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If you're in the Yarra Valley, I'd definitely visit Yarra Yering. I've never had their pinot, but have had the YY#1 (cab) and the YY#2 (syrah with some viognier and marsanne/roussane(?) blended in). The YY#1 started lovely, then quickly deteriorated, but I think I may not have had the best bottle. If you taste the YY#1, I'd love to hear your thoughts, as I really liked the way this started but am gunshy about buying any without trying again. The YY#2 with a little age stunned me with the elegance it had picked up compared to the younger bottling tried the same night. Not exactly subtle and not my normal style, but a very enjoyable bit of juice. I've got precious little other experience with Yarra Valley wines. A few notes: 1996 Yarra Yering Dry Red #1 - Australia, Victoria, Yarra Valley (9/4/2005) Tasted with an assortment of cheeses after a cookout dinner at Bryan and Amy's. Young claret purple has softened to red except at the very center. Nose is completely closed at first, taking about ten or fifteen minutes to open up. Once open, the nose is a dead ringer for a St. Julien like Beychevelle or Ducru -- has that elegance masking weight that I associate with St. Julien, with classic cassis, cedar, graphite, a little herb, and a dose of sweet vanilla. On the palate, it is of middle weight with substantial but fairly well resolved tannins. Nice dry (if a little short) finish from the silky dark berry and deep cherry fruit. Perhaps a the high degree of ripeness on entry says Australia, but otherwise still seems like a good St. Julien from an average year. After another fifteen minutes or so, though, it all starts to come apart. Nose turns a little dusty, fruit a little muddy and disjointed and the oak steps up to dominate the finish. This could have been a result of mismatched cheeses or of a dumb phase, but troubles me enough that I wouldn't buy it without tasting again. 1995 Yarra Yering Dry Red #2 - Australia, Victoria, Yarra Valley (5/21/2005) Tokyo Offline for Dale and Betsy and Joe (Shunju): Bryan and Amy are our next door neighbors. After dinner we joined them for one more bottle, which turned out to be an older version of the syrah/marsanne/viognier blend. Man, was I wrong about the aging potential for this wine. Take all of the components described above, tone the volume and ripeness down a touch, add a little more apparent structure, and you get a wine that seems to be much closer to Cote-Rotie and shows more complexity and none of the distraction/confusion. Additional elements that come out include a little anise, some smoky meat, and a tiny bit of bitter chocolate. It’s still Australian, it’s still ripe, and the structure still hides a little behind the fruit, but this is serious syrah. This is still available in the market, but with very limited allocation. I’m going hunting! 2001 Yarra Yering Dry Red #2 - Australia, Victoria, Yarra Valley (5/21/2005) Tokyo Offline for Dale and Betsy and Joe (Shunju): This was the other contribution from Bryan and Amy and got no decanting or air time. Produced in the (relatively) cool climate of the Yarra Valley, this wine is predominantly Syrah, but is leavened with a small dose of viognier and marsanne. This particular blending trend seems to be a nod to Cote-Rotie that is gaining popularity both in Australia and in the southwest of France. Previously (in other wines) I’ve found it interesting, but a little too obvious, with the viognier aromatics overwhelming the rest of the nose. On pouring, the wine was still extremely primary in both color and nose, with an aggressive orange flower and honeysuckle character doing its job of overwhelming. Unlike other examples of the blend, however, I found that the nose settled down over time and a little warm leather, treacle, and ripe berry came through. Based on the nose, I was expecting syrupy fruit on the palate, but that was not to be. While clearly ripe and extracted and carrying a little oaky sweetness, the fruit showed enough acid vibrancy to do an okay job with bamboo shoot kamameshi. This is clearly Australian, but it is made with a restrained hand and shows the best of the New World without going overboard. Someone asked whether this would age well and Dale and I each commented that it would hold fine, but it probably wouldn’t develop too much…why hold it when it is so delicious to drink now? Well, we were wrong (see below), but I still enjoyed drinking it young, though I’d probably rather sip it alone than have it with food at this age. My wife’s WOTN. Posted from CellarTracker

