Moving the house put the breaks on regular updates for the short term. Below are my quick notes for some of the highlights of the last few weeks:

Haand Bryggeriet ‘Dark Force’ Wheat Stout: Soup-like density and robustness. Prunes, bitter-cocoa, Kenyan coffee, currant on the nose and palate. Large-scaled, but not gobby. Hop character livens and balances. Extroardinary stout - one of the most compelling I’ve had.

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA: Nervy hopped character and citric fruited nose. Smooth palate transition, integrated and flowing. I wouldn’t go so far as to say elegant, but definitly more finessed than the Avery and Founders. Pure pleasure.

Founders ‘Double Trouble’ Imperial IPA: Richer in body and slightly sappier on the palate than the DFH 90 - but in a very similar class quality-wise. Maybe a pinch less residual sugar or molasses character would suite my palate more, but this is a very solid IIPA that would pair well with cheeses or spicier cuisine.

Avery ‘Maharaja’ Imperial IPA: A one-two punch of  vibrant grapefruit hoppiness on the frontend, and carmelly maltiness on the back. Extreme, but tasty despite being disjointed. Too fierce to daily drinking.

Dark Horse Sapient Trip Ale: The Belgian Trippel is a difficult style to own, and this comes reasonably close but ultimately doesn’t take me anyplace new. Bananas, white raisins, clove and coriander on the nose. Great lacing and carbonation, yet the overall character is a bit fat and laborious on the palate. Candied sweetness on the backend and  not the last word in complexity. Fair, but Fin du Monde has more flair as far as New World Trippels I Would Drink First.

Domaine Guion Bourgueil ‘Cuvee Domaine’ 2007: As solid a cabernet franc as you will find for sub-$15.  On the riper side on the nose, but brightly fresh and clean on the palate. Correct, honest, natural and expressive, especially on the 2nd day, where the fruit subsided to revealed a tangy minerality on the back-end. I’m not sure of the estate’s soil, but there is a schisty-flintiness here that is unmistakable. House red. A Chambers Street Wines Direct Import.

Domaine De Reuilly ‘Blanc Les Pierres Plates’ 2007: Pungently cirtric - my mind goes straight to seafood - anything you’d squeeze a lemon on would be a beautiful partner. Shrimp, oysters, even lobster or crab. Some minerality on the backend, but right now the fruit is ruling the palate and nose.  A touch of grass too. Lightning acidity. There is clear quality here - it’s hard to find great Loire Sauvignon ~$20 that can compete with Sancerre and Pouilly Fume, but this can. A Kermit Lynch import.

Peybonhomme-les-Tours Bordeaux ‘Le Clairet de Peybonhomme’ 2007: Old-skool Clairet - created deliberately using very short (several hours?) of skin contact during maceration to pull a unique salmon-iron color. Character-ful and delicate - with Cabernet Franc and Merlot offering cherries, peppers , some herb-garden and floral notes  - clean and fresh, alive and fun. Killer value and fantabulously awesome label art that might be stolen from someone’s grandma’s boudoir. A Chambers Street Wines Direct Import.

Domaine de la Pépière, Clos des Briords, 2007, Muscadet sur Lie: Staggeringly precise and focused, with laser-beam acidity and mouthfulls of schisty good minerals. A ghost-like whiff of citrus and green apple (but the vast majority of the experience is just wet rocks here) on par with an excellent bone-dry Riesling or Chablis for a fraction of the price. On day 2 it traded some in some vigor for a slightly more harmonious midpalate. A new favorite of mine.

Duboeuf Julienas Chateau des Capitans 2005 Cru Beaujolais: I know Duboeuf stands for the Beaujolais ‘Establishment’ but they are partly responsible for bringing the region into the limelight in the 70’s and 80’s – in any case,  this bin-end bargain just surprised the heck out of me. Open for 3 days just with a cork, it evolved slowly and steadily without going over the hill.

Great Gamay tipicity, with ripe red cherries, sour red currant and graphity-pencil-box. The acidity could have used a little boost overall to my taste, but there was enough fruit and some juicy tannins to keep this wine alive for 3+ day. With time, it developed some eastern spice characteristics and relaxed a bit. Accessible and clean.

100% Chenin Blanc, Savienneres, Loire Valley, France

My first wine from banker-turned-biodynamic-zealot Nicholas Joly. This wine was offered as a great price from local wine-bar that seems to be doing things really right, Chalk. The also had the big brother, one of my ‘grail’  wines, the Coulée de Serrant - which is known for improving over the span of a week in the decanter.

