Home | Wine Reviews | Wine Journals | Updates

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 More New Wines - June 18, 2014

We tried last night (6/18/14) Some More New Wines:

  1. Denis & Didier Berthollier AC: Chignin Bergeron (13.5%; Roussanne) Chignin/Savoie 2010: Med.gold color; classic Rouss/honeysuckle/honeyed rather stony/mineral slight spicy/nutmeg very attractive Rouss nose; quite tart/lean rather stony/mineral low-key/quiet Rouss/honeysuckle/honeyed slight tangy/metallic bit textured flavor; very long stony/mineral/metallic low-key Rouss/honeyed/honeysuckle/ floral fairly tart/lean finish; a very interesting wirey/lithe expression of Rouss w/ a slight richness and not austere/eviscerated in any way; this is how they'd make Rouss on the extreme SonomaCoast if they could; lovely Rouss at a great price. $22.00 (Gom)
    __________________
  2. ThierryTissot Rousette du Bugey Mataret Altesse AC: Bugey (12.5%) Vaux en Bugey 2009: Light gold color; quite fragrant/perfumed apple/pear/apple blossom/slight floral light stony/earthy very pretty nose; lightly tart somewhat floral/apple blossom/apple/pear interesting cotton-candy light earthy/stony/mineral flavor; med.long lightly tart Fuji apple/pear/floral/apple blossom finish; a pretty/light/brisk/zippy white w/ nice stoney character at a fair price. $27.00 (BWM)
    __________________
  3. Dom.du Pelican Savagnin Ouille AC: Arbois (12.5%) Marquis d'Angerville/Arbois/Jura 2012: Med.light gold color; very strong toasty/oak/smokey/butterscotch light earthy/dusty nose w/ little fruit; rather tart/lean/stony some tangy/earthy/dusty some toasty/charred/oak slight citric/grapefruity/orange brisk/light/zippy flavor; med.long stony/earthy/mineral light toasty/oak finish w/ little fruit; very strong charred oak on the nose but not as bad on the palate; this is how they would make Savagnin in Burgundy if they could; a pleasant/interesting/zippy white at a Burgundy GC price point. $58.00 (BWM)
    __________________
  4. deForville Chard DOC: Piemonte Ca'del Buc (13%; 33 yr old vines) Barbaresco 2012: Med.light gold color; rather chalky/stony/mineral some pineapple/mango/Chard/ripe melon light toasty/oak slight Chablis-like interesting nose; rather tart/lean earthy/chalky/lean/tangy light pineapple/melon/Chard interesting flavor; fairly long light pineapple/melon/Chard rather chalky/stony/dusty finish; more like a lightweight Chablis than anything; nice enough Chard but not agonna set the Chard world afire. $21.00 (BWM)
    __________________
  5. Dom.de Montbourgeau AC: l'Etoile (13%; "Chard" + Savagnin) Nicole Deriaux/l'Etoile/Jura 2009: Med.gold color; slight oxidized/nutty rather phenolic/apple cider/savory/resiny/orangey little fruit complex/interesting nose; rather tart/tannic/teeth-chattering/austere very strongly phenolic/cidery/ resiny/savory/pickle juice no fruit flavor w/ slight oxidative/nutty character; long very tart/tangy/austere/ teeth-chattering very phenolic/resiny/cidery finish w/ no evident fruit; very much like a Calif extended-skin-contact white w/ its high tannins levels; a rather interesting wine but pretty painful to drink. $27.00 (Gom)
    __________________
  6. Ch. d'Arlay AC: Cotes du Jura Blanc ("Chard"/Savagnin; www.Arlay.com; 13%) Prop/Comte A.de Laguiche/Arlay 2007: Med.dark gold color; very strong oxidized/fino sherry quite phenolic/apple cider/resiny/savory bit smoked hot dog complex nose; fairly tart/tangy/austere fino sherry/oxidized some phenolic/savory rather bitter flavor; long rather oxidized/fino sherry/mineral/earthy light phenolic/resiny finish; lots of very austere/mineral fino sherry character and some oxidation. $28.00 (LM)
