeuse is an amazing grape.

11/27/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Purchased in 2005 to age... and has done so beautifully. Comes off now as a burgundy-weight wine: full of red fruit on the approach (I got raspberry, my wife got cherry). Residual tannins (but no mouth-pucker) help the flavors stay on the palate, but the fruit fades. No trace of sugar. Tobacco nose after the wine has been open for a while, leather and smoke on the palate after the wine has been open for a while. Follow-through is agreeable, but fades relatively fast. Probably well suited to white meats, not heavy enough for beef or cheese.

Not sure it is going to develop more, but it shows no real sign of decline. Think it could make it a few more years without trouble.

11/27/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Tasted at the Salon des Viticulteurs Indépendants in Paris, along with about 30 other Champagnes.

This wine very much reflects the Montagne de Reims sensibilities of its producers. For me, that is a good thing. The "Extra Brut" absence of residual sugar is compensated by the rich fullness of the pinot noir, which is 50% of this premier cru "assemblage." The wine is perfectly balanced, a reflection I have often had regarding Monmarthe's next-cru-down "Privilège" (which uses the same proportions). But Privilège fell short in 2010 (we bought instead the even-cheaper "Secret de Famille" as our "house pour," which includes 40% pinot meunier), and we had to bump up to this one to find that trait which we so admire in Monmarthe's offerings.

A ton of "old wine" character: full of flavor, the acidity of the chardonnay keeping the thing in balance as a stand-alone drink. This one is a mix of 02 and 03 grapes, aged an average (?) of 5 years in the bottle before disgorging. Proportions of grape are constant year-to-year, but the vintage mix is used to produce a "standard" product.

11/27/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Domaine du Moulin de Dusenbach (Barnard Schwach) really "gets" muscat. They grow both types, "a petits grains," and "ottonel," and blend them carefully, at least in their prestige cuvées. I picked these wines after an exhaustive (10-producer, 16-wine) tasting at the Salon des Viticulteurs Indépendants in Paris, in 2009.

They have (at least) 3 cuvées, "Cuvée des Aspèrges," which privilidges the remarkable combination of explosive and floral fruit, and a "Réserve," which seeks to bring out the richness of their combination with a bit more cellar age (and a more rigerous grape selection) - a more subtile wine. Also a lieu-dit which was out of my target price range, and not tasted. By the end of the tasting, the two wines I did taste were 2 of the 3 favorites, out of the 16, and I bought both for their respective qualities.

The Cuvée des Aspèrges, as its name implies, is the perfect Spring wine, and (with gewurtz) the only grape I have found that really stands up to Asparagus. It is almost silly: exhuberant, explosive, everything yells MUSCAT.

The Réserve is a perfect sipping wine, balanced, subtle in its originality, with a wonderful (and not overpowering) nose: as an apéritif, but also with spice...

Both are very successful wines.

11/27/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Domaine du Moulin de Dusenbach (Barnard Schwach) really "gets" muscat. They grow both types, "a petits grains," and "ottonel," and blend them carefully, at least in their prestige cuvées. I picked these wines after an exhaustive (10-producer, 16-wine) tasting at the Salon des Viticulteurs Indépendants in Paris, in 2009.

They have (at least) 3 cuvées, "Cuvée des Aspèrges," which privilidges the remarkable combination of explosive and floral fruit, and a "Réserve," which seeks to bring out the richness of their combination with a bit more cellar age (and a more rigerous grape selection) - a more subtile wine. Also a lieu-dit which was out of my target price range, and not tasted. By the end of the tasting, the two wines I did taste were 2 of the 3 favorites, out of the 16, and I bought both for their respective qualities.

The Cuvée des Aspèrges, as its name implies, is the perfect Spring wine, and (with gewurtz) the only grape I have found that really stands up to Asparagus. It is almost silly: exhuberant, explosive, everything yells MUSCAT.

The Réserve is a perfect sipping wine, balanced, subtle in its originality, with a wonderful (and not overpowering) nose: as an apéritif, but also with spice...

Both are very successful wines.

11/26/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

This is Gérard's base ("cuvée traditionelle") riesling (he has 3 Grand Cru parcels, as well). It is holding up beautifully: rich and full 6 years in. Makes us wonder why we bother with the Grand Crus....

11/26/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Despite a mostly red wine composition (40% pinot noir, 40% pinot meunier, just 20% chardonnay), the wine is fresh and reasonably balanced. Two tastings over two days produced different impressions, will update here when there is a consensus opinion.

11/26/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Bought this wine to cellar (goal was "beaujolais to age"): it is full of lush, powerful fruit and strong-but-not-harsh tannins. Winemaker proudly said, "it can go 25 years." I do not think that this was idle chatter. Tasted it next to the 08's, base cru, this same Sybarites, and also their top of the line Cuvée du Py: this was the clear winner. Taste is 2014 or so, and see where it is. Looking for a good autumn wine: for game, mushrooms, etc. Think I found it.

11/26/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Good, middle-of-the-road white Burgundy, from an interesting producer located in Change (side valley above Santenay / Maranges). Aged in barriques, one quarter of "fûts neufs," with a very light "chauffe." Wood is there, but barely, and not at all offensive. Much preferred this to a classic cuve, prepared in steel fermentation tanks, and tasted at the same time. Should age nicely for a few years, but was pleasant now, no hard edges, wine tasted "finished." Very much a value-for-money purchase: not a great Burgundy, but everything a modest Burgundy should be.

11/25/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

Think I may have been ambitious in hoping to keep this as long as I did. It is starting to show age. Still a great wine, but recent impression is that the fruit is fading, leather and tobacco becoming more dominant. I love it, right now. But am not sure that it will be as good in 2 years....

11/25/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

A brilliant wine, concentrated in flowers and sun, with a nice acidity and plenty of slate overtones to preserve the Sancerre quality. Truly classic Sancerre, from a great year, in an area where vintage matters. If it were all like this, Sancerre would be worth the restaurant prices (it almost never is, outside of the region).

We tasted 10-plus Quincy / Menetou-Salon / Sancerre wines in the 06 vintage, to choose a house "Sauvignon Blanc de Loire," and narrowed to two producers, both Sancerre: Michel Girard and Jack Pinson. We took the Girard in 06, then had the 07 Pinson. We went to Michel Girard for the 08 (Pinson did not attend the Paris "producers' salon" where we do our buying). We return to Pinson in 09 with pleasure and enthusiasm: glad to see him back! The Girard was fine, but this was a clear winner. We did a "control tasting" of two other randomly-selected producers, just to validate... and validated.

11/25/2010 - bluemarble wrote:

I love this grape, mondeuse in France (where it produces a silky cousin to pinot noir), refosco in Italy (still a racehorse rather than a bull, but more power in most years), and have a weakness for it.

But most people, fans or not, would credit at leas this: like good, aged beaujolais, it is a great autumn wine. Pairs well with game, with mushrooms, can stand up to sugar (think squash)... Bought this one in 2010 based on a limited tasting of known producers (winnowed down in prior years). The wine is like a mouthfull of splinters overlayed on grape juice, but will predictably meld well. The flavors are all rich and complex, it just needs time. The 2002 drank beautifully through this year, when we finished our last bottle. 09 was a brilliant year, but exceptionally powerful, and this one should go further still. Conversely, it may need a few years to start. 2013? Have to look for something older to bridge the gap, since our 02 is gone....