Roumier Charley The earth screams exquisitely Nature born once more Jim

FIRST WINES AND NOTES OF 5766 - Jonathan and Samantha's (10/4/2005) Cathryn and I were fortunate enough to be invited (despite our Linnaean status as goyim anglicanus) to join our friends Jonathan and Samantha for their Rosh Hashanah dinner last night. Nice to see Jonathan and Samantha, as well as a few other folks -- old friends and new. Also nice to enjoy the benefits of Samantha's amazing cooking! I brought wine, which was the least that I could do for several reasons. First, it's a gracious (and joyful) thing to do when one is so kindly invited to join a celebration. Even more important, on Friday night -- while Jonathan, Cathryn, and I were tasting wine at TAC, then enjoying sake and izakaya fare -- Samantha was rendering schmalz for the chopped liver. She deserved a little fun. She likes Champagne, so I brought a couple of bubbly things. With chopped liver and pita with hummus, spinach dip, and green olive tapenade. And apples and honey, of course. N.V. Monmarthe Champagne Coup de Coeur Extra Brut Premier Cru - France, Champagne, Montagne de Reims - Ludes, Champagne Nice tight agressive mousse with very small bead. Even with relatively short, broad Venetian flutes, the mousse had good persistence. Color was shaded a bit to the gold end of yellow-gold. Nose had a rich, ripe apple-fig character with a significant sweet leesey element. Lighter notes in the nose included a little toast and brulee. On the palate the wine was quite full and round, with the richness and roundness making the mousse just a pleasant textural prickle. Figs and apples carried through from the nose, along with a little butterscotch, hazelnut, and sweet cream. This cuvee is 50% chard and 50% pinot noir and spends 5 years in bottle before being disgorged. All of this shows very clearly in the wine's body and roundness. This wine had lower apparent acidity than most Champagne, but the bubbles on the front end and the austerity of the long dry finish kept it in balance. Very different Champagne but great with the hors d'oeuvres, especially the chopped liver. With brisket, ginger-honey carrots, a great green bean dish, kugel, and challah. 2000 Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Purplish color, just starting to take on lighter rust red elements. Dense but bright in the decanter. As soon as it is decanted, it shows a strong earth and garrigue character supporting dark cherry fruit. With time, a little meatiness and leather come out. The nose is clean and remains very much about earthy fruit throughout the night. On the palate, the tannins are nicely resolved, just barely nipping at the inside of my cheeks from time to time. The cherry and brambley berry fruit is surprisingly dry compared to the last time I tasted this wine. Fruit is enlivened by a little pepper and tarragon, as well as just enough acid to avoid flabbiness. This is absolutely ready to drink. Maybe it will improve a little, but in the last year the whole wine has moved so much from rich fruit and large body to a lighter, earthier, and drier character that I won't be waiting on the rest of my stash. As my friend Jonathan said -- "This just screams of earth and the south of France." And that's a good thing by me. With a sweet carrot mousse and an apple-frangipane cake. N.V. Aimery Sieur d'Arques Blanquette Méthode Ancestrale La Méthode Ancestrale - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Blanquette Méthode Ancestrale Rich honeyed yellow. Very clear for the type, but quite viscous. Mousse was restrained and almost seemed to vie with viscosity to make it to the top of the glass. Nose of baked apple custard and floral honey with a little spice as well. On palate, quite sweet -- sweet enough to stand up to a very sweet carrot pudding -- but well balanced by a nice dose of appley acid. Primary fruit of apple with a little lightly candied kumquat. Had an exotic stone and honey combination that was reminiscent of Vouvray moulleux, just with bubbles. Texture was evocative of fresh frothy sweet cream. Very low alcohol made this a nice way to finish up a weeknight celebration. Great night of people and food. Also a good wine night. Nothing was corked; everything showed well, though the CNdP was a lot more advanced than I expected (and I know it had been stored well). Posted from CellarTracker