    __________________
  7. Dom.du Ch.d'Arlay "Chard" a la Reine AC: Cotes du Jura (13%; www.Arlay.com) Arlay 2005: Med.gold color; strong fino sherry/oxidized some phenolic/nutty/orangey/resiny/savory complex nose; fairly oxidized slight resiny/phenolic/orangey some austere/tannic/tangy bit bitter flavor; long somewhat phenolic/resiny/sacory/cidery rather tannic/bitter light oxidation/fino some tannic/bitter finish; much like #6 but less oxidation and more phenolic/skin-contact character; an interesting wine but rather painful to drink. $21.50 (Gom)
    __________________
  8. MichelGahier "Chard" AC: Arbois (VendangesManuelles; 12.5%; LaFauquette) Montigny les Arsures/Jura 2009: Med.gold color; rather phenolic/apple cider/very orangey/slight smoked hot dog very fumey/EA/finger nail polish remover raging volatile complex nose; quite hot/fumey/EA/volatile some phenolic/orangey/cider flavor; very long very fumey/volatile/EA some phenolic/orangey/cidery finish; some interesting things therein but pretty much destroyed by the raging volatility, one of the highest I've seen since I last sampled my vinegar; way overpriced at $39.00 (BWM)
    __________________
  9. Benedicte & Stephane Tissot Poulsard VieillesVignes AC: Arbois (12%) 2012: Very light ruby red/cranberry color; rather dusty/earthy somewhat black pepper light cherry/Pinotish slight meaty/sausage quite interesting nose; rather tart/lean quite earthy/dusty/Kansas root cellar meaty/sauvage/sausage rather black pepper/spicy/cherry very interesting flavor w/ light tannic bite; long light/delicate quite dusty/earthy slight bretty light cherry/Pinotish slight black pepper/spicy finish w/ light/dusty tannins; a quite interesting light/earthy/ Pinotish kind of red. $28.50 (CB)
    __________________
  10. Dom. Berthet-Bundet Rubis AC: Cotes du Jura (12.5%; www.Berthet-Bondet.net; 45% Trousseau/ 45% Poulsard/10% Pinot Noir) Chat.Chalon/Jura 2012: Very light red/ruby slight bricking color; very fragrant/perfumed light pungent very cherry/mineral/citric slight ozone/pungent complex nose; light/ delicate very bright cherry/Pinotish bit tannic/hard/lean some earthy/dusty flavor; very long tart/earthy/ dusty bright/cherry/cherry pie/Pinotish some earthy/mineral/citric delicate finish w/ light/dusty tannins; lots of pretty cherry fruit but that classic earthy/dusty character. $25.50 (Gom)
    __________________
  11. Ottocento Crna Kualitetna ClaiBijele Zemlje Rosso Istria (12.9%; Louis/Dressner Selections; louisdressner.com/producers/Clai; Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Refosco) Republika Hrvatska/Croatia 2010: Very dark color; rather strong toasty/oak/international some grapey/plummy slight herbal bit earthy/loamy interesting nose; soft strong toasty/oak strong plummy/grapey/Merlot slight herbal some earthy/dusty/loamy flavor w/ some soft tannins; med. long rather toasty/oak strong plummy/grapey light earthy/loamy finish w/ modest/hard tannins; pretty international in style; quite overpriced at $43.00 (BWM)
    __________________
  12. Tikves BarovoVnyds (14.5%; 50% Vranac/Kratosija(Zinfandel); www.Tikves.com.MK) PhilippeCambie/Macedonia 2010: Very dark color; strong plummy/blackberry/boysenberry/ jammy/ grapey/very ripe light earthy/mushroomy some toasty/charred/oak nose; soft/ripe/fat strong plummy/ grapey/boysenberry/blackberry/confected light earthy/mushroomy/loamy flavor w/ light/soft tannins; med.long some toasty/oak strong/ripe/jammy/boysenberry/plummy/grapey rather earthy/loamy finish w/ light/soft tannins; this is how they'd make Vranac in Chateauneuf if they could; a dead-ringer for a very ripe Lodi Zin; very international in style. $22.00 (BWM)


