Benton Lane Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2000 **

This took a while to open up. The fruit seems to have faded and the sweetness is gone. It's dry, complex, and drinking very nicely this year. Mushrooms, figs, dessicated currants and black truffles. **

Peter Michael "L' Apres - Midi" Knights Valley 2003 ***

Year after year Peter Michael turns out a great sauvignon.  Grapefruit, molasses, and lychee predominate.  Black licorice as the wine evolves, with white roses and a mellow chalky finish. This is my last bottle and it's drinking gorgeously right now.  

Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1999 ***

Deep plum with a little purple. Subdued woodsy aromatics: mellow cedar, fresh bark, with chalky blackberry, minor raspberry notes on the midpalate, mint and spice.

Ridge Vineyards ATP Zinfandel Nervo Vineyard "Caboose" Sonoma County 2004 *

Ruby color.  A 100% zinfandel ... cinnamon, herbs, and a touch of mint, but really the overall impression is bright red fruit with a touch of lead.  This is a mid-weight player that is about a year from peaking.  Fun.

Dom. Jean-Paul Balland Sancerre 2004 **

Straw color. There's gorgeous mellow oak, citrus and tropical notes here, but the mid-note is light, citrus-heavy, a touch grassy, with flint and steel. It's light, refreshing, and bright, even at 4 years old. This has another 1 or 2 years to go to flesh out before it reaches an apogee, but right now, it is beautiful in its precision.

Channing Daughters "Clones" Long Island White Table Wine 2005 *

One hundred forty six cases of pure, hmm...what this is pure of I don't know. I guess that's why they call it clones:

68% chardonnay (tend clones)

19.2% sauvignon blanc

5.6% merlot

3.5% pinot grigio

2% aligote

1.7% gewurztraminer

But it's immediately pleasing, in the way you can't put a finger anywhere near what this wine is you know immediately it's a Long Island white.

Look, I liked it. Ok? But Channing Daughters seems to me they're still trying to figure out an angle on what will work from the East End. Too many question marks here. Maybe too imaginative. It's pure in that it is completely what it is and where it's from, but it falls short of being utterly delicious. I love Channing Daughters when they knock out a pure fruit driven chardonnay, and bone dry sauvignon, an exceptional East End merlot, but sometimes with the whites I'm left wondering what the winemaker was aiming for.

Still, of all the wineries on the East End, Channing Daughters is the avant garde. No doubt about that, and I'd like to see them continue doing what they're doing.

Josephine Dubois Chablis Grand Cru "Les Clos" 2004 *

White gold.  Honey and white flowers on the nose.  The palate is a little heavy with honey and melon, but there is a lemon-citrus element that makes this satisfyingly refreshing.  This is certainly a crowd pleaser.

DuMOL Chardonnay "isobel" Green Valley Sonoma County 2004 ***

Gold.  Grapefruit and white peaches on the nose.  Clean, grassy, some loamy like texture and black licorice on the mid-note.  This is exquisite.  A Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru California white.  With an apple cider precision on the minute-long finish.

Francois Baur Gewurztraminer "Herrenweg" Vin d' Alsace 2001 **

Pale gold. Lychee, roses, very mild spice notes, and of course a honeyed complexity to it. My last bottle of this...too bad, it's one of my favorites.

Flowers Estate Bottled Chardonnay "Camp Meeting Ridge" Sonoma Coast 2004 **

Light honey.  Almond, honey and hazelnut are primary, with a mild lemon-caper-sauce backbone and you get the sense of yellow flowers - dandelions?  This was probably best last year and has turned the corner evolutionarily, but it's good to see these wines on the other side of paradise.  It's still singing.

NV Pierre Gimonnet & Fils - Cuis 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne **

Another Terry Theise Estate Selection - I've been working my way through his wines recently - Lightly sweet, highly effervescent, with a citrus backbone, I think this might be made to appeal to the American taste - or what Gimonnet & Fils thinks the American-taste is, which is odd, because "the wines tolerate a very low dosage, 6-8 grams per liter for most bruts." Very pleasing nonetheless - you can't go wrong with this choice, and I would be happy to stock it as my house Champagne.

As an aside, I've been getting all my Terry Theise wines these days from Oak & Steel on Broadway near West 57th Street.  They have dedicated a section of the store to just Terry Theise wines, which I think is brilliant.  I found the sales-people in the store very friendly and I like their display.  They're a bit pricey but I guess that's to be expected on Broadway near 57th Street.  And no I'm not getting paid to recommend them. 

Hitachino Nest Beer "White Ale"

I have a thing for Japanese beer. It's something about the water. Japan has some of the freshest water in the civilized word, and it comes across in its beers. But hell, look at this bottle. Not only is this a super cool package, the beer is good too. This is a medium bodied amber with very light carbonation, sweet but not overtly or unpleasant, with a clipped finish that I found very enticing. Bring this to a friend's house who is into beer.

Seven Days Seven Wines

The flood plains recede in Iowa, Al Gore endorses Obama, and I finally have a chance to note some of the wines we've been swirling around here. It's been a crazy week, sort of. My Chateauneuf du Pape craze seems to have subsided, and I worked through my case of under $20 wine weeks ago, but I have certainly benefitted from those two experiences. Now it's time to focus back on something closer to home: summer whites (but not all). We've been drinking mostly French table wines at home recently, although this past week's line-up is nicely diverse. Listed in no particular order....

Channing Daughters Mudd Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2007 North Fork of Long Island * A pale golden hued sauvignon with nice grassy hints and citrus, but mostly what you find here is depth of sweet fruit characteristic, to me, of Mudd's Vineyards. Very enjoyable summer wine.