2005 FALL VENDORS SALE - Tokyo American Club (9/30/2005) Twice a year, a large number of importers/wholesalers come to TAC to show and peddle their wares. There were a lot more wines open than I tasted, as this is as much a social event as a tasting event. I would have tasted more, but enjoyed talking to Oliver Mackie, David Hawkins, Steve Doi, my wine-loving neighbors Bryan and Amy, my cousin Richard and his wife Naoko, Jonathon Kreigel, a few importers, and a number of non-geek friends. Normal cautions apply to notes from this kind of tasting. Nothing had time to open or develop. Impressions were brief as I moved from table to table as quickly as practicable. On to the wines: 1999 Argyle Brut - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley Very light mousse, almost more petillant than mousseaux. Nose driven by apple and a little apple stem sap, along with slight caramel and toast notes. On the palate it is almost all light lemony and appley flavors. Finish a bit short, but not bad for a value sparkler. N.V. Montaudon Champagne Brut - France, Champagne, Reims, Champagne Large, extremely vigourous mousse. Nose of green apple brulee. Palate has a little honeyed fruit but is mostly acid and steel. Hard to evaluate in the midst of all the other wines and from a standard tasting glass. I suspect this may be more interesting than I indicate, but it seemed extremely young, almost as if it had just been disgorged and shipped. 2002 Finca Allende Rioja - Spain, La Rioja, Rioja Light young color with a nose that shows sweet new wood and, hiding underneath, some citrus fruit. Palate has a little hidden acidity but is mostly all about creamy oak and pretty ripe citrus. Probably good ripe fruit balance under the oak, but who knows when it will integrate? 2004 Husch Vineyards Gewürztraminer - USA, California, Mendocino County, Anderson Valley Very sweet on nose with classic floral and lychee character. Palate has a fair degree of apparent sweetness, but is supported by good acidity. White stone fruit and a touch of spice dominate the taste with attar on the finish. A little exotic for most food, but a very good rendition for drinking on its own. Doesn't have the body of an Alsatian, but has all of the elements in a nice, light, off-dry package. Nicely done for what it is and good value. 2004 Greenhough Riesling - New Zealand, South Island, Nelson This was very nice with a nose of crisp white fruit, a wee bit of young petrol, and schist. Remained crisp on the palate and was fermented dry, but had a surprising degree of viscosity for the nose and dryness. Reminded me very much of Alsatian riesling stylistically. Cheapest of all the Greenhough wines on show, but also the best to my palate. Impressive effort. 2003 Greenhough Riesling Single Vineyard Hope Vineyard - New Zealand, South Island, Nelson Sweetish nose of white plum, lemon/lime and apple. A little honey, but more fruit-sweet driven. Palate is a little richer than the dry Nelson version, but only off-dry in impact. Much less of the Alsace impression that had fascinated me in the dry Nelson version, but a slightly haunting limeade sweetness is nice, especially with the floral/mineral notes that appear on the finish. 2002 Greenhough Chardonnay - New Zealand, South Island, Nelson Nose was strongly dominated by wood, as was the palate. Underneath there was some ripe white peach and smokey apple fruit with a little sweet stewed apple/honey character. Seemed to have some acidity as it wasn't really fat and flabby, but it was hard to concentrate on anything other than the toasty oak. Not for me. 2004 Edna Valley Vineyards Chardonnay Paragon - USA, California, San Luis Obispo County, Edna Valley The nose on this begins with sour apple and lees, with a bit of pineapple and stone to make things more interesting. The oak is there (in significant dose) but somehow manages not to dominate. The palate carries forward and is a bit cleaner than the nose, with a little more tropical fruit, some more apple, and nice acidity. Only on the persistent finish does the oak really begin to dominate. The sour apple/leesy note is not offputting and doesn't seem flawed. In fact, it is a little interesting (and nice to know the acid character survived full malo). I suspect it is a function of the very active winemaking style and may settle down with a bit more time in bottle. 2003 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir - USA, California, Santa Maria Great nose with dry red fruit and earth. A bit dilute on palate with lightly sour cherry fruit and a little sweeter red berry component and some nice mineral on the finish. Good acid and earth/mineral components are appealing, but concentration seems to be a real issue. I got into a conversation with a friend while this was in the glass, so I was able to come back to it after fifteen minutes. It had picked up a little weight, but was still, perhaps, a little thin. 2003 Greenhough Pinot Noir Hope Vineyard - New Zealand, South Island, Nelson This was the only Greenhough wine tasted that was not under screwcap. Fittingly, bottle #1 was badly corked. Bottle two showed a ripe nose straight away upon pouring, with a little interesting musky tail. There was a little oak on the nose, fairly toasty, but not obscuring the ripe fruit. Palate added a little earthiness to the ripe fruit and carried forward some oak sweetness. Interesting, wouldn't mind drinking it, but certainly not on my buy list at $35. 2003 Edna Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir Paragon - USA, California, San Luis Obispo County, Edna Valley Nose began with strawberry fruit and nice strong earth and leaf character. In a way, the nose was reminiscent of Loire cab franc from a good year. The palate showed a fair dose of wood, but a nice underlay of ripe dark berry and black cherry fruit, with the earth still in play. Kind of an odd combination, so much leaf and red fruit on the nose and such deep dark fruit on the palate. With a little time to integrate, this could be good. 2003 Saintsbury Pinot Noir - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros Strong initial whiff of sweet wood on nose, which gives way to bright red fruit and a little herb. Very clean and bright. Theme continues on the palate, where the wine has reasonable concentration, but very little weight. A little mineral joins the red fruit on the finish, where the oak again becomes a wee bit intrusive. Experience with prior vintages suggests the oak should integrate. If it does, this should become a good example of a clean, elegant, bright red-fruit pinot with just a little mineral to mix things up. 2003 Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast This begins with nicely earthy dark berry elements that outrun the oak on the race to the nose. There is clearly some degree of new oak, but the fruit and earth come easily to the forefront. This has nice concentration without weight and a very silky, velvety moutfeel with just enough acidity to delineate the deep cherry that joins the berry on the palate, along with a little herb and cola in the finish. Oak is there again, but is held in check by the fruit and herbs. Nice nod to Burgundian elegance, purity, and earth while maintaining the sexiness of its Sonoma fruit. Nice job. It won't turn me off my Burg fixation, but I'd be very happy to run into this at dinner some day. 2002 Dashe Cellars Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley I really like Dry Creek Valley zin. It is my favorite zin source. I have also like what Dashe has done before. Too bad that this was alcoholic on the nose and dilute in the mid-palate. There was a little bramble and briar fruit mixed in for pleasure, but the wine was disappointing. 2004 Martinelle Côtes du Ventoux - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Ventoux Nose is of framboise-sweet fruit. Palate is similarly pure raspberry with a little alcohol, but is a little bit dilute. Not bad for a current, everyday drinker, but I would expect slightly more concentration and a little something (anything) of interest beyond the fruit for the $19 price tag. 2003 Mas de Boislauzon Côtes du Rhône Villages - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Nose shows nice array of dry leaf, tobacco, spice along with a little berry fruit. Fruit is similarly restrained on palate, but nice foresty complexity and an appealing bit of earthy grip to the texture. Certainly dry and lean for vintage and much tighter than the '01 was a year ago, suggesting that this should open up into a really nicely balanced '03 Cotes du Rhones. Very nice job. 2003 des Espiers Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet Rich ripe purplish red. Second wine of the night with a clear framboise nose, but this time without any hint of alcohol. Ripeness clearly places it within the vintage, but without any roasting or heat. A touch of pepper/spice. Ripe again on palate with red and black berry sweetness and a little anise. Good persistent finish. Can't figure out what it is, but there is something a little wild or intriguing about this that I like. 2003 des Espiers Gigondas - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas Deep red tending toward black. Blackberry and a little alcohol on nose, with a floral element that even hinted at Northern Rhone influences. Lots of tannin on palate, but the tannins are very ripe and not intrusive. Fruit is incredibly dense and encompasses a broad range from hints of strawberry through raspberry and on into sweet blackberries. A little brambly character and a good dose of spice. Somehow under all this size and richness there's an element of acid and elegence if you concentrate hard. Makes me thing of a barrel sample with its intensity and weight and the difficulty of tying all the elements together. Another wine that clearly has the ripeness of 2003, but seems to have just enough tautness to sort itself out. I'm beginning to think this a vintage where I am going to like the lesser wines and avoid Chateauneuf-du-Pape. 2003 Pierre Coursodon Saint Joseph - France, Rhône Nose is rich and ripe with very deep berry fruit and a strong sense of sweetness, along with a little plum that is not quite overripe but seems to walk the edge. Enlivened by a little exotic spince on nose. Palate combines a surprising silkiness almost like crushed velvet. If one could weave berries into velvet, this is what it would taste like. Very little acid, almost overripe, but a lot of fun for current drinking. Good concentration and finish, on which the hot stone mineral finally comes out. Keeps enough hallmarks of its hillside site to be interesting and enough extreme ripeness to demand drinking now. Doesn't appeal to my purist/terroirist streak, but when I close my eyes and take a deep sip... 2003 Domaine Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deep and dark and almost impenetrable inkiness. Nose of supersweet blackberry syrup. Remember what fun it was when you were a kid and went to IHOP and they had eight or ten carafes of artificially flavored syrup? This is the blackberry jar. Palate has no discernable acid to cut the ripeness, but adds a layer of chocolate for good measure. A little alcohol shows up in the finish, but that is the only hint of structure. I've always wondered what would happen if a sumo wrestler decided to bulk up even further on steriods. Now I don't wonder any more. I'm definitely preferring the lesser appellations in this vintage. Plus side? You can drink it right now. Not quite as hot as the Clos des Papes tasted recently, but that Clos des Papes had structure galore and might go somewhere. This one was pure current hedonistic pleasure. Not my style, but might actually be really enjoyable to others. 2001 Los Astrales Ribera del Duero Astrales - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero Deep, deep plum colour. Similarly deep plum and dark cherry fruit battling with sweet oak and anise to be found. Palate begins with the oak. Tannins are forceful though they allow some of that ripe fruit out in the middle before the wine finishes with an alcohol-driven mirabelle note. Maybe it's there, but I couldn't find the acidity that would make me take the gamble that this will integrate. Just not my style. 2000 Havens Wine Cellars Merlot Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros Nose makes an immediate licquorice impression, which gives way to plummy merlot fruit and a little herbal character. Palate is very woody/stemmy on entry, though it develops a little chocolate and cassis to join the plum fruit. Green stem character clips off the finish. To be fair, I expect this may need a little time in the glass to come together, as some vigorous aeration brought the fruit a little to the fore. Still, didn't really impress me. Don't know how much was vintage, how much was a style mismatch with my palate, and how much was a need for more air time. 2002 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley Clean, fresh-turned earth accompanies nice deep cassis on nose. A couple more sniffs bring out some herb and a little tobacco. Palate has very nice texture underneath the dry tannins. Not entirely drying, but the tannins definitely need some time. Some of the same bright cherry I always find in the lesser Monty joins cassis and plum to make this a nice, though still challenging moutfull. Nice texture under the tannins and more herb on the finish. I like it. 1999 Heitz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville After the obligatory cool mint note and some slightly alcohol-hot plum fruit, the nose goes tightly shut. Other than a bit more mint and some plum and berry fruit, it really doesn't reopen over the five or ten minutes in the glass. Texture is very, very dense with tannins making it extremely dry on entry and exit. There's good roundness and a nicely shifting array of fruit in the midpalate, which shows a fullness that should well outlast the tannin. Finish alternates between sweet oak and plum/ berry fruit. I'm not good at assessing big younger cabs, but this seems to have the stuff. This is always a lot of fun and proved to be so again. Biggest two lessons from this year: 1. Lots of nice 2003 Rhones from lesser appellations for younger drinking, but I've yet to find bigger wines I like from the vintage. 2. I really like the Rieslings from Greenhough. I'll have to keep an eye out. Posted from CellarTracker