The ‘03 Clos Sacres was born on a warmer year in the Loire, which typically means more exhuberance and ripe character than the classical ‘02 and ‘04. The color was a striking gold portenting richness and maybe some (good in my book) oxidation. On the nose, honey and flowers all over the place - chamomile, acacia, orange blossom - held together with a lemony core.

The palate, seductive and tricky - the nose pointed towards a more unctuous, sweet style, but the palate clearly maintained a central nerve of acidity and lift. Medium weight but altogether fresh, with some almond  nuttiness and some tropicalia coming through on the midpalate.  Finished long and dry, as Savennieres typically do. Beautiful pairing with sweetbreads or heartier fish dishes.

This is a living, evolving wine, which demands attention. I was crazy about it- and most of my friends enjoyed it and had to take a pause to think about how unusual it was.  Superb.  I hope I have the opportunity to try its big brother soon…

Jean-Philippe Charpentier, Vin de Pays des Coteaux de Peyriac Rouge, 2003: A clean, lean and elegant wine from around the Minervois region. I’ve no idea what the cepage is, but I believe there to be a good portion of Carignan and maybe some Mourvedre and Grenache. Strawberries, thyme and balsam zipping around of the palate. The sturdy structure integrated and smoothed out on the 2nd day - but started to fall apart after the third. Medium-full bodied and quitly confident. Crushed rocks and strawberry Pez on the finish - Priorat-like - I wouldn’t be surprised if some there was some schistey/rocky soils in the vineyard. A character-full wine for the price (>$15US) for fellow terroir-heads.

Bernard Baudry, Chinon ‘Franc de Pied’, 2002: This bottle jumped out to me on the wine-list of local wine-bar-restaurant Chalk - at a good price on a bottle I’ve rarely seen at retail. Popped and poured.

Baryard funkdified, murky and massively old-skool. I loved it, but my wife was less convinced, especially by the nose. Classic Cabernet Franc flavors like bell pepper, V8 juice, and cherries. Some curious curry and saddle-leather in the mix. Chewy and round palate - this wine is beautifully open right now and probably wil be for a year or 2. Medium-bodied and a good mate to the duck and burger we had. Unfortunately, this vineyard succumbed to phylloxera a few years ago  - 2006 being the final vintage.

Domaine Oratoire St Martin, Côtes du Rhône, 2005: Probably the most accessible and easiest to love of the 3 wines - this Grenache-based red was singing with a buckets of strawberries and blueberries, pepper-spice, and minerality. Some Quince and plum. Great aromatics - I could smell the fruits across the room. Killer body and palate -  a spicy attack, generous and round-mouthfilling middle, and a welcome acidic lift on the backend. Smacking gravelly finish. Food friendly and still on the upswing in terms of longevity - This will be a repeat performer at our place, no doubt.

~15$US, 100% Cabernet Franc, Bourgueil, Loire Valley, France

The unsung red wines from the Loire Valley tend to be my goto wines when I’m having trouble deciding on a food-wine pairing. They tend to be lighter-bodied than most domestic reds, and less of a gamble in the sub-$20 range in terms of oaking/manipulation/obliteration that can rob a younger wine of it’s food-friendlieness.

The major red grape of the Loire is Cabernet Franc (Cabernet Saugivnon’s old-school Dad - Sauvignon Blanc being the Mom), and in regions like Chinon and Bourgueil the varietal has been taken to great heights in terms of quality and experience. The best of these wines are very age-worthy and in the past they’ve held as much esteem as great Bordeaux. But as daily drinkers, they offer solid values for the old-world palate.

This entry-level Bourgueil is a little shy on the nose, but typical sugar-snap peas and bing cherries come through. The nose is echoed on the palate - but much more lively and snappy - with an over-riding cleanliness to the fruit. Some Bourgueils can get a little “boggy” with wet leaves and soggy tobacco - but this stays out of the muck with bright cherry and some hot spice (cinnamon?) flavors. Great acidity and medium-fine tannins make this terrific with any meat dish that has a lots of vegetables along with it.

Sleek but solid, and not over-the-top in any one aspect.

~$15US, Gamay / Pinot Noir Blend, Cheverny, Loire Valley, France

Cheverny is one of the many unheralded appellations within the Loire Valley a.k.a. The Garden of France. By appellation law both red and white  wines must be blends - so the actual mix is here unknown, but Gamay Noir and Pino Noir are both in play - predominately Gamay.

