Domine du Haut Châssis Croze-Hermitage ‘Les Galets’ 2005: A tiny bit of cork taint mars the nose and palate. Still,  lots of fruit, good balance and firm backend structure. Quite a bit of vanilla coming through on the finish.  If I had another bottle of this 100% Syrah, I’d give it 3-5 years, when it would have more to offer.

Domaine De La Butte ‘Perrieres’ 2006: Midnight Black in the glass. Wild ride of a Cab-Franc. Massively funk-da-fied; barn straw vs. crude oil, raspberries, dried leaves. Big palate, bursting with fruit and funk, held together with an assertive tannic backbone. It truly took 24 hours to integrate and reveal more secrets and typical flavors like fresh herbs, tomato, and black currant. Very cool…maybe too funky for some, but full of life and energy.

~US$30, 100% Syrah, Corbieres France

Months ago, I tried the Ligneres Aric, a blended wine from Southern France that brought serious barnyard funk at a fairly steep price. When I saw the estates’s top wine on sale, the Notre Dame (100% Syrah) I figured the domaine was worth another try. Glad I did.

The 2002 vintage is generally considered a poor one in Southern France, especially parts of Bordeaux and the Rhone (Burgundy and the Loire seemed to avoid the rains of doom, somehow) - but you wouldn’t know it by tasting the Notre Dame. The nose speaks of big red fruit blended with dried herbs, pepper, and leather. A sexy balance of old and new-world styles and flavors. The palate is very polished and lush - it’s one of those wines that just hit on all the cylinders and its hard to find fault with. The finish shows a good bit of oak spice, but a pleasant bitterness lifts what could’ve been a too saccharine finish. 13.5% ABV = Thank you very much. Perfectly integrated tannins make for a big, delicious and balanced Syrah - the bottle was gone before I could dive any deeper into the flavors. I’d put this up against any similarly priced California Syrah, especially in terms of distinctiveness, balance, and palate.

 ~US$20, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Syrah and 25% Merlot

  Dark plum. Densely aromatic nose, with earthy currant, tobacco, cocoa, and black cherries.  Medium-full bodied presenting good structure in the palate - with Tuscany’s firm acidity and integrated tannins being proportionate and in balance - but the wine falls apart halfway through. It disintegrates into bitter green peppery flavors and a awkward oakiness as it moves towards the finish. Not terribly “clean” or pure. Despite the flaw, I can see it pairing well with a pasta bolognese or other rich meat sauces or braises. In sum, great aromas but a letdown on the palate. This may be way too young  - I could imagine the wine putting itself together a little more in the cellar, because from a winemaking standpoint, everything seemed right - except for the spike of bitterness. A decent cabernet blend for the price, but I probably wont be buying again - I’d rather be drinking one of Italy’s more interesting indigenous varieties (Barbera, Sangiovese, Corvina, Negroamaro, Primitivo, etc). 

~$45US - Garnacha, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah,  Priorat, Spain

Night 1: Sweet-tarts. Strong plum and raspberry fruit, black pepper and zippy acidity. Firm tannins. Very tight. Whisper of oak. Must revisit tomorrow.

Night 2: Still tight, but opened up very nicely over several more hours. Plenty of fruit, but much deeper and longer as the tannins smoothed out. Leather and herbal (basil?) aromas float in and out of focus. Sweet-tartness still a primary attribute. Definite chalky and gravelly flavors on the finish that are just delicious in contrast with the fruit and acidity. White pepper.

This is truly and elegant and subtle wine. It has a fascinating structure - a very focused and linear core of fresh fruit surrounded by a periphery of wild, darting flavors- chalk, leather, coffee, herbs, flowers, rhum agricole.

The components of the blend are so well integrated that it’s hard to tell where one’s contribution ends, and another’s begins. This is a family of 4 grapes; each speaking, but telling one story about their home vineyard. A triumph of place over style or variety.

Ghisolfi Langhe Pinay 2005

~$15US, 100% Pinot Noir, Langhe, Italy
Medium-transparent ruby. Very intriguing old-skool nose: chamomile, barnyard, wet leather, violets, strawberries burried in the dirt. Tight mouthfeel, strong acidity and medium-to-firm tannins. Became more simple with air time -the initial impression was the most profound for me. The fruit was definitely secondary. Good with my pasta, but not great. Maybe better with something like a mushroom risotto or braised pork shoulder. I had high hopes from the fascinating initial nose - but it fell a little short overall. Not bad, but not outstanding. I would suspect more bottle time would  help it flesh out.

Barrel 27 Central Coast Syrah 2005

~$15US, 100% Syrah, Central Coast California
Black-Magenta. Perfumed. This transformed in the decanter - initially blueberries, cloves, and tobacco on the nose - over time developing into the most profound expression of green olives I’ve ever come across in a wine - nearly usurping the fruit. I mean close your eyes and you’d think you were hovering over the olive bar. Very rich, round and mouth-coating. Softer tannins, and medium acidity. Initially overpowering for food( didn’t even try to pair it before an hour in the decanter)- as the fruit character receded, it became increasingly food friendly and added dimensions to the simple pasta dish. A big surprise.

