2 Lads Old Mission Peninsula (Michigan) Pinot Grigio, 2016

This is another bottle with a huge $5 sticker I found at my local Crosstown (Kalamazoo) market. A look at the vintage (2016) gave me the reason for the deep discount. Distributors don't like to hold on to white wines more than six years after the vintage date. 

We taste 2 Lads wines (including the Pinot Grigio) at least once every summer, and these Old Mission wines clearly have the acidity for at least moderate aging. Since the bottle has a screwtop rather than a cork, it also offers some insights about this type of closure. An old, sometimes disputed, theory, is that a cork lets a small amount of air into the bottle, creating a perfect condition for aging. Having tasted this wine when it was first bottled and now at nine years of age, my conclusion is that the closure makes little difference. This wine is showing the same amount of oxidation and aging that I would expect with a cork closure.

Medium deep yellow, showing moderate maturity. Smells and flavors have mellowed as well: ripe apples, pears, citrus, white flowers. Mild on the attack and mellow on the finish. Has the acidity and life that I like in Old Mission Pinot Grigio and Riesling.

Pertinace Barbera d'Alba, 2019

This Barbera d'Alba comes from vineyards in Treiso, to the Barbaresco side of Alba. It is usually a $10 to $12 wine, although I bought this at a special price ($8.08) from Dave Russo at MegaBev in Grand Rapids.

Bright ruby red with good saturation. Fruit forward aromas of black berries, cherries, spice. Medium plus body with supple tannins. Nice acidic edge brings out intense flavors, now leaning toward the red fruit spectrum. An excellent every day wine.

 

Trader Joe's Reserve Lot 254 Rasteau, 2022

When this Rasteau first landed on the shelves of my local Trader Joe's store, I liked it enough to buy half a case but thought it a bit tannic for early drinking. After another 12 months in the cellar and two hours of aeration, it has opened up and is drinking beautifully.

Medium dark ruby, bright and clear with no signs of barrique aging. Beautiful Southern Rhone aromas of violets, red and blue berries. Same on the palate, along with black licorice typical of the Rasteau appellation, spice and peppercorn. From what I can gather, it is 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre and 10% Cinsault aged in stainless steel. At $10 for a Southern Rhone cru, it is a great bargain.
 

TuaTea Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, 2024

TuaTea is one of my favorite New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, and this 2024 vintage is, for my taste, perhaps the best of recent years.

Light straw. Passion fruit is particularly full and prominent this vintage. Also grapefruit, melon and lemon grass. Very smooth. Fruit and acid in good balance, although ripe fruit is most noticeable--which will suit drinkers who find Sauvignon Blanc a bit too tart.

For $6.99 at Trader Joe's, this is a very good wine for the money. I will go back for more.
 

Vietti Nebbiolo Perbacco, 2012

Vietti's Perbacco is widely regarded as a reference point Langhe Nebbiolo, often called a "baby Barolo." This 2012 lives up to its promise, although I should warn you, if you have a bottle: even though it is now in its 13th year, it is still very young. When I first popped the cork, I met a concentrated wall of tannin; three hours later, it was drinking beautifully.

Bright ruby red with amber at the edges appropriate for a Nebbiolo. Red roses and red cherries emerge on the nose with swirling. Some black licorice on the palate. Gets better with each sip, hard to put it down. Red berry beauty now shining through. Barolo-like complexity.
 

Willakenzie Estate Willamette Valley Chardonnay, 2018

Willakenzie Estate ranks high on my list for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The winery is named after the Willakenzie soil which coveers the estate's vineyards. Not all of the grapes for this Chardonnay are estate fgrown but the rest  come from nearby Jory soil, which is also highly regarded  for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Medium deep yellow with some green glints. White peaches, flowers and spicy mint/coriander. Willamette Valley acidity keeps the wine fresh and lively at seven years of age. Clean finish that haunts the taste buds long sfter the meal is finished.
 

Chronicle Savoy Vineyard Alexander Valley Pinot Noir, 2009

I sstill have doubts about whether this wine comes from grapes grown in the Anderson Valley of Mendocino County or the Alexander Valley of Sonoma. Chronicle winery is located in the Anderson Valley and frequently uses grapes from Mendocino's well respected Savoy Vineyard. Yet the label, which I believe to be mistaken,clearly says Alexander Valley, which, as far as I know, has no Savoy Vineyard. The quality, flavor profile and strength at age 16, tells me the fruit is Anderson Valley.