After popping there was definitely some barnyard funk and a rustic edge, so I decided to decant to let things blow off. After about an hour, aromas were much more harmonious; obvious cherries and something like the smell of the forest right after a rain…damp and earthy. Home-grown, understated, but over-achieving, like a back-woods guitar prodigy that can play like the devil, but doesn’t realize it’s anything special.

A great food partner with medium-bodied cuisine - nothing too exotic and bold, and nothing too delicate. Grilled pork, salmon, simple pastas, and goat cheeses all would make easy friends.

We tasted and enjoyed a bunch of French wines over the last week/weekend. It’s hard to pick a favorite; they all tasted great, but the Bougogne Blanc and the Beaujolais Village were the most distinctive and fun to drink.

Domaine Patrick Javillier, Bourgogne Blanc, ‘Cuvee des Forgets’, 2002: Beautiful soft lemon-drop core with long mineral-driven finish. Slight nuttyness. Sexy. Great with cheese and creamy sauces.

Terres Dorees, L’ancien Beaujolais Village, Vieilles Vignes, 2007: Fresh strawberries and bramble patch with a smokey, meaty midpalate. Tons of white pepper. Remains light-medium bodied, but bursting with fruit. Tight acidity and some tar on the back-and. Fabulous value and a controversial wine - I’d be scared to if I had to compete with village Beaujolais like this. Salmon or pork on the grill.

Château Picque-Caillou, Pessac-Leognan, 2005: Warm cedar, cherries and tobacco. Rich. Totally distinctive and almost renegade, with structure to carry it into the 2020s. With smoked duck, or bacon-wrapped fillets.

Jean-Luc Colombo, Cotes-du-Rhone Blanc, ‘La Redonne’ 2006: Bananas and peaches on the nose. Very well-balanced with enough acidity to keep it from the syrupy hot mess Viogniers sometimes go. Totally tropical on the palate and medium weight. A very solid summertime white, begging for grilled shrimp or steamed lobster.

François Pinon, Vouvray, ‘Cuvee Tradition’ 2006: In a dry style, but not overly lean. Finessed and elegant with pineapple, dried flowers and a gorgeous leesy-cheesy component on the nose. Poised but altogether light-hearted. With cheese or as an aperitif.

~$20US, 100% Chenin Blanc, Coteaux du Layon, Loire Valley

Classic Chenin nose, floral, with yellow peach and some woody aromas. Sweet and oily palate, left an overall cloying and flabby impression - just too much residual sugar and too little acidity to balance it. Not a bad dessert wine by any means - the fruit here is delicious and peachy clean but simple, just a little unbalanced. A good introduction to this producer that may improve with cellaring. If im going for a sweet Chenin, I’d rather lay down the extra cash for the more refined and age-worthy Baumard Clos Ste. Catherine, or Foreau’s Moelleuxs.

  ~$10US, 100% Chenin Blanc, Vouvray, Loire Valley  Refreshing, tropically-fruity, simple, and perfect with Indian curries.  A great value Vouvray with a riper balance, but enough acidity to keep it from cloying. Wines like this would be no-brainer additions to Asian and Indian restaurant wine lists, if more people got the word out. Worth putting one in the cellar for 3 years to see what happens. The bottle was gone before we expected it to be… 

~$25US, 100% Chenin Blanc, Savennières, Loire Valley.

Bright gold. Immediately engaging nose - pulled me in like a Ken Burns documentary with a dazzling array of aromas; Fresh-cut grass, quartz landscaping rocks, a creamy goat-cheese component, bok-choy, wet leaves and pavement after a summer rain, seashells, fresh peaches, toast, fresh-cut flower stems, not-quite-ripe strawberries - it just kept giving and evolving…The palate was as dry as the nose complex and subtle, but with razor-sharp tartness and brightness.

The wine manages an elegance and suaveness despite the acidity with a mouth-coating body, and a seamless transition through a long, minerally finish. With 6 years of age, this is just singing, and I believe it will continue to improve for at least another 4-5 years. It rocked with Korean fair and I’m seriously temped to sneak a bottle into the dim-sum joint next time. There is both subtlety and intensity, and working together they blow my mind. It’s my favorite kind of wine; one that is serious, but doesn’t take itself too seriously - it begs you to enjoy it without diving too deeply into it, but rewards you if you do.