Clifford Bay Marlborough Pinot Noir, 2009

As the label suggests, this wine offers up smells and flavors of dark cherries and plums. The dominant theme, though, is black pepper--the kind of pepper you would expect from a Southern Rhone wine. I like it, of course, but it doesn't fit my preconceived notions of either New World or Old World Pinot Noir.

The 2010 Clifford Bay is now on the market, also selling for about $10 a bottle. Is it equally peppery? I'll have to pick up a bottle and check it out.

As for the 2009 Clifford Bay, it's a nice enough Pinot for the price but clearly not in the same league as the Anderson Valley and Sonoma Coast Pinots I've been drinking. Where are the wild berries?

Jean Descombes Morgon Revisited

The 2005 Jean Descombes Morgon I reported on a few days ago was a very pleasant wine but more one dimensional than I expected compared to my recent experiences with older vintages (1995, 1998, 2000) of the same wine. Because it was served with other wines, only about half of the bottle was consumed that first night and it was recorked and put back on the counter. Every day for the past week, I have had a small glass of the leftover bottle, and each day it got better. Tonight, as I finally finished the bottle, it had the depth that I expect from Jean Descombes Morgon. An excellent wine.

Seven years may seem like a long time to age a Cru Beaujolais wine, but, at least for my taste, it is not enough.

Vincent Girardin Emotion de Terroirs Chardonnay, 2005

This is Vincent Girardin's low-end white Burgundy, but it's plenty fine for me. The grapes come from vineyards in Mersault and Puligny Montrachet, and the quality shows.

The wine offers up smells and flavors of citrus, apple, minerals, a hint of almonds and very fine grained French oak. It has a rather fat texture that identifies it as Chardonnay but silky acids that keep it out of the "big and buttery" camp. The finish has a racy tang that keeps me coming back for more. One taster, philhamelin, on Cellar Tracker wrote that Vincent Girardin "plays Chardonnay like a violin; delicate, serious, and often beautiful...With Emotion, he proves he can fiddle as well, and it can be just as pretty." Well stated, philhamelin; and well stated, Vincent Girardin. More fiddle music, maestro, please!

Chateau La Tour Saint Bonnet Medoc Crus Bourgeois, 1990

This is one of my favorite budget Bordeaux wines. I bought a case of the 1990 soon after it was released for a little more than $100, and recent vintages are not much more expensive. I saw the 2009 offered as futures for $139/case. The wine is reliable, good in nearly every vintage and pretty special in top vintages such as 1990 and 1995. But it needs to be kept for at least a decade or two before it really starts to show its best.

The 1990 is a deep ruby color, and it has a well-formed, rather powerful bouquet. Only 12% alcohol so the power comes from the fruit rather than the alcohol. Dark cherries, purple flowers, herbs and pencil shavings. Same on the palate. Medium bodied, still a bit firm even. Will still be giving pleasure for another decade or more.

The blend for Tour Saint Bonnet is 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 5% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot. A couple of years ago, the Malbec cherry traits were showing the strongest, but the Cabernet is now emerging. The wine is fermented in cement tanks and matured in old oak foudres rather than small barriques. It's an old fashioned approach that still works well, and let's hope that the estate doesn't decide to change things.

Ici/La-Bas "Les Reveles" Medoncino Pinot Noir Elke Vineyard Anderson Valley, 1997

How well do Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs age? I bought this wine at auction (at a good price) in order to find out, and the answer was unambiguous: beautifully. At least, that's the case for Ici/La-Bas, which is made by Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat, a winemaker known for making ageworthy wines.

The color is a medium deep ruby, no noticeable amber or browning. Beautiful scents of wild berries and spices, mostly cinnamon. The spices are very bright and elegantly stated, as is the fruit. This is a wine I could sniff all night. In the mouth, the wine has silky Pinot texture, and the wild berries carry over in a long, persistent finish. Not much of the earthy quality of Pinot Noir, but I think that is part of the Anderson Valley profile. I have younger vintages of this wine to try, but, right now, it's hard to believe they could be better than this 1997.

Huber Obere Steigen Gruner Veltliner, 2008

I have previously served Huber's Hugo Gruner Veltliner with the Asian Fusion dishes of Chinn Chinn Asian Restaurant of Mattawan, MI. And the match was close to perfect. I haven't seen Hugo on the shelves recently, but this Huber wine from the Obere Steigen vineyard is an even better Gruner and also a perfect match for the excellent Chinn Chinn food.

It's a medium deep yellow with green tints. The aromas are intense and full of yellow fruits, spices, herbs and flowers. The wine has been fermented in stainless steel to preserve its fresh fruit attractions. Three months of lees contact has added body and complexity. This is a serious wine worth putting away for a few years. But there is nothing wrong with the way it is showing right now.

Jean Descombes Morgon, 2005

Compared to older vintages of Jean Descombes (1995, 2000, 2002) I've been drinking recently, this wine seems a bit one-dimensional. It has nice crushed raspberry fruit but the early blush that was so enjoyable in 1996 or 1997 has faded, and it has not yet been replaced by the complexities of a mature Morgon. The wine is ripe and soft and easy to enjoy. And, as an accompaniment to spicy Asian fusion food, it's perfect. But compared to the Domaine Diochon I had last week and older Jean Descombes Morgons I've had over the past year, it lacks dimension.