This weekend was an absolute stunner in NY- sunshine, pleasantly cool for June/July, gentle breezes. A huge series of stumbles/disasters (a cold, having to cover office Sat AM for an absent employee, car trouble, a friend's illness causing him to have to cancel for dinner, Betsy's absence, a vendor at farmers market who gave me duck legs when I asked for breast, temporally-challenged knife sharpener) couldn't stop it from being glorious. One of the things I love about weather is that good weather can raise my spirits no matter what, yet bad weather can never overcome good friendship, romance, or luck. Win win.
With drop-in friends on the patio, the 2004 Vollenweider "Wolfer Goldgrube" Riesling Spätlese (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) (AP # ends in 05). Really pushing the envelope sweetness-wise, this is almost dessert territory, but with vibrant acids making it ok as a solo apertif. 7.5% abv is a real bonus for a summer patio sipper. Sweet Fuji apple fruit with an overlay of orange (well, Creamsicle™). Despite the big sugar, this has that sprightly Mosel lightness. A new producer to me, thanks to Mike Lawton for the upgrade! B+/A-
I felt the 2005 Nicolas Potel "Cuvee Gerard Potel" Bourgogne was one of the stranger tasting experiences I've had in a while. I had felt the 2004 version was a nice easy drinking Burg, and looked forward to the 2005 last night. But opening with some Aidell's mushroom sausages, grilled eggplant, and some slaw, I was hit with both tannins and acidity. Now, I'm usually the first to call myself an acid-head, but this was too much for me. Just a solid wall of impenetrable acids, making the forward strawberry and cherry fruit so tangy as to be close to undrinkable by me. I was seriously bemused- I wondered if it was a food interaction, or possibly the lingering effects of the Spatlese's sweetness? But no amount of water or bread (or not having sausage or eggplant) could make this really pleasurable. Was it my cold? I gave up, switched to the Riesling. Later in the evening I revisited - a different wine. Still acidic, but no where near the original - a nice medium-weight Burg with red cherries, plums and cocoa. Tannins mostly out of the picture. Nice if not exciting. Similar today. One might say it was closed down at first, but it wasn't - plenty of fruit. But I've almost never experienced that kind of angry acidity in a wine that showed such ripe forward fruit. C- on opening, B later. With so many other nice low-end '05s out there, no reason to stock up on these for me.
With porterhouse rubbed with garlic and rosemary, mushrooms, and squash, the 1998 La Croix Canon (Canon-Fronsac). Black cherry, black currant, good backbone from a combination of ripe light tannins and bright acidity. Some tobacco leaf and graphite. Some structure, but ready to drink and lovely with a steak. A Moueix wine. While I love Cheval Blanc, Haut-Brion, and Leoville-Las-Cases, a huge part of my love of Bordeaux comes from the incredible value these "lesser" wines can provide. Bright, Right, and a delight. Thanks again Mike. B++
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency