Recent drinking round-up!

And so the blog limps in belatedly to 2020 with the first entry of the year! I've finally had a chance this weekend to review my notes and photos of what has been drunk here over the last couple of months.

First up, a couple of Cabernet Francs from the Finger Lakes. It seems that I forgot to take a photo of the first, which was a Ryan William Vineyard 2012. This was my kind of cab franc, dark in colour, with lovely earthy and herbaceous flavours, ripe and not stemmy. G detected plums on the finish. We thought it was drinking very well now and needed no more time. It was apparently 12.7% alcohol so no hangover, and at $22 including tax one can hardly argue.

The second was this Kelby James Russell 2017, coming in at a mere 12.2%. This was paler in colour and I probably would have guessed it was a pinot if I'd just been looking at it. It had some sweetness on the nose and was relatively lightweight with, to use D's expression, good acid. G said "you could (expletive deleted) buzz a bottle of this on your own at lunch" which is praise of a kind. It certainly went down very easily and again it was around $22.

On to more serious stuff. Here we have a 2009 Vosne 1er cru Les Chaumes from Francois Lamarche which I brought back from Burgundy some time ago. We think I paid around 75 euros for it back then and it now costs £100, so quite a top-end wine by my standards!

It was an intense deep ruby colour and very glossy. I described the nose as opulent, with blackcurrant and chocolate and it was uncompromisingly big on the palate, powerful, complex and very Cotes de Nuits. It had a wonderful intensity and went very nicely with beef stew. We thought it was at the beginning of its drinking window and would easily last another 10 years. We gave it 9 points on the premier cru scale.

I enjoyed this little map of the village on the back label!

One evening in November we drank this Rully 1er cru "Le Meix Cadot" 2014 from Domaine Vincent Dureuil-Janthial which G bought for apparently around £30. This was a pale gold colour and had a vibrant nose. On the palate, it was ripe with a touch of honey and a certain beeswax quality, then a wonderful zing of lemon zest as it went down. We served it very cold and it was wonderfully refreshing. G said if he ran a restaurant he'd put it on the wine list. This was apparently an excellent vintage and was drinking perfectly now. My notes finish "Yay! :)" which sums it up well.

Finally, two wines which we had a couple of weeks ago with ACC. From G, this Volnay 1er cru Clos des Angles 2009 from the Marquis D'Angerville. I failed to make notes but recall that it was exactly what you would expect of premier cru Volnay from this vintage. An expensive, superior bottle of wine.

Meanwhile, ACC brought along this Aloxe-Corton Les Valozieres 2013 from Domaine Audiffred. Although Aloxe is in the Cote de Beaune, the flavours are often more like those which we typically associate with the Cote de Nuits. Again no detailed notes were taken but it was a very fine bottle and certainly beginning to drink now. I tend to end up buying Vosne from this domaine because I love it so much, but this was a useful reminder that Henri's other wines are also reliably wonderful, and it was a pleasure to see him at the Burgundy Portfolio en primeur tasting on Monday.

Recent drinking roundup!

Apparently I haven't done one of these for a while, so as we hurtle towards winter it's time to get caught up and get rid of the mountain of empty bottles in the corner.

G and I drank this half of Alfred Gratien 1999 champagne back in July but it seems I never reported on it. "No harm in that" reported G, quoting my Irish grandmother, quite accurately in this case. It was fully mature, with notes of brioche and toast. G said it was almost custardy and it reminded me of a croissant. It didn't have many bubbles left and we felt it was at the end of its drinking life but it was refreshing on a hot summer Sunday. That seems a long time ago. I actually just discovered a lingering half of the 2000 on my wine rack this afternoon, so that needs to be put out of its misery in the near future!

Between August and October, we guzzled several wines from the Finger Lakes which D has been so kindly transporting back for us. This Red Newt Riesling 2013 from Lahoma Vineyards was lovely. Pale in colour, it had a Mosel style nose but was richer and spicier on the palate, with a burst of lime and G thought a hint of quince on the finish. It was beautifully made and had great balance, with a refreshing core of acidity. It's currently retailing on their website at $24.50 - compare and contrast with the 2012 Sawmill Creek Riesling for sale at Hedonism for £35.10. We wistfully imagined living nearby and being able to buy it by the case.

As an aside, I saw several red newts last time I went backpacking in Pennsylvania!

Another Finger Lakes white we tried recently was the White Springs Dry Riesling 2015 from Ravines. Regular readers will know we absolutely loved this winery. This wine was also pale in colour and had a nose of lime or possibly lime blossom. It was light, elegant and clean, dry but ripe. G said he felt a better person just for drinking it. It was definitely drinking now but we know they make wines for the long haul so it's possible it might get even better in time.

On to the reds - this Ryan William Pinot Noir 2012 amused me by stating it was 12.4% alcohol on the label. It was a dark colour and reminded us of the Cote de Nuits with notes of black cherry and black forest gateau. It was very easy to drink and even had something of a peacock's tail. G thinks it cost $27 which was excellent value.