COOLING DOWN - TAC (10/1/2005) Last night was the Katrina benefit at the Tokyo American Club. Cathryn (and a lot of other people) had worked very hard to pull this together in just a few weeks, so it was nice to see this come off so well. Cathryn did a great job with her introductory talk, then a series of jazz musicians took the stage while we all had dinner. All of the musicians had volunteered their time for the benefit. After several vocalists eased us into dinner, Mikio-san and his New Orleans Jazz Hounds took the stage for a bit of dixieland. Cathryn and I headed to the dance floor and were pleased to see a good-sized crowd begin to follow. It's always a good sign when people are willing to move their asses. Mikio gave way to Natsuko-san and her group, Soul Food Cafe. These guys rock (and swing and groove and even drive a little boogie). They built their way through a few standards to a great call and response finale. There was no lack of hollaback girls (and boys) on the floor. Natsuko is a wickedly good jazz pianist. I'm always amazed by that New Orleans signature that makes the piano both a rythm instrument and a melody lead at the same time. Natsuko has mastered that in spades. We spoke to Mikio and he agreed to help us get a little second line started when the Hounds joined the Cafe for the finale. There was something immensely satisfying to following a tiny little Japanese man and his umbrella around a ballroom with a bunch of Japanese jazz musicians. Cathryn is right. New Orleans has insinuated itself into the nooks and crannies of too many souls in too many places for the city ever to die! Energized as we were, there was no way we were heading home yet. Diane Witherspoon was one of the vocalists who was kind enough to come to Tokyo and give us her time and her voice, so our friends Bryan and Amy joined Diane and Cathryn and me for a little nightcap. The wine with dinner had been Beringer discount label chard and cab that didn't merit notes, so this was time to have something of at least a little interest. 2001 Plantagenet Shiraz - Australia, Western Australia, Mt. Barker Rich, deep, and royal purple-red. The nose has a thick core of superripe red and sweet black berry fruit. Behind it, there's a hint of campfire -- wood and smoke -- but just the slightest whiff. This is very, very primary. On the palate, the entry is sweet, masking some pretty slippery tannins that just barely take hold of the insides of my cheeks. Man, this is really velvety as it fills up the mid-palate, then finishes with intense crushed raspberries. Label says 14.5% alcohol, but it never tastes or smells hot. This is very, very ripe juice and I can't imagine it with food, but it really is the best of its kind -- big and rich without ever getting heavy. Good price and nice depth and concentration to drink after dinner in place of dessert or port. 2002 Alvaro Palacios Priorat Les Terrasses - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat Just a tad lighter in color than the Plantagenet. Bottle also says it is lower in alcohol (at 14%). That's not what the nose tells me, though. Nose is a mix of heat and intense spice that seems shrill and unfocused. Yes, there's a lot of fruit here as well, but I can't even concentrate on it. On the palate, not as hot but still a little unfocused. Tannins are upfront and forceful, alcohol shows in finish. Maybe this will settle down with time, but I just perceive all these odd pieces sticking out at angles -- wood, alcohol, spice, tannin. Again, it's hard to concentrate and find the fruit (which is in the dark red, cherry and berry range). Not worth the trouble to me. Diane Witherspoon is a natural soprano, but generally performs as an alto because she likes the warmth and velvety sexiness of the range. It's always amazing when a soprano steps down to alto or a tenor steps down to baritone if they've really got the range and strength to pull it off. That Plantagenet has just enough soprano to keep up the tension while it wraps you up in a smooth velvety alto after-dinner blanket. The Priorat goes the other way. It ain't pretty when an alto tries to sing high and fails. What a great night. Thanks to Diane and Mikio and Natsuko and all the other performers, as well as to the organizers and volunteers and attendees and everyone else who has given themselves and shown the soul that is New Orleans. Posted from CellarTracker