Domaine Mathieu Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2006 (blanc) * Lovely sweet aromas of petrol (sounds strange, right?) and peaches. Medium bodied, with very gratifying acidity, well balanced with the fruit, but a shortish finish. Fun, but no blockbuster.

Domaine Auther Pinot Auxerrois Vin D'Alsace 2005 ** Gorgeous - indescribable - nose. A voluptuous body on this light white wine, with significant honey notes, but there is lemongrass and minerality too. From the back label:

"Who? Richard Auther - artist, winemaker, and non-conformist.

What? 100& Pinot Auxerrois grown on granite soil at an altitude of 300 meters.

Where? The estate is located in the town of Blienschwiller and is comprised on 13.09 acres of vines in 3 different villages."

From me to you: Highly recommended.

Boutari "Kallista" 2004 * I would tell you what this wine was all about if I could read the back label in modern Greek. Obviously, I cannot. This is the second, and last, bottle of Santorini wine I brought back in 2006. When we opened it on one of the first 90 degree days of the year last week, my heart leapt at the thought of those Santorini sunsets we experienced back then. Unfortunately, the wine has not lived as well I'd hoped. It carried a little woodiness with it, and the fruit was subdued, the acidity a little dried out. It was nice, but I found myself wishing I'd taken this out last year. Boutari's vineyards, which we visited at the time, are gorgeous... interspersed throughout the middle and south of the island, inland, well protected from the winds.

Domaine Catherine le Goeuil Cotes du Rhone Village Cairanne "Cuvee Lea Felsch" 2005 - This wine didn't do it for me. A bit tannic, austere, and dry, with little to recommend it.

Shinn Estate Vineyards North Fork of Long Island "Coalescence" 2007 * A blend of Shinn's many white varietals this was pale white gold with heavy citrus top notes but surprising balance and chalk on the finish. A good summer wine.

Brewer Clifton Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay "Seasmoke" 2005 **** Awesome. My favorite Brewer Clifton from 2005 hands down, this wine literally knocked my socks off...It's a yellow gold hue, with mango, honeydew, nectarine, and mellow white rose petals, cream and butter on the mid note, all backed up with a gorgeous, zangy, ear splitting acidity that grips you like a stripper grips a brass pole and doesn't let go.

As for this next wine, I must confess - German wine labels confound me. I'm not sure exactly what this is called, but I'll do my best here....starting at the top of the label and working my way down....

Weingut Ch. W. Bernhard "Scheurebe" Spatlese 2005 (the label also says Hackenheimer and Kirchberg, and I am still trying to figure out what all that means) *** Yes, well, my inability to tell you what the name of this wine is notwithstanding, let's just admit it was freaking outstanding - the kind of German spatlese that reminds one of just how complex, aromatic, and convincing a $20 bottle of white wine from the continent can be when stacked against the North Fork. I would drink this wine repeatedly and recommend it heartily to my friends. What more can I say?

And finally....

Ridge Vineyards "Monte Bello" Santa Cruz Mtns. 2000 *** A tremendous wine. Here is the terroir-ist black berry, chunky tannin, resonant acidity reminds me of aged Barolo, the cedar has become nuance, the spice has long since faded, it has put on some weight and lost a little sweetness - Hell, it's bone dry - but there is nothing else like this in the world.

NV Drappier Brut Pinot Noir "Zero Dosage" Champagne **

As part of our Friday night bubbly ritual I opened this Drappier fizzy that I found stashed in the fridge ... by whom and when it was stashed I have no idea. But talk about a pleasant surprise. To my knowledge I had never been previously introduced to Drappier, and I'd never had a "zero dosage" blanc de noir before, but I am going to become better acquainted with both, shortly.

This was ultra light in color, with lightly fizzy texture, lots of ebullience, a fragrant, floral nose, and soft honeydue and citrus notes on the palate. Refined, balanced, and light, it paired wonderfully with fish and rice.

Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 2001 ****

This was gorgeous. Purplishly opaque, with briar patch blackbery, strawberry ice cream and sweet bubblegum notes. Fresh pine and cedar notes too, with hot red pepper. A chracteristic, terrori-driven meritage that finishes with style.

Coudoulet de Beaucastel Cotes du Rhone 2005 **

This is very close to being the ideal table wine. The 2005, while less aromatic and less accessible than the spectacular 2004, is denser, darker, and more robust. Floral and spice notes on the nose. It has dark berries, good ground pepper spice, and some loam, with refreshing balance and graphite on the finish. This was $30 at retail on the Upper West Side, which is a 50% price jump from the 2004, so it falls somewhere between house-wine price and Cellar Selection, but I'd still put a couple bottles aside to see how they evolve.

Texier 2005 Cotes du Rhone

I don't know why I haven't gotten around to writing about this wine, but ... Obviously, this wasn't a stunner. We actually drank this shortly before we opened the Duvel from Belgium. It had some interesting prune and varied purple fruit notes, but it came off flat. It's a toss off wine I guess from an excellent vintage, and for less than $20, a good one to pull out of the fridge at 11pm with friends.

Dom. Dupasquier Roussette de Savoie "Altesse" 2006 **

This was sumptuous, and hard to define. Both lively and ample, with floral notes, dried apricots, kiwi, quince, and toast. According to Oz Clarke, wines that are designated as Roussette de Savoie AOC are blended with up to 50% chardonnay, although those marked specifically as "Altesse," as this was, will be made from this grape only. At under $20, this was a great bargain, and a wonderful introduction to the wines of Savoie.

Tomaiolo Chianti Classico Riserva 2004 **

A very perfumed, deeply colored Chianti Classico, with a rich bouquet of earth tones, tar and whole anise seed, and ripe berry medley on the palate.  Starts with refreshing acidity, and finishes with well balanced tannins.  One of the most enjoyable Chianti Classicos in recent memory.