A few weeks ago we had this Thirsty Owl Pinot Noir 2016, a name which always brings a smile to my face. This was apparently 12.2% alcohol and cost $17 according to G. He also remembered that the winery was founded in 2002 so the vines are young. It was really classic lightweight pinot, pretty but not particularly serious - a vin de soif. We served it lightly chilled, which worked very well, and we thought it was drinking nicely now but would last another year or so. G used the word "unforced" and we agreed it had an honesty about it, reflecting its terroir and climate, not buggered about. It actually reminded us slightly of Giboulot's wines, which is praise indeed. A virtually perfect Tuesday night wine, and again, one that we'd buy by the case if we lived nearer.

I had a trio of wines from the Wine Society recently too, just to see what's going on there. I failed to take a photo of the Cote Roannaise Perdiziere 2016 from Domaine Serol which was a gamay and came in at 12%. It was a little disappointing, to be honest. It lacked any interesting feral notes, nor was it one of those light, pretty gamays. At £16.50 it wasn't particularly great value and I won't be rushing back. I've just realised I actually tried the 2011 back in 2012 when it cost £7.95, and wasn't particularly impressed with it then either! Memo to self: read own blog before ordering wines...

This Naoussa 2016 was much more my cup of tea. It's from Greece and made from the xinomavro grape which is a new one on me, but was described as being like a cross between pinot noir and nebbiolo. It reminded me of a decent bourgogne rouge and at £10.50 it certainly hit the spot.

I cracked this "La Belle Romaine" from Chateau Merande last night. This is a Vin de Savoie made from a grape called mondeuse. It was fine but didn't wow me. It's only 12% alcohol, but at £17 a pop I'd rather be drinking that lovely Coteaux Bourguignon from Romain Chapuis.

We've started drinking this St George gin from California which was a gift from G's fan club in Grand Rapids and it has been going down very well in a G&T, with more floral notes than your average. The style reminds us a little of Plymouth which is always my go-to gin, so that works for me!

Finally, a couple of disappointments. G brought a bottle of Gevrey-Chembertin 1er cru Craipillot, 2001, Gerard Seguin round the other night. It had an amazing nose of liquorice, leather and earthiness, but when we came to taste it we found it rather tertiary (G's word) - it dried out on the palate and had a chewy finish. In the end we agreed we weren't actually enjoying it, and it went down the sink. The same thing sadly happened to two bottles of Combe D'Eve from Giboulot on Wednesday which broke my heart a little. Possibly being in the wardrobe over the hot summer didn't do it any favours. Must do better at maintaining stock rotation in future! Fortunately I have just got some wines out of storage so I'm looking forward to trying those soon.

Trip to the Finger Lakes part VII - Hector Wine Company and Ryan William Vineyard

After lunch, we headed over to Hector Wine Company where we tasted five wines and I don't appear to have taken any photos at all!

The Pinot Blanc 2016 had a floral bouquet and was quite exotic. It had a nice weight and was bigger on the palate than I'd expected from the nose. "Ripe fruit, excellent minerality" said G. I think we all liked it. The Dry Riesling 2015 was pleasant enough but I felt we'd had better elsewhere, while the Gewurztraminer 2015 was a nice pale gold colour and had the classic gewurztraminer perfume.

The Cabernet Franc 2015 was paler than some and almost farmyardy on the nose. I wasn't altogether sure about it but D pointed out that it was very young, so maybe it needs time. The Forge Pinot Noir Classique 2015 meanwhile was a shade darker than some of the pinots we'd seen with nice legs. It delivered a massive amount of chewy tannin and was quite hard going at this stage. I felt it needed at least 5 years while G described it as "classically styled".

Our last visit of the day was to Ryan William Vineyard where we tasted six wines. Possibly I was feeling slightly jaded by this stage, as the Gruner Veltliner 2015 didn't do much for me, although it was appley and had good acidity. Perhaps it needed food. The Dry Riesling 2014 was more my thing, made in an Alsatian style and aromatic. G described it as "very successful." The Gewurztraminer 2014 was also Alsatian in style and had that classic lychee thing, but I found myself wondering how much I actually like gewurztraminer. The Chardonnay 2014 was made 50% in French oak barrels and 50% in stainless steel and was elegant, with a creaminess to it and notes of lemon curd.

Moving on to the reds, the Pinot Noir 2012 came in at 12.4% alcohol (very precise!) and had a delicious fruity nose. Black cherry was mentioned. Again there was a lot of tannin but I felt it had potential. Finally, the Cabernet Franc 2012 was appealing and one couldn't accuse it of being stemmy. They referred to cassis, black plum and cocoa which seemed accurate. "A lot of red for 20 bucks," said G.

I wandered off to make another new friend, this half sized cat which was friendly and let me pick it up... Feline fix acquired, it was time to drive home.