A. & P. de Villaine, Mercurey, Les Montots, 2006
The winery and fellow Villaine occultists say this wine needs age. Even Meadows says to hold until 2012. But I have been on a Burgundy binge since 2010 started and anyway I found a new stash at Hinawi, so here we go. On the nose I find earthy, red cherry fruit that takes some coaxing to open up and has a focused wildness about it, with hints of cocoa and much broader strokes of funky minerals. The palate is wiry and angular, with no flab and has a juicy acidity, which you can almost sense on the nose, yet the whole thing is grounded by a stemmy sensation, albeit one which melts away into the fruit in time, thus the structure is comprised of high and bass notes, with little in the middle ground for now. (Feb. 4, 2010)
Imported by Tomer Gal. Hinawi salesmen quote a different price each time I pay a visit and I believe I paid 150 NIS this time.
Domaine du Closel, Savennieres, Caillardieres, 2003
Another encounter with my reformed nemesis* finds a nose masquerading as a wild, heady, fuel-injected apple cider backed by unique, ash-like mineral notes, while the palate is full-bodied and packed with flavors almost to the edge of exhaustion - or would be if the complex, mineral and almond laced finish did somehow curb the hedonistic tendencies. No one will ever mistake this for an elegant wine, but then again, why should they? While I favor elegance and restraint, an idiosyncratic brute such as this is a welcome guest every once in a winter's night. (Feb. 5, 2010)
Giaconda, 135 NIS.
* The reason I'm not linking to a previous note is there are too many tasting notes describing my personal voyage in Closel-land, a voyage that starts with utter dislike and ends with weird fascination.
Chateau Fontenil, Fronsac, 2003
Yes, I know Michel Rolland's home chateau should be too modern-styled for my tastes but I like it and it's a good value for what I paid for it on discount. The nose is dense and constrained, only slowly revealing hints of black fruit that lurk behind a lattice of herbs and wet charcoal. The palate is compact and closed, again hiding any traces of black fruit beneath grainy, dusty tannins and what is quite decent acidity for the vintage. Perhaps the wine's personality is not typical Bordeaux but its balance is. (Feb. 6, 2010)
Bought on sale at WineRoute for 160 NIS.
Leitz, Rheingau, QBA, Dragonstone, 2005
The funnest drink in town. (Feb. 10, 2010)
Giaconda, 98 NIS.
Falesco, Montiano, 2003
The nose is very Mediterranean in its roasted, herbal character - mint, chives - with hints of chocolate and coffee embracing red and black cherries. And it improves in glass, gaining evocative complexity, but at the end of the day, I need to drink the wine, not just sniff it and the palate doesn't get as far as the nose. It is is dry, which is good, with no hint of the hot 2003 vintage - if anything the fruit is overwhelmed by the tannins, which drench and coat my tongue on the finish. But it lacks depth and a little life. The last bottle was much better. (Feb. 11, 2010)
WineRoute snatched this producer by Anavim. I bought two bottles for 300 NIS about two years ago.
Koehler-Ruprecht, Pfalz, Kalstadter Steinacker, Scheurebe Spatlese, 2005
This wine always shows textbook Scheurebe guayava aromatics, overlain with typical Koehler touches of herbal vegetable soup, brioche and chalk, even a touch of cardamon. The palate as always is a touch austere, tasty and crisp - even fairly complex - on the one hand, while on the other hand something about the acidity always bothers me. It's in place for sure, in correct proportions, yet lacks a bit of zest and doesn't balance the bitter, pip-like sensations on the finish. This, in my experience, is common to all the wines in the K-K portfolio and is why I've started approaching them with intellectual curiousity more than pleasure per se, but the style works better with Scheurebe and thus I keep coming back to this small-scale charmer. (Feb. 12, 2010)
Giaconda, 117 NIS.
Roger Sabon, Chateuneuf-du-Pape, Reserve, 2004
This nose, man, it really is a Kodak moment of everything great about the South Rhone, with mellow black fruit, garrigue, leather and rust. And it's been a while since I've enjoyed a South Rhone palate this much, probably since my last Beaucastel or Pegau. The structure is very good, in a rustic way, with decent acidity and drying, rusty/rustic tannins meshing with ripe fruit. The finish is long and fairly complex, with tons of spicy personality. This wine can surely play with the big boys. (Feb. 13, 2010)
WineRoute, about 170 NIS. A bargain, glad I bought it, should have bought much more.
Marc Tempe, Burgreben, Riesling, 2001
I hate it when this happens: I should have bought more. This is so typically Alsatian, I thought I'd only need two bottles, but it's very much a solid, no-frills sample, with smoky-spicy peaches and apples apples and a long, quinine finish that turns honeyed over time. (Feb. 19, 2010)
Giaconda, 160 NIS.
Deux Montilles, Rully, 2006
This isn't very complex or deep but plays its cards very deftly, spelling out "house wine". An exemplary one-two punch: gunpowder, flowers and citrus fruit on the nose; succulent fruit and vibrant acidity on the palate. Alix rocks. (Feb. 20, 2010)
Tomer Gal, about 120 NIS.
Domaine du Colombier, Crozes-Hermitage, Primavera, 2006
As always, I love the nose, which is chock-full of goodies, even if it doesn't present them in a particularly nuanced fashion: raw meat, olives, iron filings, pepper and smoke, with plums in the background. The palate is fruitier and much more one-dimensional and has only adequate concentration or length. But it is very succulent and saline with a soft yet grainy feel. (Feb. 24, 2010)
Giaconda, 110 NIS.
A. Et P. De Villaine, Bouzeron, 2006
Maybe the novelty has worn off - although I suspect storage conditions at Hinawi, where I found this bottle on the shelves over two years after release - but this is the first time this wine has impressed me as being "just" a quaffer. I understand the wine and grape better now, the way they behave like distant cousins of Bourgogne Chardonnay (citrus cum pear with a mineral overlay and much less fat on the palate), but sadly, this bottle, by the time I straightened out the family tree, had started to fade away without leaving a very great impression on my palate. (Feb. 25, 2010)
Tomer Gal, about 80 NIS.
J. L. Chave, St. Joseph, Offerus, 2006
This is a nice quaffer, the 2006, sort of like a peppery Gamay. The nose is fruity in typical north Rhone fashion, with cranberries, strawberries and black pepper; but the palate, while pure, savory, and tasty, is on the soft side and the tannins disappear in mid-palate. Later, while they start to assert themselves on the short finish, it's really a matter of too little, too late. I miss the sexier 2003 - which didn't just turn my head, it made me positively swivel and drool - however, as the 2006 does improve with air, maybe it will age like a Gamay or a Pinot and pick up some weight and structure in the cellar. (Feb. 26, 2010)
WineRoute, 135 NIS. Good value in a good vintage.
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