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February 28, 2005

03 Joh. Jos. Prum, Riesling Kabinett

This wine is so dense with fruit that the nose, even though young and closed, still manages to reveal a bouquet of overrripe pear and smoky minerals. The sweetness is surprisingly high and matched with some acidity and traces of carbonation. The strength of this wine is in the sheer enormity of its flavors (pear and red apple). Reminiscent of the Beaumalric Muscat de Beaumes Venise or an off-dry chenin blanc. [See comment]

4 Comments:

Blogger caveman said...

Nice to have you back, though I think I caught your cold. Prum, Riesling, I want this stuff running in my taps. The 2002 took a couple of months to get off the yeasts.. I drank a 90 Spatlese recently, you can't imagine the sheer beauty, so pretty, so rich... I could go on and on and on...
Caveman

9:10 PM  
Blogger 750 mL said...

I completely agree with your sentiments about Prum, but what exactly do you mean by "get off the yeasts?"

1:22 PM  
Blogger caveman said...

losing that carbonation.

10:26 PM  
Blogger 750 mL said...

Not surprisingly, Wine Spectator just reported that 2003 was exceedingly ripe in Germany. "Because the heat accelerated maturation, the minimum ripeness harvested by many estates was auslese level. As a result, many of the less-expensive QbAs, kabinetts and spatlesen are actually declassified auslesen" (4/30/05). If this Prum is any indication, Wine Spectator couldn't be more right.

11:46 AM  

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February 25, 2005

05 Me, Sick

Sorry readers, but I am out sick this week. After a strong year and a half of wonderful immunity, I have finally caught a cold. Chapoutier's 1998 La Mordoree will have to wait. This website has debuted strongly, and I thank all of you from across the United States, Canada, Spain, France, Italy, Japan, Brazil, and many other parts of the world who check in so often. I love hearing from you, so please post your comments -- even if only to say hello.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

When you are sick it is time to switch from wine to good scotch, helps purge the evils. Get well soon and I look forward to more reviews in the future.

12:09 PM  
Blogger 750 mL said...

Thanks for the kind note, buddy. You wouldn't believe this 1965 Springbank I've been having. This, however, is a time for Vosges hot chocolate.

12:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sounds great. Purge the evils and get back to drinking.

9:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry, that post was from me but the signature got all screwed up.

9:45 PM  

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February 23, 2005

00 Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco

Dark berries and cocoa on the palate complement the nice, floral aromatics. Simple, but structured well enough to keep it interesting, with dry tannins on the tongue in the finish. Very well balanced and comparable to a good Barbera.

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February 21, 2005

02 Geantet-Pansiot, Gevrey-Chambertin VV

This is the most explosively fruit-forward red Burgundy I've had yet. It reminds me more of Oregon at first, but has Old World minerality and structure similar to Piedmont in the finish. Perfumey, powdery aromas of flowers, white cake, stones, and shells. Not really ready to drink for another several years -- hell, the wine didn't change at all while open for 3 days -- the young palate is nevertheless full with ripe cherries, raspberries, tart cranberries, and meat fat.

3 Comments:

Blogger 750 mL said...

I didn't have this with food, but I think it would go very well with grilled salmon. Though difficult, it's a wine worth trying at this stage (before sticking the rest of your case in the cellar until 2010).

12:30 PM  
Blogger caveman said...

I have yet to drink any bottles from Geantet but I do love my Gevrey (Sylvie Esmonin in particular)... 2002 right off the boat can be a bit weird.. sometimes a month or two is enough to set them straight.. though there is nothing like well-aged burgundy..And do you mean by the allusion to Piedmont that expansive feeling in the mouth? I thought about that last week... nice post.
Bill

11:47 AM  
Blogger 750 mL said...

Expansive, but still leathery -- really just young, I guess, but something made me think of Piedmont. Actually, I rather like your way of putting it better than mine. Honestly, I don't think a month or two is enough for this one. I definetly wouldn't drink another bottle for several years. This sucker's gonna age really well.

1:24 PM  

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February 18, 2005

99 Fontanabianca, Barbaresco

Still young, but blossoming quickly in the glass to a wine of solid substance -- chewy and plush. Classic bouquet of sweet, perfumey berries and chocolate sauce with clean, nuanced fruit on the palate. A strong showing, but perhaps a bit innocuous.

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February 16, 2005

NV Porto Rocha, 10 Years Old Port (2003)

Faded ruby color with flattering tinges of orange. Vibrant, floral aromatics predicate the big grapey fruit, light caramel, and violets on the palate. Clean and elegantly structured for a port.

