2005 Ridge Vineyards Geyserville Zinfandel **

The 2005 Ridge Vineyards Geyserville Zinfandel ** is a restrained and foreboding wine at first blush. For a 2005 Sonoma Zinfandel, this is a very interesting wine with a solid tannic backbone. Deep dark plum color, with some loam and dark berries on the nose, and good mouth watering acidity that is in balance with its dark fruits and tannic structure. The wine evolves with aeration, providing banana, colada, sweet vanilla, blueberry and light, mellow red licorice notes.

2005 Pride Mtn. Vineyards Napa Valley Chardonnay

Pale gold color. Sweet floral notes, with light lemon citrus and soft petrol notes. The wine is very accessible, broad and shallow. A light texture but a lightly buttery attack. Some honey and some dried dandelions. This is a fun wine and not to be confused with anything more serious, but still, a step up from the run of the mill single star Napa Valley Chardonnay. $ 40. 2 stars.

2003 Seavey Vineyards Napa Valley

I'm on my way home and I can't think of a reason not to get those two bottles of 2003 Seavey out of the cellar - they are just ... calling to me. We visited Seavey in January 2007. It was a bright cold day in the valley and we were driving up Howell Mountain and I was certain we were lost. Then we stopped by the side of the road and took this picture, and I remembered that Napa Valley time isn't the same as NYC time and the good folks at Seavey probably wouldn't care (or notice) if we were 15 or 20 minutes late for a Friday morning tasting.

William and Mary Seavey began to estate bottle their Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon in 1990. Today, they have 40 acres under vine, overseen by vineyard foreman Mario Guitierrez, and winemaker Mathew Reid. Philippe Melka is Seavey's blue chip flying rainmaker - I wonder if he's necessary.These are all "full throttle" expressions of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. I sometimes wonder if they're not overdone. But on a deliciousness scale, they score incredibly well.

2003 Seavey Vineyards Napa Valley Chardonnay - $40 - 2-3 stars. Very pale gold with pale green-straw tinge. Mellow apple, cucumber, and lemon/lime/Sprite nose. Mellow caramel overtones with a nutty, fig palate and some vanilla on exit. Extremely pleasant today. Previously a 2 star wine, but today this came at me full steam.

2003 Seavey Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - $85 - 3 stars. Very deep plum purple color and an iridescent opacity. Huge nose - Menthol, abundant cola, damp earth, lightly crushed black pepper, and cinnamon. There's nothing held back on the attack, either. Licorice, menthol/mint and still more cola notes, with perfumed wild berries, and a volcanic flow of chocolate and caramel/toffee coat the palate. The finish lasts forever and then keeps going.

Both Seavey's wines tasted beautifully today, but looking at these pictures of Napa, somehow that doesn't surprise me.

http://www.seaveyvineyard.com/

2002 Dom. Chicotot Nuits-St-George 1er Cru "Les Vaucrains" **

This is a wonderful wine that no one has heard of. Dark ruby-plum color. Full of dark fruits - boysenberries, blueberry hints, black currant - but this wine is predominantly about earth and an overpowering barnyard musk. My friend Gabe noticed a light pepper note, too, which is present on the midpalate. It closes with silky but dry river silt tannin. The finish isn't long, but it's well balanced and very drinkable. Two hours later I can still taste its musky close. This wine leaves its perfume upon you.

2005 Rhone Valley Reds ... Extraordinary So Far.

2005 is one of the most fabled vintages in French history. An exceptional vintage like 2005 means that the quality of the wines from everyone is racheted up: normally good producers make very good wine; very good producers make exceptional wine, etc. The question is: Will the wines live up to the hype? Short of sampling every wine from the 2005 vintage like a professional critic would, you have to make an educated guess as to whether this is really an exceptional vintage or not. To do just that, I've been sampling 2005s from a number of areas and at a number of price points. 2005 Burgundy and Loire Valley wines are already on the market, and both show exceptional promise.



2005 Bordeaux in my experience has had a somewhat mixed showing thus far. So, what about the Rhone Valley?

According to Wine Specator, Robert Parker, and virtually everyone else, 2005 was an excellent vintage for the Rhone Valley, although Parker seems to prefer 2006 to 2005, and there's some question whether the North or South produced better wines across the board.

To really get into the 2005 vintage mood, we dined at Oray on Saturday night. Orsay struck me as really old school French, with a Parisian vibe and smoky dark room feel like when you stepped outside the Opera House would be right there.

The first two wines we tasted from the 2005 vintage in the Rhone Valley were, to put it mildly, exceptional: 2005 Chateua Saint-Jean Chateauneuf du Pape and the 2005 J.L. Chave St. Joseph "Offerus."

The 2005 Chateau Saint-Jean CdP was a really gorgeous purple color. Good fresh kirsch, a touch of allspice, gobs of ground white pepper, fresh tapenade and ground green and black olives, dried herbs and liquid stones in a medium bodied, fancy French perfume styles CdP, with sweet acidity and sweet, fine tannins, and a minor cherry finish. I think this is a 2 or 3 star wine, very probably 3 stars, and in any event, at $40 retail this is an excellent wine from this vintage at a very decent price. Reminds me of the Sabon Prestige Chateauneuf du Pape 2001.

