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by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

Some New Wines - April 16, 2014

We tried last night (4/16/14) Some New Wines:

  1. JeanPerrier et Fils AC: Savoie Chignin Bergeron (CuveeGastronomie; 100% Roussanne; 12.5%) 2011: Light gold color; rather steely/mineral/stony/chalky quite fragrant/floral/pineapple/appley/mango very perfumed nose;light very appley/baked appley/apple blossom/floral/Rouss rather mineral/chalky/stony bit lean/light flavor;med.long pineapple/mango/baked apple some stony/chalky rather light/elegant/racey finish; very lovely/perfumed Roussanne and fairly rich for a Savoie white; great value at $19.00 (CB)
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  2. HerveSouhaut Dom.Romaneaux-Destezieit WW (12%; 90% Roussanne/10% Viognier; www.JennyAndFrancois.com;10 yr old vines just opposite the Hermitage hill/StJoseph) Arlebosc/ Ardeche 2012: Med.gold color; very strong Rouss/floral/honeyed/honeysuckle light peach slight earthy very aromatic nose; softer lusher/richer/textured honeyed/honeysuckle/floral/gardenia/Rouss slight earthy/stony flavor; very long ripe/lush/rich strong floral/gardenia/honeyed/honeysuckle/Rouss slight stony/earthy finish. $38.00 (BWM)
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  3. RoyalTokaji Furmint MezesMalyVnyd DryTokajiWine (13.5%; 1592 btls) 2009: Light golden color; rather exotic/perfumed somewhat earthy/chalky/stony some honeyed/mead-like (botrytis?) very interesting nose; quite tart/stony/earthy very honeyed/mead-like bracing but lush quite exotic flavor; very long honeyed/mead-like/floral slightly coarse some earthy/chalky finish; has some of the earthy/coarse character of artisinal honey; a pretty exotic wine and probably the best dry Furmint I've tried. $35.00 (CB)
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  4. Hatzidakis Nikteri Nyxtepi (15%; 100% Assyritko; www.hatzidakiswines.gr/en) Santorini/Greece 2009: Deep golden/amber color; very intense ripe/honeyed/insecticide almost passito-like quite perfumed/honeyed exotic nose; soft very rich/lush quite ripe/honeyed/loads of sweet/dried fruit almost (dry) passito-like very textured/creamy slight tangy/metallic very exotic flavor; very long/lingering soft/rich/lush ripe/honeyed/dried mango almost Auslese-like (but dry) finish; some like a dry passito; incredible stuff at a great price. $24.40 (CB)
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  5. WindGap PinotGris WindsorOaksVnyd/ChalkHill (12 1/2%; 10 brls/233 cs; #355; 100% skin-frmtd; 45+ days extended maceration) 2012: Deep gold/amber slight burnished bronze/pinkish color; rather phenolic/orangey/ earthy/Kansas hay mow/savory light floral/spicy complex nose; somewhat tangy/tannic rather phenolic/earthy/haymow slight floral/spicy rather dry/austere/savory flavor; very long/lingering rather phenolic/savory/earthy/dusty haymow slight spicy/floral/orangey quite savory/austere/tangy/rather tannic finish; doesn't offer up a lot of hedonistic pleasure but quite an interesting/savory skin-contact white. $32.00
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  6. AlaverdiMonasteryCellar Rkatsiteli Dry Unfltrd Amber Wine (13%; #447; www.since1011.com/en/) Kakheti/Georgia 2010: Very dark golden/amber/burnished bronze/slight brownish color; very strong honeyed/phenolic/bit oloroso sherry-like/slight oxidized some earthy/orangey slight smoked hot dogs rather exotic nose; very tart rather tannic/bitter bit orangey/honeyed some oxidized/oloroso sherry-like very dry/austere very savory/smokey flavor;very long quite dry/austere/tangy/bitter very savory finish much like a dry oloroso sherry; more of an intellectual pleasure than a sensual pleasure. $24.30 (CB)
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  7. JeanPerrier et Fils AC: Savoie Mondeuse (CuveeGastronimie; 12%) 2010: Med.color; very peppery/cold-climate bit herbal/rosemary/thyme/musky some plummy/black cherry/spicy lovely/classic Savoie Mondeuse nose w/ less earthy character than most; tart/lean/austere very cold-climate/black pepper some herbal/rosemary/musky slight plummy/black cherries flavor w/ some bitey tannins; very long tart/tangy/austere quite cold-climate/black pepper some bing cherries/plummy slight earthy/mineral finish w/ light angular/bitey tannins; one of the better Savoie Mondeuses. $17.00 (CB)
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  8. Lagier-Meredith Mondeuse MtVeeder/NapaVlly (40 cs; 14.8%) 2010: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Syrah-like/boysenberry/black cherry/ripe some herbal/rosemary light toasty/oak lovely nose; fairly tart intense blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry/some Syrah-like rather herbal/rosemary/musky light toasty/oak very exotic flavor w/ some hard/structured tannins; very long/lingering intense blackberry/plummy/licorice/boysenberry some herbal/musky/rosemary finish w/ big/structured tannins; one of the best Mondeuses I've had. $42.00
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  9. JacquesPuffeney Trousseau AC: Arbois Cuvee LesBarangeres (13%; MeBalP; www.MadRose.com) Montigny-Les-Arsures 2011: Rather light red color; rather earthy/dusty slight cherry/Pinotish/spicy fairly perfumed slight herbal/rootcellar/haymow interesting nose; light/lean/austere quite earthy/dusty bit herbal/root cellar rather delicate/earthy/Pinot-like slight cherry flavor w/ light/bitey tannins; med.long tart/lean quite earthy/dusty/root cellar/mineral slight funky/haymow slight cherry/Pinotish delicate/elegant finishw/ light/bitey tannins;pretty classic example of Arbois Trousseau. $45.00 (BWM)
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  10. Benedicte & Stephane Tissot Trousseau Singulier AC: Arbois (13%; www.stephane-tissot.com; Planted: 1930-2002) 2011: Med.light color; much stronger cherry/black cherry/griottes (always wanted to throw out that term in a TN like all the Monktown attourneys)/cherry pie some earthy/dusty/loamy interesting/complex nose; tart but bit softer/richer griottes/cherry pie/black cherry/Pinotish slight funky/earthy/dusty/loamy flavor w/ light/delicate tannins; very long light earthy/graphite/dusty/loamy strong black cherry/cherry pie finish w/ light modest tannins; lots of pretty cherry character stacked on a delicate/elegant framework. $38.50 (CB)
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  11. VIE Syrah LasMadresVnyd/Carneros/SonomaCnty (Clobe 174/300; 14.4%; www.VieWinery.com) 2006: Dark color w/slight bricking; strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/blueberry strong black olive/tapenade light toasty/oak fairly complex/older Syrah nose; slightly tart strong blueberry/Syrah/blackberry some black olive/tapenade/peppery/ spicy light toasty/oak bit earthy flavor w/ light/drying/astringent tannins; very long strong blueberry/blackerry/Syrah very spicy light toasty/oak finish w/ light/astringent tannins; a classic LasMadres Syrah that's at its peak or slightly beyond and starting to dry out a bit; beautiful mature Syrah.


