What Would Mikey Drink

This is the reserve bottling.  Very rare.  Jill says zested orange peel.   Tons of depth with hazelnut brioche honeydew pineapple. Full and lush perfect balance.   Riveting, multi-minute finish with an electric vibration.  Oak and fruit but with a gracy and harmony that’s quite rare in a California Chardonnay.  A platonic ideal.  I can’t imagine a Chardonnay from USA any better.  Jill says A. A+ for me.

Dark ruby.   Looks like a pinot.   Sappy menthol cola aromas.  Huge, sweet and viscus, as in I’d like to add a shot of pinot syrup to my coffee.    Would be sure to be a crowd pleaser, but I hoped for more going on.   Tasty and we’ll drink it.  However, at this price, a clear pass for me.   Would be great at $10 as a house wine.   This is the generic blend, or the low end Kosta bottle.    Still this currently goes for about $75 at auction.  It was $40 on release from the vineyard.    Grade: B.

This is drinking great, right now.  Lovely pale gold.   Delicious aromas of pineapple saffron cloves and fresh vanilla.  Just singing on the palate, with lively acidity, buttery brioche and tropical, candied fruits, and a very long, stinging finish.   I wish I had more.  I bought it on release.  Maybe 5 years is about the right age for a Kistler Chardonnay.  Grade: A.

Just in case we were still thirsty, my brother Gary opened an awesome half-bottle of this.    Much more forward than the Bocquenet.    Gingerbread cake, amazing pinot sap, and ripe, perfect tannins.    Very, very long finish.  Just wonderful.  Great night.   Gary says A-.  I argue, but he says it is grands-ech, and it is in tough company!  It is not a DRC however, and isn’t $1000.  Grade: A.

Why not?  This is a multi-wow wine.    Dark ruby.    Truffly mushroom forest spice aromas.  Medium-full, and incredibly complex palate.  There’s an Asian smoked duck element,  with a lovely earthy, floral component.   Incredibly long finish.  Just great.   Will most likely improve for 5-10 more years.  Too bad I don’t have anymore.  This is why I drink wine.  We are really on a role this week.  It will be hard to go back to every day wine.  Grade: A.

What a warm up wine!  Pale gold.  Compelling aromas.  Incredible minerals and briny sea salt.  Endless finish.    Riveting, with perfect balance.    Not round and oaky like most California chardonnay.  In fact, showing less oak than most Kistler’s I’ve tried.   A real treat.  Grade: A/A+

Still drinking well this vacation!  Tonight it is from a better vintage (02s are classic), and a controversial producer.   Some critics like it, others don’t.

Very dark for a burgundy.   Brooding aromas, like bacon and nutmeg.  Smells rich.  Unlike the woodsy smells of the other burgundies this week.    Dense and spicy palate.  Hearty, delicious pinot, but not like a typical Echezeaux.  Drinking more like a Kistler Pinot!    Still it is quite tasty.    Lots of tannins on the end.   Retail $100.  Grade: B+.  Jill loves the label and really likes it, but says it it too young, and doesn’t have the finish of the other Ech we’ve had this week.  She also gives it a B+.

So we’re on a roll this week with the Lamarche wines.  98 was a challenging vintage (as was 97) but generally these are darker, more concentrated, and more tannic than 97s.  I like this one a little less than its 1997 version.

Dark ruby, with interesting huckleberry jam and mushroom aromas.    Somewhat lacking in fruit.  There’s evergreen, all spice, and some cherry syrup.  Long, but quite tannic finish.    I paid $38.  I would buy more at this price, but it would be a challenge to find for under $100.  At that price, there’s better.  Grade: B.    Jill says B+

I’ve wanted to try La Grande Rue for years.  If you look at a map of Vosne Romanee, this vineyard has La Tache on the west, and La Romanee and Romanee Conti on the east.  These are three of the most expensive, and special burgundies (and wines) in the world.    This hasn’t ever been in the same price league.  Given how much we liked the 97 Echezeaux from the same producer, and we’re opening a great bottle every night of our vacation so far, I thought we’d give this a try.

Muted aromatics.  At first I thought the bottle might be bad.  Coming back after an hour it improved.  Now after 2 hours it is singing.    Insane pinot sap.  The palate is a magical blend of mushrooms, pine, and lots of spice, like cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Delicate and precise, but with a sneaky long finish.  Woodsy from the ‘97 vintage, but unlike the Echezeaux, this has a few more years to go before it is mature.  Jill says dark chocolate candied orange rind with dusty coco, ash and dusty petals.  She says A.

I paid $47, I really wish I could get more at this price.    Grade: A.

My great wine (vacation) week continues.  This is the weakest wine we’ve had so far, but it is quite nice.    Dark and brooding, and hiding most of its stuff.  This is dark.   Muted aromas of menthol and lilacs.    Full evergreen forest palate, and some spicy black pepper black cherry.  Strong, long finish, but not yet in harmony.  I think this will get better in time, given the excellent vintage, and producer.  Retail $48, grade: A-.  Jill says B+.