2003 Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine - France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine (9/28/2005) With spaghetti in uni-mustard cream sauce, garnished with surigoma and strips of nori. Bright clear ripe yellow. Very slight whiff of wood on the nose followed by ripe citrus, seashells, and rounder stone fruit. Palate entry is sweet apple with a very full, ripe, and round mid-palate. Finish is clean, dry, and persistent with a little lemon and some warm stone in the back of the throat/nose. There is no need to wait on this. It is ready for business and very ripe, but stays on just on the taut side of the line. Clearly of its vintage but with the balance to be enjoyable throughout the meal (and for one more glass after). Posted from CellarTracker

In addition to what Brad describes above, the method has one more advantage. When the wines are produced doux or demi-sec, they tend to have very low alcohol. I haven't checked, but expect the one I've got lined up for Thanksgiving to be around 6-7% abv. That's a nice feature at the end of a long afternoon meal with a lot of wine. Jim

Brad: I'm not at all a fan of dry sparkling wine with dessert. The back label on this one describes it as doux. Thnaks for the heads up, though. Jim

This sounds fun. I've got a new Blanquette Methode Ancestrale that I've picked up to have with dessert at Thanksgiving. The producer is new to me (can't even remember the name at the moment). Now I've just got to design a dessert for it. I'm thinking some kind of lightly macerated fruit with an herbal element to the maceration. Jim

What do I like in cabernet? First, it might help to look at what my favorite cabernets are. I love cab franc (and cab franc with dollops of cab sauv) from the Loire – Chinon, Bourgueil, St. Nicholas de Bourgueil. Graves is probably my favorite region of Bordeaux. In general, I prefer leaner wines from Bordeaux and often prefer slightly lesser vintages for drinking with food. As a gross generalization, I tend to prefer left bank to right bank wines (though I dearly love VCC). Favorite Calcabs over the years have included Shafer SLD, Cain Five, Dunn (though all based on promise, as I’ve never waited long enough for a Dunn really to come around), Clos du Val, various Pine Ridge bottlings, Ridge Monte Bello, Montelena Estate, some Dominus/Napanook. Most of this experience is a little dated, as I’ve not had too many Calcabs from vintages later than 1990 or so. From Australia, I’ve really enjoyed Parker Estate First Growth (Coonawarra) and Moss Wood (Margaret River). The Loire wines tend to show a brighter, but less overt, fruit presence and are heavy on the herb and mineral front. Graves, of course, has a significant element of earthiness and minerality. The Calcabs are all over the map, but many of them come from mountain fruit which, though often very intense and large in size, seems to have an element of punch and locality that is missing from similarly sized valley floor cabs. The floor cabs I have favored all share, I believe, a level of detail and/or restraint not found in many bigger and more acclaimed wines. (Though I’ve heard many reports that the Shafer wines have moved progressively closer to going over the top.) The Coonawarra wine had an earthy Coonawarra element that reminded me a bit of a very ripe Graves. The Margaret River wine had a level of detail and restraint to the fruit that appealed to me. It performed very, very well lined up next to a Ducru. Some of these wines are riper/fruitier and some are more mineral/earth/herb driven, but I believe all of them share a certain level of restraint and particularity of place that appeals. They also, to greater or lesser degrees, have acid as an important part of their balance. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but I think that is what appeals – terroir, restraint, some mineral/earth/herb element, and reasonably good acidity – no matter what the style/ripeness level. And I want to be able to enjoy it with food. Jim

You let them set the hook because often the downs are as enlightening and interesting (though not as delicious) as the ups? Because the search and the trial are part of the fun? Because when it hits on all cylinders, there is nothing more beautiful, more detailed, more transparent, or more transporting than burgundy? Because it is people like Ponsot who, just often enough, deliver all of that in spades? Sorry, I'm projecting. Jim

The daughter of some good friends of ours turned two yesterday. They threw one of the best kid's parties I've ever attended, with ample wine and Samantha's tasty cooking. This is a bit melancholy, as they'll be moving later this year. Such is life among expats. Anyway, the wines: Yellow Label Veuve: From two bottles. First one fit the melancholy side. It has travelled all over Asia with them, through good and bad, hot and cold. Predictably maderized, with the sweetish decay that comes along. A little spritz, a little fruit, a little of everything. A melange of sweet but faded memories. Second one was purchased yesterday for the party. Bright, fresh, effervescent, but much too young, needing a little time to settle down. Must just have been bottled. Not too sweet or dilute, however. Veuve may indeed be recovering a little balance after the bad years. Young promise, needing time to settle, just like the fresh hopes for new jobs, new homes, new excitement with an international move. 2000 Lane Tanner Santa Ynez Pinot Noir: From two bottles. Both bottles consistent. A slight hint of decay on the nose, along with straight and simple pinot flavors, tending toward red fruits, but just a little disjointed and dusty. On the palate, a little devoid of fruit and lacking in focus. Becomes a little muddy and slightly harsh with time. Perfectly enjoyable when first opened and with food, but nothing exciting. As the title of this note indicates, sometimes the wines just don't matter. After dinner, we headed to the Blue Note to see Dr. John. Standing close and saying hello to him, he looks very tired, a little jaundiced, and more than a little swollen. These days, he's leaning more and more on his cane. However, when he hits the stage, he catches a spark and sounds like he did ten or fifteen years ago, showing the kind of will and resilience we all pray the city of New Orleans can show. He is accompanied by his band, the Lower 911, who had to be rescued from New Orleans after Katrina. They too seem to have an extra spark of life. It has been a pretty tough few weeks. No matter how much money one sends or how many prayers one spins, there's a certain sense of uselessness and futility being so far from home when something like Katrina has hit. All of our family and closest friends are safe. Most of the family houses have escaped any damage or looting. But still, somehow, there's been a band of black grief hanging around our house. Last night Dr. John and his band of black-and-white soul came into town and drove that band of black grief away. Who really cares about the wine? I actually think I liked that maderized Veuve the best of all. Perfect moments in time and all that...

