Feldstein, Rousanne, 2018
I’ve had a weird love-hate thing going with Avi’s Rousanne since the first vintage. Sometimes it's racy and mineral-laden and sometimes the acidity has less verve and the profile is vaguely reminiscent of an orange wine. But I always look forward to drinking it. The 2018 might be my favorite so far, based on the bottle I drank last year. This time, because the acidity is understated, not to say dormant, I have a harder time enjoying it. But it has this waxy/nutty/ashy backdrop that I couldn't get out of my mind, so, hey, we’re interacting here!
I’ll tell you what it also has: as it opens up, the fruit and acidity liven up and the nose becomes more detailed and baked and herbal in a “what a lovely small is coming from the kitchen” way. And the spicy finish wraps the fruit with white pepper. So I ended up enjoying it, after a torturous passage.
Château Haut-Bergey, Pessac-Leognan, 2009
I've been drinking Haut-Bergey for quite a while now. It rarely excites me too much, but it's dependable. This bottle hit the glass ceiling. Tonight, it's as Old World as this wine ever gets, I guess, with graphite, earth, iron, sweet currants on the nose. The fruit and acidity are quite fresh, and overall, this is a moderately endowed claret, no more than decently complex, with a lightly tannic finish that gains presence without losing refinement. (Dec. 1, 2021)
Trediberri is a relative newcomer from the Berri hamlet near La Morra. The Langhe Nebbiolo is sourced primarily from their vineyards in La Morra and Roero, as well as vines grown next to Dolcetto vines in Vicoforte. Floral and a little candied, with pretty herbal notes after three hours, it presents the surface aspects of the grape, even with plenty of air never coming close to the really serious aspects of the grape, never mind any sense of terroir. While I don't necessarily look for a mini-Barolo/Barbaresco in my Langhes, I do look for some signature of place, so I'll seek my Langhes elsewhere, even if I have to pay a little extra.
Vincent Paris, Crozes-Hermitage, Selection, 2019
Year after year, Vincent Paris can be depended on for enjoyable, tasty, lithe reds that are quintessential North Rhone Syrahs. Even this red at Paris' lowest rung shows fresh black fruit, black pepper and a firm hint of minerals. There’s a dog-fight between fruit and tannins, which ends when they meet in a place where lightly rusty tannins gently embrace the juicy fruit.
d'Arenberg, Footbolt Shiraz, 2017
I like where the nose is going, even though it's not where I usually look for the little patches of beauty that makes my evening bright. There's a sort of bravado going on here, more than a touch of gruff, extroverted manliness: black fruit, black ink, black pepper, menthol, carobs. I wasn’t planning to write about it again and I wasn’t planning to buy more, but it turned out better than I'd hoped and it deserves to be complimented. It’s very good and there's very good acidity that balances the sweet tannins . (Nov. 26, 2021)
Luis Pato, Bairrada, Parcela Candido, 2018
I love Luis Pato's singe-vineyard reds and whites, but sometimes they don't quite meet my lofty expectations. The whites especially suffer from this highly raised bar. When the acidity is good, they are the most charming of alien creatures you could hope to spend an evening with. But the premium wines, the Parcela Candido and the Vinha Formal, can suffer from low acidity, which is weird, because I've never had this problem with the lower priced Vinhas Velhas regional white (I don't know if it has to do with the Vinhas Velhas being a blend or differences in harvesting dates and winemaking techniques). Whatever, this is the best Candido I’ve had for a while; the acidity is not great, but it's good enough to get the job done. Without it, you might mis-read the Candido as an orange wine, but it props and highlights the summer fruit character as well as the exotic spices that brand Portuguese whites as the wine world's Invasion From Mars. (Nov. 27, 2021)
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