The usual bloviations from TheBloodyPulpit:

1. "Chard": Chardonnay & Savagnin are the only two white grapes recognized by the AOC folks in the Jura. However, the "Chard" in the Jura is not Chardonnay...but a distinct/separate variety known as Melon Queue Rouge, Melon with the "red tail" from the red color of the stalks. That Melon is not related to the Melon of Muscadet. Some people believe the MQR to be a mutation of Chard, but it is a separate variety. A good discussion can be found: brooklynguyloveswine.blogspot.com/2010/06/melon-queue-rouge-what-is-it-exactly.html
__________________
2. Chignin/Rousette: Chignin Bergeron is the local Savoie name for the Roussanne grape of the Rhone. Rousette is not the same as Roussanne. At one time, it was thought to be related to Furmint, but DNA has disproved any relation to that Hungarian grape. It shares some of the DNA markers of Chasselas, which suggests it may have come from Switzerland.
__________________
3. Savagnin: This is a variety that appears to originate in the Jura. At some point, it mutated to form a Savagnin Rose, which apparently is the original GWT that eventually showed up near Tramin in the AltoAdige. Savagnin, back in the early days of grapes, was on ornery little guy who spread his sperm far & wide in the area. He has multiple progeny that originate in the Jura and went on to fame & fortune in other venues. This Pelican is the first vintage of a Jura venture by Marquis d'Angerville, famed vintner of Burgundy. The "Ouille" indicates that the barrel was kept topped up (made in a reductive manner) and not allowed to go "sous voile"; a practice that is not all that common in the Jura I gather.
__________________
4. "sous voile": Some/many of the Jura whites are made "sous voile", under a veil. This technique is that the barrels are not kept topped up and a headspace develops. On the surface of the wine, a thin veil of yeast forms, similar to the flor yeast of fino sherry. This is an indigenous/natural yeast and has been shown to not be the same as Sherry's flor yeast. This "sous voile" is suppoosed to protect the wine from oxidation. My limited experience is that most of these "sous voile" wines show some degree of oxidation. A good discussion is:
brooklynguyloveswine.blogspot.com/2009/05/technique-and-terroir-in-jura.html
__________________
5. Reds: The last two reds were pretty disappointing. Very international in style and very much lacking in authenticity and very cookie-cutter reds. I was hoping for a little more rustic & interesting reds. The
Croatian red was the first Istrian red I'd ever seen, where Malvasia Istriana dominates. They have a lot of Teran/Terrano planted there, which is a member of the Refosco family. Why they'd plant Merlot & Cabernet there is beyond me. I bought the wine because I had no idea what it was. The label was entirely in Croatian and totally unreadable. Croatia is currently being taken to EU court over the use of the Teran name by Slovenia, which claims that is the traditional Slovene name for that grape.
__________________
6. Jura Whites: These first three Jura whites (#'s 5/6/7) were pretty typical of many of the Jura whites I've had. They are fascinating/interesting/unusual wines but not a style that appeals to many drinkers. These three had a distinct phenolic character that reminds me of the current crop of skin-contact whites being played around with in Calif. They are not very pleasant to taste and were mostly reviled by my group. They badly need food to go with them. A blended the three together and had them the next night.

Fentunta is one of my favorite apps. Classic Tuscan garlic bread. Take thickly-sliced artisinal bread,
brush lightly w/ olive oil, grill on an open flame until toasted, rub a fresh garlic clove over the surface
(to whatever degree you desire), drizzle w/ primo olive oil, sprinkle w/ sea salt. Absolutely delicious.
If you use a whole garlic clove, you are guaranteed not to have a problem that night w/ either vampires nor amorous spouses (since I've not had one for 20 yrs...and certainly not one of the amorous kind..snicker/snicker.. I haven't had to worry about the latter. However..the girlfriend...a whole nuther subject!!). But it's kept the vampires at bay, it seems.

With my fentunta last night, the Jura blend was positively delicious...a pleasure to drink. I used a whole clove on each slice and it left my mouth afire..like eating a raw habanero. It was a pleasant pain. And again no vampires last night. And since the girlfriend is in Switzerland....well.....TMI.
__________________
7. Poulsard/Trosseau: Two pretty interesting red varieties. Poulsard apparently comes from that hotbed of grape sex...the France-Comte. One of my most favorite of cheeses. Trousseau apparently originated in the Jura itself. Also know as Bastardo in Portugal, where it goes into Oporto and occasionally a single-variety Madeira. Both make kind of light/earthy reds, not too unlike Schiava. There is some Bastardo plantings in Calif. The gris version, TrosseauGris, was once widely planted in Calif...where it was known as GrayRiesling. Skin-contact TrosseauGris is a hot/new wine amongst hipster winemakers...but...at the end-of-the-day...it's just another "god-forsaken" variety.

TomHill

[Additional Wine Reviews from Tom Hill]

 

Home | Wine Reviews | Wine Journals | Updates

Copyright © 1993 - 2014, Tom Hill - All rights reserved
No original material may be reproduced without written consent
Mail & Comments - Grape-Nutz
Updated 6.28.14