Jim: Thanks for the notes. Huët is one of my very favorite producers anywhere. Glad to hear this one is coming along well. I've never come across any of the Huët secs in 375. What a perfectly sized dollop that would be! Thanks especially for the note on the Argiano. As I mentioned recently, I have just found myself the owner of a number of 97 Brunelli without really intending to. From early tastings, I concluded that it really wasn't my type of vintage; thus, I didn't buy. However, every vintage has good wines that work to enhance one occasion or another. While these are riper and fatter than I might like, they are not entirely analogous to the 03 Beaujolais. A 97 Lisini tasted the other night provided nice early-drinking pleasure -- a soft and approachable array of the main elements of the Brunello palate, enjoyable much sooner than normal. Lacked a little focus, nerve, and structure, but enjoyable for what it was. I have a half of a case of the Argiano and hope that it shows even nearly as well for me as it did for you. I share your feeling that a discernable address is most important to pleasure and interest. I also share your lack of enthusiasm for blind tastings. However, I have just discovered two virtues of blind tastings: (1) They trick one into giving Ponsot another shot. Actually, I find Ponsot as frustrating as you do. He's like the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead. If he would simply settle into a consistently good or bad vein, he would make life much easier. (I must admit that when I first read your note, I misread "feral" as "fecal". Now that would be an extreme case of barnyard!) (2) They lead to more Florida Jim tasting notes to read. Thanks, Jim

Steve: Didn't get a chance to check out the list. Would say the food was good, but nothing special. The service was pretty adept and very friendly. They dealt well with us juggling three glasses (all resto supplied, two of which were of good quality light, thin crystal). Corkage was 2000Y/bottle. If you want to use it for an offline or BYOB, I would call ahead to be polite, but wouldn't anticipate any problem. I'm not buying any 2003s (except that I'm eager to taste the Loire reds, which have gotten some good comments from folks with palates pretty much in sync with mine -- and yours, I think). Many people enthuse over Beaujolais from ripe vintages, but I'm not one of them. In the Loire, however, I think ripeness can be good for cab franc. The 76 Bourgueil showed really well and 76 was an oven of a summer. I was impressed that the Clos des Papes maintained some family resemblence to what I expect of Chateauneuf. It was the hulking big brother, loaded with a little too much muscle and fat, but underneath were discernable CdP genes. I'm not buying any, but I don't want to be unfairly hard on the wine. We'll have to get together and open one of the old Bourgueil. Had one lined up for Cote d'Or when we were there, but we didn't get to it. Hope the staff enjoyed it! Take care, Jim

John: I snipped a lot from your post. Lots of good thoughts. Agree that some degree of terroir must be in every wine -- it was grown somewhere! Also agree that the winemaker can obscure it and that it can be hard for the taster to find even with transparent winegrowing and making. I would just take exception with the underlying assumption of the piece quoted above. Certainly, what is in the glass tells the story. But it leaves open the question of what makes the substance in the glass better or worse, more or less exciting. To keep up the theme of your example above, Phelps used to make three top-line cabs: Insignia, Eisele, and Backus. The first was a blend and was the sexiest, most expensive, and most acclaimed. The other two were single vineyard wines, each of which spoke with amazing clarity of its source. I have always preferred the latter two, specifically because they spoke of whence they came. What it really comes down to is that I believe part of the "vocation" of wine, at least in its very narrowly defined job of pleasing ME and keeping ME interested, is to transmit something of the place from which it comes. Putting aside considerations of what I'm eating at the time, I'll take a Pepiere Muscadet over an Opus One everyday (even if I don't have to pay). I'm not suggesting all wines should be made to please me. God forbid! I'm just suggesting that for me (and for many others out there), a sense of place is one of the principal reasons to enjoy a wine. Thanks, Jim

John: Thanks for your comments. The phrase I used was "elegance masking weight". What I mean is that the nose and smooth entry of this wine, with very refined and classic "library" flavors (cedar, graphite, cigar, and the like), can obscure the heft (and, perhaps, tannin) that is there. I find that to be a classic St. Julien presentation. I find Pauilliac to be more about concentrated power, like a strong fullback in American football. With the sudden rush, I see an amazingly focused force. Only after that amazement goes away do I notice both the grace of the fullback's movements and his sheer size and muscularity. Hope that helps. On the cheese comment...please don't be offended, but I really couldn't give a damn what Parker thinks. I do care what you think. If I were talking to Parker, I would care what he thought. I've got nothing against Parker (and have stayed out of all the threads as I just don't have the time or energy). I think he has a remarkably accurate palate, much more consistent than I could ever hope to be. But he and I are not in alignment. Even if we were, I still buy wine based on what I think of it, not what he thinks. Now, all that being said, I do partially agree on the cheese thought. As I said in my note, mismatched cheeses may have contributed to the way the wine showed. I find that many (most) cheeses don't go well with reds. However, I do find that certain hard cheeses go very well. Like all blanket statements, a "no cheese with red wine" statement does as much harm as good. Take care, Jim

1996 Yarra Yering Dry Red #1 - Australia, Victoria, Yarra Valley (9/4/2005) Tasted with an assortment of cheeses after a cookout dinner at Bryan and Amy's. Young claret purple has softened to red except at the very center. Nose is completely closed at first, taking about ten or fifteen minutes to open up. Once open, the nose is a dead ringer for a St. Julien like Beychevelle or Ducru -- has that elegance masking weight that I associate with St. Julien, with classic cassis, cedar, graphite, a little herb, and a dose of sweet vanilla. On the palate, it is of middle weight with substantial but fairly well resolved tannins. Nice dry (if a little short) finish from the silky dark berry and deep cherry fruit. Perhaps a the high degree of ripeness on entry says Australia, but otherwise still seems like a good St. Julien from an average year. After another fifteen minutes or so, though, it all starts to come apart. Nose turns a little dusty, fruit a little muddy and disjointed and the oak steps up to dominate the finish. This could have been a result of mismatched cheeses or of a dumb phase, but troubles me enough that I wouldn't buy it without tasting again. Posted from CellarTracker