And yet another tedious BloodyPulpit:

1. HerveSouhaut: I've been very/very impressed by the wines from this producer. They are a bit on the pricey side, but maybe worth it. His vnyds lie right across the river from the HermitageHill. Some are in the StJoseph AC, some are just outside, as I presume this one is. He also makes, from those same vnyds, some very old vine Gamay that is a most compelling wine.
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2. Many of these were from my recently arrived stash of wines from DarrellCorti. Some rathe exotic wines.
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3. Alaverdi: This qvervi-frmtd/qvervi-aged Georgian wine was one of the best ones of that genre I've tried. Many of them are so aldehydic in character that they're painful to drink. This one had quite not gone that far. Still...a face only a Mother...or sweet Alice...could love.
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4. JeanPerrier: This was my experience w/ this Savoie producer. I was very favorably impressed. Not sure what the CuveeGastronimie indicates, but would guess a special batch or selection by the importer.
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5. Mondeuse: Two extraordinary Mondeuses these were. When I first had the L-M '10 Mondeuse, I thought the fruit was so intense that it resembled their Syrah more than a Mondeuse. With a yr's age, it is starting to show a lot more of the herbal side of the grape. The '11, which we had several months ago, from a yr in which ripening the Mondeuse was tough, had a lot more herbal/rosemary/musky character then this '10. It was thoroughly trashed in Parker's review, given a 74, because of it's underripe/herbal character. He, of course, totally nailed that one...'cept he got the number wrong.
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6. Trousseau: An interesting variety in the Jura that seems to remind me more of a earthy/Pinot than anything. Of these two, I somewhat preferred the Tissot. They also remind me of AltoAdige Schiava and PetiteRouge. TrousseauGris is more common in Calif where there are some old-vine vnyds that contain it, under its old name of GrayRiesling. It has sorta become the darling grape for those making skin-contact whites and orange wines that the hip Somms go ape-$hit over. Some of them a pretty interesting (the wines..not the Somms).

TomHill

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