Bright ruby with significant amber tones. Red cherries, cranberries but also some darker fruit. Blood orange zest and spice. Acidity keeps it fresh and lively. Drinking beautifully right now.

Beringer Napa Valley Chardonnay, 2016

When I saw the huge $5 sticker on this wine at my local Crosstown grocery, I had to search a little deeper. And the answer was clear: the vintage date on the bottle was 2016; most white wines that age have passed their sell by dates  Unlike the California appellation Beringer Chardonnay beside it, however, the label indicated Napa Valley, and most Napa Chardonnays come from vineyards in the relatively cool Carneros area and are higher quality anyway because of their more specific appellation.

Very deep gold, dark enough to elicit a bit of doubt. One sniff, though, erased all of my worries. Lilting Carneros aromas and flavors of ripe pears, white peaches, caramel and spicy oak. Lively acidity, fresh flavors,  not at all oxidized or old. I bought both of the bottles on the shelf, though; didn't leave any for you. Sorry.
 

Languedoc Cabrieres Rouge Selected by Kermit Lynch, 2020

This wine is 50% Syrah (Shiraz) but, oh, what a difference from the Shoofly Shiraz that preceded it at the table. It is slimmer in body and texture, less sweet and more nuanced with red as well as black fruits plus floral and mineral tones.

Medium red with amber at the rim. Cherries, red and blue berries, flowers and licorice. Well balanced for easy, but not simple, drinking. Flavors that grow and expand. Although it is higher in alcohol (14.5%) than the Shoofly Shiraz (14.3%) it has less heat on the mid-palate and finish.

50% Syrah, 35% Grenache plus Cinsault and Carignan from high altitude vineyards. This is the last bottle of a half case I bought three years ago ($10 a bottle) from MegaBev in Grand Rapids, and it is by far the best.

 

Shoofly South Australia Shiraz, 2017

South Australia is a large, diverse wine growing area, and this wine apparently is made from warm as well as cool climate vineyards. Winemaker is Ben Riggs.

Deep and dark. Aroma has developed noticeably since the last bottle. Very forward black fruits, coffee and sweet oak. Jammy fruit from warmer areas plus some spice and black pepper from cooler ones. Tannins on mid-palate and some alcoholic heat on the finish. If you have any of this left in your cellar, I would recommend drinking it now.
 

Famille Perrin Cotes du Ventoux Rouge, 2022

Even for a Tuesday night dinner, I twisted the screwcap about an hour early. Even so, this Ventoux kept getting better throughout the meal, offering everything I expect from a good Southern Rhone.

Lovely bright crimson/violet color. Scents of red and blue berries plus a hint of violets. Vibrant Grenache berries. Cinsault and Carignan spice. Syrah black pepper. Just enough tannin to balance the fresh acidity. Very enjoyable wine.
 

Paul Jaboulet Aine Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert, 1994

I love Jaboulet's Crozes-Hermitage Thalabert and have consumed numerous bottles since the early 1980s. I find a consistent charm and depth that I identify immediately with Thalabert. But the wine also undergoes changes, and I see these as neither good nor bad but representative of the changes that are part of life. My last bottle, six years ago, was redolent of black and green olives, a trait I love in Northern Rhome Syrah. Those traits are not present tonight but replaced by hints of cured meats..

Lots of bricking seen on a small pour but deep and saturated color in a full glass. Bouquet is not as intense as it was six years, but flavors are full of the Thalabert charm ad complexity. Black fruits and a few red fruit tones. Hallmark Thalabert finish that captures my full attention and approval.

 

Pelissero Barbera d'Alba Tulin, 2009

In Italy's Piedmont region, Barbera is generally an every day drinking wine. But Barberas are capable of aging gracefully...as exemplified by this wine from Perlissero.

Deep, bright, beautiful ruby red. From the first sip, this Barbera says luxury. Boysenberries, black raspberries, black currants, vanilla. A powerful wine with noticeable tannic structure but has the acidity to balance the lush fruit and firm tannins. I didn't aerate but wish I had; it keeps getting better and more complex. Showing beautifully right now at 16 years of age but will probably get better over the next few years.