The J.L. Chave Selection St. Joseph "Offerus" from 2005 ($20, 1 star) was the best vintage of this wine I have tried going back to 2004, 2003, and 2001. With a seriously dark purple color, white pepper, cloves, tapenade and crushed green and black olives, gorgeous purple and red fruits (strawberry, currant, black cherry), and impecable balance. In my experience this wine drinks very well very young and will not live in the cellar. (The 2001 and 2003 were excellent young, but have faded fruit these days and are no longer recommended for the long term.)

2005 La Ferme du Mont "Cotes Jugunda" Gigondas - $25 - 1 star. Deep plum color. Nice spring flowers on the nose with chalky minerality underneath. Good warm fruits on the palate with some leather and mineral notes, refreshing zesty acidity that balances out the fruit notes, but a clipped finish.

2004 Napa Valley Chardonnays ***

2004 Far Niente Napa Valley Chardonnay *** Yellow gold. Overt black licorice, anise seed, and gobs of vanilla. Very pure palate, soft and moderately sweet with a very good balance, nice acidity, and moderately long, stoney finish. Excellent, and to my mind the best Chardonnay in Napa after Kongsgaard.

2004 Peter Michael Mon Plaisir *** Gorgeously pure pale yellow gold. Restrained nose of hay and anise and fresh cut grass. Hints at petrol, too. Seaweed and sweet stainless steel with black licorice kicker. Rarely gets better than this.

Disappointing Bordeaux: 2001 Le Gay and 2005 Lanessan ... and Reevaluating the 2001 Leoville Poyferre - 1 star.

It's taken me a while to get around to writing up the 2001 Le Gay and 2005 Lanessan; firstly, because I've been uncharacteristically bustling around the city recently, but also, secondly because of how disappointing these two wines proved.

The 2001 Le Gay had off scents of mold and wild acidity and was undrinkable the first night, but showed some mellow red fruits and vanilla hints by day 2, by which time I could manage to drink a glass without being totally revolted. It is a flawed wine to say the least.

And there is simply nothing more to say about the 2005 Lanessan than, "Undrinkable."

Obviously, this was an extremely disappointing showing for these two wines and out of mere respect I'm going to taste new bottles shortly to confirm (or refute) my initial impressions.

In retrospect, the 2001 Leoville Poyferre was a GOOD wine, cleanly outshining the Le Gay and Lanessan, and easily deserving 1 star.

2001 Ch. Leoville Poyferre St. Julien

Deep dark purple. Prune, dried herbs and green veges on the nose. Soft acids, with purple fruits and nice chunky tannin but too green today.

Upcoming Bordeaux: Leoville Poyferre, Le Gay, and Lanessan!

Next up for SLAKED!

2001 Ch. Leoville Poyferre - St. Julien

2001 Ch. Le Gay - Pomerol

2005 Ch. Lanessan - Haut Medoc

2005 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs Zinfandel **

Dark plum turning cherry at the rim. Mild lavendar and raspberry leaves on the nose, but very restrained. Full throttle acidity and then the mild fruits emerge - dark fruits, mulberries, sour plum and sour cherry. There's dried flowers here too, and bay leaf, with a coarse texture. This has a very full midpalate and the finish is dry and a little dusty. This is very good and nicely restrained, and while less voluptuous then the Old School it is perhaps more elegant.

2003 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello ****

This is overwhelmingly good. Dusky deep purple. Loads of dark fruits on the nose with all spice and a touch of cedar. Soft acidity, then crushed blackberries followed by blackberry jam notes, with carmelized sour plum and soft liquid minerals, just a faint suggestion of caramel and vanilla adds a fourth layer of complexity; with a racy, lightly spicy oak finish that conjures up wild fresh mountain raspberries.

2005 Burgundy - at last!

2005 Burgundy!

Like most wine lovers I've been awaiting the arrival of the 2005 vintage of Burgundy with baited breath. With every virtually perfect vintage in France that's hyped by the trade media, I ask: Will the wines live up to the hype? To the prices? Will they drink on release? Will they cellar forever? How much should I buy? How much should I drink? Well, the time has come to answer these questions - sort of - once again. So I made my first foray north to pick out a case of 2005 Burgundy at Garnet on the Upper East Side, and to get my feet wet in this venerable (or venerably hyped) vintage.

For this first flight of 2005s I picked out two wines from Domaine Pierre Amiot et Fils: the village level Morey-Saint-Denis and its premier cru cousin "Aux Charmes." I also picked out an Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru "La Chappelle" from Jean & Gilles Lafouge. (For an in-depth appraisal of Lafouge's many wines, check out Brooklynwineguy's blog at: Brooklynguy's Wine and Food Blog: 2004 Lafouge Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru Les Duresses.)