2000 Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley (9/7/2005) Rusty red color from center to rim. Initially muted nose showing mostly alcohol and iron. In five or ten minutes, a huge dose of oak comes out making a sawn wood impression. Never develops more than a hint of fruit on nose, mostly in the plum range. Palate begins a little green, empty in the middle, but with no hard tannins. In a short time, the tannins become very drying at front of mouth, followed by just a touch of tart red fruit and a clipped finish. This drank better a year ago at a trade tasting. Never had a lot of fruit, but iron and earth provided enough interest and the oak seemed less intrusive. Now of little interest. I sometimes prefer Cal Cabs from lesser vintages, but not this bottle. Posted from CellarTracker

EASY ON THE POCKET NIGHT - At home with Richard and Naoko (9/10/2005) During the summer, a couple who are good friends of ours relocated from Tokyo to Boston. When they moved, they thinly cherrypicked their cellar and were looking to get rid of the rest. I went through and identified the things that really interested me (about two cases), then they offered them to me at 25% of lowest price online. If that wasn't good enough, they threw in the remaining five or so cases for free, figuring it was better to give it to someone who cared than to leave it on the street for the sanitation engineers. Provenance on some of these wines is questionable and I've been meaning to check on them. Wines are almost all Italian, heavy on '97 Tuscans. Cathryn has been craving risotto, so we invited my cousin and his wife, pulled some bottles, and I made dinner. To keep with the "easy on Jim's pocket" theme, we started with a white burg that a friend from Paris had brought us when visiting earlier this year. 1998 Derain Saint-Aubin En Remilly 1er Cru - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin Lightish gold and enticingly bright. Nose of clean citrus and apple, with a little stoniness. Very clean and pure, promising nice cut. With time, a little richer citrus oil comes out, but the nose really remains pure chardonnay fruit. Palate feels a little rounder and richer than the nose suggests, but is still nicely balanced and on the refreshing end of the scale. Persistent enough finish highlights the citrus oil and mineral. Paired very nicely with a very lightly dressed salad of organic greens with lemon zest, yuba, and sashimi (salmon roe, tataki salmon, uni, sweet shrimp). And that's really the place for this wine to shine -- with fresh seafood that needs a little more heft than a Muscadet, but a lot less than a big chardonnay. From a biodynamic producer that has managed to avoid all the pitfalls that come with such low sulphur/low protection approaches. I'll look for more from this producer. 1996 Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale Oro - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico Riserva Tuscan-tone red just starting to take on orangey-red hints at the rim. Nose on this one is open from the beginning, with tobacco, dark cherry, bracken, and earth. Grows in volume more than complexity as wine sits in glass. Tobacco fades and bracken and earth pick up, as does a little mocha spice. Palate is taut with a light but sturdy structure of smooth tannins and good balancing acidity. Sour cherry and nicely tart plum dominate the fruit, along with the earth from the nose and just a hint of chocolate. A nice picture of balance and restraint. Like a small wiry fighter with endurance showing on the finish. Earthy elements made it pair very well with an assorted mushroom risotto made using a little wine and the liquid from reconstituting dried morels. Perfectly ready to go, but will probably hold for a good long while as well. 1997 Fattoria di Sant'Angelo (Lisini) Brunello di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino Rich, ripe-looking plum red in glass. Still looking young. Nose is fairly open from the beginning, with emphasis on deep black fruit (roasted plums, some blackberry, some sweet dark cherry). Also offers a little spice and coffee, along with a touch of earth. With time in glass, ripe dark fruit continues to dominate nose. Similarly primary on palate, with the same dark fruits backed up by a little tobacco and earth. Big and rich, but not outsized, mouthfeel easily covers ample but extremely smooth tannins. Time might bring out some more complexity, but my sense is that this is wine to enjoy young, while the ripe fruit smooths the tannins. Good overall balance and the kind of wine I most like from such a ripe vintage. Maybe a little atypical compared to 96s and 99s, but I think more just primary and smooth. Balanced well with the rich fat flavors from oven broiled lamb chops with parsley, lemon, and mustard crust. 1990 Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico - Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Maturing red tending toward dusty orange-brown. Nose is very low-toned with roasted plum and prune fruit, some raisin and dark roast coffee, and wee bit of leather and resin. That nose is apparent when it is opened and doesn't really change with time, except that it fades a little in intensity. Palate is slighty hot, with more roasted fruit, some chocolatey cherry, and a little earthiness that is more texture than flavour. Fully resolved tannins and no discernable acid. Everything is there, I guess, but it is just a little flat and dull. Helped a little by cheese (parmigiano reggiano, black pepper sardinian pecorino, mimolette, and bleu de Causses), but not enough. My sense is that this has headed over the hill and is starting to show the less flattering side of 1990. To be fair, provenance is a serious question here. I had some bottles of my own and some picked up from the moving friend referred to above. Didn't mark them and don't know which was which. 1990 Castello di Pomino (Frescobaldi) Pomino Vin Santo - Italy, Tuscany, Pomino From 375. Very deep gold tending a little more toward brown than orange at the edges. Upon pouring, nose is much more at the oxidative than the candied end of the vin santo spectrum. Within the general tone of maderized notes were roasted nuts, a little rancio, and a very slight bit of orange peel. With a little time, some caramel and dried apricot came out. Palate was a little fresher, retaining acid that was well-hidden on the nose and with sweetness as an accent more than a dominant quality. Not quite sprightly, but bright enough for the marzipan and sweet lemon cream flavours to pair well with Chinese almond tofu pudding. Provenance again a question. Of the wines from the moving friends, two seemed to be in good shape and two others may (or may not) have been heat damaged. At the prices I paid -- between free and 25% of lowest retail -- I can afford a few damaged bottles. It's also possible the Lisini was a little advanced, but it was drinking well. I'll be doing a lot more sampling soon. Posted from CellarTracker

