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Yalumba Y-Series Viognier, 2014
Much trumpeted, poorly executed. A simple, innocuous, pale imitator of Viognier. And we are big proponents of obscure grapes. Just had a wonderful Cos Pithos Bianco in NYC which was gorgeous. And in a Brooklyn Michelin starred restaurant the server recommended a Californian Celadon Grenache Blanc, hands down the most food friendly and versatile white […]
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Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne-Boutinet Sauvage, 2010
CDR Villages for $30. Better be good. Hmmm. First, I’m shocked at how many great reviews there are for this wine which, sure, has stupendous legs, but it needs much more time in the bottle, and has what the vineratti call intensity and/or is forward on the attack. If, like me, you open it now, […]
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Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut Champagne
Happy Chinese New Year! I didn’t celebrate CNY but I did celebrate Valentine’s (not alone of course!) and look at my gift. A $70 bottle of sparkling. Oooh la la. Came with its own cool pack. I fell head over heels for this rich, creamy Champers. Then I went to BC Liquor and saw […]
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Moss Wood Margaret River Chardonnay, 2010
Crap. As in holy crap, er, Holy Crap I guess. Bone dry, startlingly low oak, pure fruit that crosses between honeydew and cantaloupe without one smidgen of syrup (cantaloupe, what the Australians call rock melon, that’s a much better descriptor, it catches that stoniness of the fruit), crisp, tiny little pasty notes that leave you […]
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Emplacement Walla Walla Syrah, 2012
Americans need to stop saying Syrah. It’s as affected as toe-mah-toe. Still, that’s a rant for another day. This is a full on crazy ass kick in the pants walloping of red. All the leather you’d expect in Grenache and all the spice you’d hope for in Cabernet. This is headstrong but softly romantic. It’s […]
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Array Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, 2010
Unctuous. Although, I know, a much under-used and mis-used word because I don’t mean oily or minerally I mean virtuous. OK: Good. Very good. None of that grating severity common in unoaked chardonnay. Has all the warmth of a much finer, more refined white. But who am I to say this isn’t refined? It’s […]