Amiot and Lafouge are two of my favorite Burgundy producers every year. In 2005 I tasted each of these wines at release from the 2002 vintage - another outstanding and outstandingly-hyped year for Burgundy - and I put a couple bottles from that vintage in the cellar. Today the 2002 Morey-Saint-Denis ** is showing beautifully, with stewed plums and sweetly dried cranberries The 2002 Auxey Duress 1er Cru "La Chapelle" is still a gorgeous wine, with cherry and dried herbs, The question was whether Amiot's 2005 Morey-Saint-Denis would live up to the hype.

2005 Domaine Pierre Amiot & Fils Morey-Saint-Denis * Jell-O cherry color. Very restrained nose, with strawberry and cranberry. This finishes a bit tight and sharp without enough fruit to really hold it together. The Aux Charmes is a much better wine for the money.

2005 Domaine Pierre Amiot & Fils - Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru "Aux Charmes" *** Velvet purple with minor iridescence. Earth and blood on the nose. Refreshing acidity with dried flowers, stewed plums, and strawberry licorice. Nice earth scents round this out. Much much better than the village level, and a bargain at this price. 3 stars.

2005 Domaine Jean & Gilles Lafouge Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru "La Chapelle" ** Deep purple and red. Heady and sweet nose of ultra-fresh red fruit. Medium bodied and robust, with red licorice, mellow wild cherry, warm blood and sweet plum. 2 stars.

2004 Ch. Leoville Barton St. Julien ***

Deep dark purple red with minor iridescence. Oaky texture, musk, forrest and black currants. Awesomely tight, elegant, and restrained...just loaded with perfume and fruit and every minute that goes by reveals more complexity. Godzilla finish.

2004 Coudoulet de Beaucastel Cotes du Rhone **

Chalky plum purple. Prune, black pepper top notes. Medium body with good depth - prune, blackberries and mellow black pepper. Very long dry finish with chalky red berries. There is simply nothing technically wrong with this wine.

2005 Ridge Vineyards Old School Zinfandel Alexander Valley ***

Bright dense purple and cola syrup color. Good depth of fruit on the nose with menthol, mellow cherry and light red licorice notes. Extraordinary concentration by day 2: Coconut and mellow vanilla, pina colada-esque, with unidentifiable blue fruit notes shining through. Best Ridge Zinfandel of the 2005 vintage, and the best I've tasted recently except for the sold out but virtually perfect Lytton East 2003.

2002 Dom. Rene Monnier Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Folatieres" ****

Pale gold. Bright acidity. Black licorice, fennel seed, and white flowers - lily, white rose, daisy petals. Bees' honey and honey mellon, with light white-chalk texture. Excellent ballance and a bright long finish. 4 stars.

2005 Franus Napa Valley Zinfandel *

Plum purple. Bit hot on the nose with roses, cherries, oaky vanilla and cola. Warm on the palate - molten stones, big warm raspberries, ripe cranberries, cola and oak on exit. Finishes a long time with lots of well integrated tannins and cherry flavors.

2005 Ch. St. Jean de Lavaud [1.1] Lalande de Pomerol ***

Plum purple. Raspberry leaf, musk, and lush flowers on the nose. Good burnt wood note, black licorice, strawberry and raspberry jam. Medium body with a dry, crushed raspberry finish and dusty tannin. The best Lalande de Pomerol I have ever tasted, and maybe a perfect wine for this region. [Day 2: Added depth of color and fruit; with a chalky, vanilla midpalate. Awesome.]

Lenz Vineyard, North Fork of Long Island, Spring 2007

2005 Dashe Louvau Vineyard Zinfandel Old Vines Dry Creek Valley *

Translucent plum. Red berries and candied apple predominates. Very well balanced acidity reminds me of fresh tomato sauce in texture and balance. Light spice on exit.

2005 Ridge Vineyards Carmichael Zinfandel *

Light ruby. Extraordinarily pinot-esque. Mellow ripe cranberry, red jolly ranchers and light spices with a very mineral midpalate. This is nicely balanced but it's still too early to show real tannic structure. Strangely enough - there were some truffle, onion and garlic hints, which seemed strange to me, so I went online to try and find some info on what that could mean.

Apparently, these aromas can be indicative of something called mercaptan, which is generally considered a fault in wine. It occurs, for example, when finished wine is left on the lees too long. Similar to hydrogen sulphide in chemical make-up, but with one hydrogen atom replaced by an alkyl group (a carbon-hydrogen chain).

The funny thing is ... I liked this. It added a complexity to the wine that wasn't there otherwise. According to the article I read, linked above, critics adhering to something like a "pure" theory of wine criticism eschew these minor flaws, but I find that a rather provinvial method of enjoying a wine. I adhere to a more traditional wine-enjoyment philosophy, in which so-called flaws (e.g. brettanomyces contamination) add rather than subtract to the qualities of a wine.

So here's to all the little faults and imperfections that make wines beautiful, individual, and delicious!

2000 Chateau de Sales Pomerol *

Ruby. Sweet perfume of dried spices and pink roses. Light/medium body with red currants, mellow licorice, beef blood and hints at roast dark coffee.