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February 15, 2005

03 L'Ecole No. 41, Walla Voila Chenin Blanc

A summery sweet orange bouquet wafts out of the glass and I know, if nothing else, this is going to be fun. Sparkling enough to compensate for a general lack of acidity, this chenin is saturated with orange, red grapefruit, and lemon popsicles on the tongue. If wine were a woman, this would be her lips.

3 Comments:

Blogger 750 mL said...

My girlfriend thought it was too sweet. It went rather well with homemade Szechuan tofu lo-mein and avocado nori rolls. If it was warmer out, I'd drink this by the case. Thanks so much for visiting the site! I hope you enjoy the wine.

10:17 AM  
Blogger caveman said...

Nilay, are we in the Loire here? I am a chenin monster and have necer heard of this wine... isn't chenin great?
caveman

8:00 AM  
Blogger 750 mL said...

No, not the Loire, my man. L'Ecole 41 is in Washington. This is a bit flabbier than the Loire chenins I've had, but many others have compared this to good, off-dry Loire wine.

6:15 PM  

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February 13, 2005

01 Garretson, The Limoid Cior Roussane

The tight, stony nose opens up the next day to a gorgeous bouquet of white flowers, candied mandarin oranges, and lightly smoky acid. The palate comes with the fullness expected of roussane -- the dense white varietal made for pan-fried catfish or sea bass -- but also a clean, floral finish that highlights flavors of citrus and sweet cream.

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February 10, 2005

01 Enate, Crianza

Though mostly tempranillo, the 30% cabernet shows here, lending a heavy raspberry and cassis balance with loads of spicy, brambly berries. Brown butter and mushrooms. Clearly Spanish and clearly tempranillo because of its hot fruit, yet also decidedly New World with plush dark fruit, high alcohol in the back of the throat, and hedonistically creamy oak on the finish. Over time in the glass the fruit evolves to strawberries, sweet cherries, and creme fraiche.

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February 07, 2005

99 Villa St. Anna, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Raw. Tuscan. Power. Expressively funky like a ripe Priorat. Very earthy and leathery with some mild, muddled cherry fruit. Grippy tannins and looming acid. This is aggressive sangiovese that could go toe-to-toe with brunello any day.

2 Comments:

Blogger caveman said...

strange, most vino nobile tends to be much softer and riper sangiovese than brunello. Try the Carpineto 99, soft, rich and juicy.

7:18 AM  
Blogger 750 mL said...

You're right, but 99 was a powerful vintage and some crazy wines did come out of it. For that more seductive style of nobile, I like the 99 Romeo http://750ml.blogspot.com/2005/01/99-romeo-vino-nobile-di-montepulciano.html

However, the rusticity of the 99 Villa St. Anna is not surprising for a wine imported by Rosenthal. His taste is distinctively sauvage.

10:27 AM  

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February 03, 2005

03 Sole di Puglia, Rosso

Undertones of extracted pinot noir with dark raspberries and spicy cherry compote. Dense, with a midpalate of caramelized mushrooms. Structured Chianti-like tannins and acid. This is supposed to be a rustic blend of primitivo and nero d'avola, but the cherry's so pure, the wine so soft and welcoming. Yeah, it gets a little steamy on the finish, but the fruit never thins -- pan drippings and strawberry poke through -- and I couldn't care less anyway. Thanks, Italy.

3 Comments:

Blogger 750 mL said...

Look out for bottle variation -- some are really rustic and much less fruit-forward. They're just as good, though.

12:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I picked this up at the coner store for $3.00 US (on sale)...It was on sale, and someone said it was good...So I tried it..I have since bought the store out, because it was the best wine I have had for under $15...AND I CAN get 5 for that price...

9:57 AM  
Blogger 750 mL said...

Thanks a lot for your comments. Nice to hear there are still good values on the market. What was it about the wine that you enjoyed so much? Did you try it with any food?

10:06 AM  

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February 02, 2005

01 Domaine Monpertuis, Cepage Counoise

This counoise-based blend from Ramiere in the southern Rhone is a rustic country wine with tons of street cred. Refusing to hide behind anything from oak to even a smidgen of more traditional varietals, this Monpertuis (by Paul Jeune) is a puttanesca sauce blended with plums and passed through a juicer. Salty green olives dominate the palate along with wet, earthwormy soil and a Priorat-like nose of spring mornings at the farm. Smoky, Aztec chocolate. If any one part of this wine were on its own, it would be completely undrinkable. The whole, however, is a treasure of balance (and bravery) that could just as easily have ended up in the cab of some tractor north of the Mediterranean as it has in my glass.

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