~$28US Carignan 60%, Mourvèdre 25%, Syrah 15%, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Deep purple. A some clear barnyard poopieness on first opening. Aromatic - after the funk blew off, serious cherry and blackberries. Medium-bodied on the palate, lean, and biased towards acidity. Cherries and red fruits coming through on the palate, a strange mix of fresh acidity and damp, earthy straw. Transitions from a round, chewey entry to a sharper, bright midpalate. Long finish that starts sweet, almost confectionery - but a note of orange-pip-bitteress detracts. The carignan seems to characterize this as a more classic wine, with old-world stoicism - the mourvedre and syrah adding the fruity dimensions. Actually opening up quite nicely for a 5-year old Languedoc-Roussillon - I could see this staying fresh for another 3-4 years.

Overall, very easy to drink and not terribly complex, as long as you are okay with a little old-skool funk. It reminds me of a big, earthy Barbera d’alba, or a simple village Burgundy on steroids. Food required for total enjoyment. It worked with braised short ribs, but would work even better with an rustic wild mushroom risotto or braised pork belly. Well made and distinctive, but I can’t decide if this is rebuy - even at the price I paid (well below the $28 retail), as there are so many Barberas, Pinots, and Rhone-blends out there…

Edit - On day 2 I retasted and I realized that the Siete 7 Navarra I had, at half the price, had just as much to offer…

~$16US 60% Grenache /24% Syrah /12% Mourvèdre /4% Counoise, Paso Robles, CA

This is my first Tablas Creek wine - A joint venture between the Perrin Family of the Rhone, (Chat. Beaucastel) and their longtime importer, Robert Haas. This, their entry-level offering, was a medium transparent ruby. The nose was shy at first but opened with time to reveal syrupy cherry, raspberry, and saline. The palate was medium-to-full-bodied and hot (15.2% ABV difficult to integrate here), but very juicy and lush. A nice surprising minerality and unique maritime character supported the upfront fruitinesss, with some great dried herb notes - oregano and anise. The herbal notes continued to the finish, but the alcoholic bite bittered the final impression.

This is an exciting wine. There are more complex wines in this price point, but there is nothing wrong with a linear, fruit-forward wine when it delivers the goods without going to Candyland. Most importantly, it achieves real character and a sense of place, which is (arguably) the most profound expression a wine can make. It might have been a tad more alcoholic than it’s framework could support, but the overall feeling was a fine counterpoint and challenge to the typical Cotes-du-Rhone.

We enjoyed a good sampling of American wines with dinner and dessert - with the  Meredith Lagier coming out on top.
A premier-cru burgundy the next day disappointed in it’s simplicity.

Ridge, Santa Cruz Chardonnay 2004: Phenolic, fresh, restrained oak, green apples. Unremarkable.

Lagier Meredith, Mt. Veeder Syrah 2003: Perfumed, violets, and lavender, elegant medium-bodied, refined acidity and tannins. Lovely.

Rosenblum, Rhodes Vineyard Petit Sirah 2005: Rich and viscous. Maple syrup on ripe berry waffles, with black pepper and cinnamon. Decadent - almost dessert style.

Bouchard, Beaune du Chateau 2002: Red cherry, black olives. Strange raw “fowlish” aromas. Brisk acidity. Young and simple at this point.

~$9US Grenache / Syrah / Carignan / Cinsault, Coteaux du Languedoc, France

I’m loving these Languedoc-Rousillon value wines…they are not the most complex wines in the world, they might not flourish and evolve after decades of cellaring, but they do have great character, uniqueness, and charm. The “Les Ruffes” was very gamey and barnyardy at first, but the funk blew off to reveal dark berries and a very clear and distinct white pepperiness. It retained a wild-meatiness with raspberries that worked well with a hard goat cheese. Medium-bodied and easy-drinking. It actually had some structure too, with some tannins, a mild brace of acidity, and a medium candied finish.

We killed the bottle in record time. Compared to the “critter” wines in this price range, this is a no-brainer for an everyday value, offering a real sense of place and a peek at what the bigger (read: expensive) Rhone-varietals can offer.

~$35US Grenache Blend, Priorat

This was tried on an impulse - I’m big on the region,  it seemed a decent price (for a Priorat),  and I hadn’t heard of it, so what the heck. Popped and tasted: Garnet, and nothing but wood and tannins. I came back a few hours later, and it started to shed the oak and pick up some steam. The nose opened nicely, with cigar-box, black cherries, and chocolate-covered raisins. In the mouth, it was overall leaner than the nose let on, and more that a little tannic. The firm acidity added some lift and hit some pomegranate notes. While lean and dry, it showed admirable complexity but a short cherry-Popsicle finish.

Overall, this wine hit some really nice notes from a flavor standpoint, but missed for me from a structure and balance standpoint.  In my perfect world, I wish I could have dialed down the wood, up the fruit and minerality - and kept everything else as-is. I know very little about this wine, but 5 years old, so it’s hard to say if it was over the hill, too young on in a “dumb” phase.  Again, not a bad wine by any means, but I found myself dwelling more on the flaws than the strengths.