TOKYO OFFLINE GROUP INAUGURAL (FRENCH MIXED BAG) - Cuisine 219 (9/9/2005) Michael McKinney, David Hawkins and Nicole Giles, Dave Armstrong, Oliver Mackie, and I imposed on the gracious service at Cuisine 219 in Minami-Aoyama to taste through a mixed bag of wines and discuss plans for a more regular tasting group here in Tokyo. We did a pretty thorough job, leaving only one wine unopened (a 96 d'Angerville Champans that really needs at least five years more sleep anyway). 1999 Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roche aux Moines - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières Roche aux Moines Light strawish yellow, very light at edge. Bursting nose, chenin honey, granite. Quickly closes up a little on nose, but not completely. A little melon and fig come out in time. Great "sweet" chenin nose on this dry wine. On palate, nice acid comes out with a bowl of cold pumpkin soup. Rich, nice viscosity and roundness kept interesting by a limish streak of acidity. Persistent finish emphasizing melon/peach and dry honey. Thoroughly enjoyable and exciting, though certainly a little closed. With a little time to sleep...WOW! My WOTN. (Thanks David and Nicole) 2002 William Fèvre Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru - France, Burgundy, Chablis The negoc bottling, not the domaine. Slightly richer yellow than the Savennieres, a little denser at the rim. Still pretty light in colour, though. Nose starts with slightly stony citrus, accompanied by a fleeting strange dill/anise note. (May have been a suggestive echo of the dill in a salmon salad dish. Not unpleasant, just atypical. Of very short duration.) A very little spiciness, but not intrusive and not vanilla toned. Good concentration on palate, good balance, but relatively simple. A little closed; a couple of years may help, but this will never be particularly layered. Finish of reasonable length -- good, clean, not at all dilute -- but lacking spark. I was pleased with the showing, given some notes I had read that pointed to dilution in the 02 Fevre premiers. A good accompniment to the dish. Good food wine that I will enjoy drinking over the next few years. 2000 Guffens-Heynen Mâcon-Pierreclos Le Chavigne - France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Pierreclos Deep, deep yellow gold. Very little visible viscosity. When first poured, a huge nose of oak. Settles down with a little time to show very ripe apple, melon, and even a little earth. Once the oak settles down, a nice range of fruit wrapped in that smooth lanolin blanket that very ripe Chardonnay can show. On the palate, the fruit is very ripe, extremely sweet/juicy, but there is plenty of acid and interest and it only hints at tropical. While this may be a little riper/oakier than my preferred style, this is very well-made and has great balance. A pretty big wine, good concentration and finish. Needs fairly rich, Meursault-friendly type food. (Thanks Oliver) 1976 Domaine des Chesnaies Bourgueil Cuvée Prestige - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Bourgueil Ex-domaine. Surprisingly deep, dark colour. Looks like a ten-year old claret. Nose of wet earth, a little green pepper (interesting, not overbearing), raspberry that darts in and out. Evolves to a little more dusty character. Nice combination of evolved but still evident tannins, quenched by juicy/acid sour cherry fruit. Finish shows a bit of dry leaves. All showing much younger than expected. Very happy with it, but it lacks a "wildness" I had hoped for. Revisted after 45 minutes or so, much more cherry on nose, a little more sweet red berry on mid-palate, and dark berry on a persistent finish. Classic case of giving an old wine too little time to open up. 1996 Harmand-Geoffrey Gevrey-Chambertin La Bossiere 1er Cru - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin Already taking on a little lightness at the edge, but dense in the middle. Initial nose and palate scream strawberry -- very atypical. After a little time (and some necessary chilling), the aggressive strawberry turns to a subtle framboise that is pleasing. Seemed a little simple and loose at first, but cooling brought out the acid -- and a lot of balance and interest. A good lighter, easier drinking, more elegant Gevrey. Only a hint of the Gevery earth. I thought it lacked a little locality. Probably still a little dumb and definitely served a little warm. Don't think the sample did it justice. Meadows thinks this producer shows nice elegance and terrior focus. I got the former, but not the latter. Would be interested to try again. (Thanks David and Nicole) 2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Wow! Deep, deep colour, but not quite inky or murky. Started with that low-toned funky Grenache smell, overlaid with a little strawberry and raspberry and very ripe darker fruit and spice. There's garrique here too. Palate shows big tannins, but so much fruit that the tannins just slip on by. Palate is much more ripe dark fruit, maybe a little roast/raisin, but less than I had feared. I get very little of the heat that others have noted (but, unlike Oliver, did not revisit after the claret). A lot of fun to drink, but I can't figure out what I would drink it with, other than a rare "steak as big as your head". Overwhelmed the lamb chops. Didn't find the acid spine to make me think this will evolve over the long-term into the kind of wine I like to drink, but you could hide an elephant's worth of acid under the tannin and fruit at this stage. Has the roasted, ripe notes of 2003 that are not really for me, but I was really impressed at how clearly this wine still spoke of Chateauneuf, just in an outsized way. (Thanks Michael) 1997 Château Sociando-Mallet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc Still relatively deep in colour, showing only slight signs of age. Nose shows immediate classic scents of cassis and graphite, follows up with a little dust and leather. Palate carries through with the cassis, along with round red fruits under slightly cheek-scraping tannins. Classic nose and flavor profile, good balance and restraint. Finish good enough. Drinks well now, but still needs a few more years for tannins to ease. What can I say? I like slightly "off" (or "classic") vintages. Stood up well to the lamb chops. Should have been consumed before the Clos des Papes. (Thanks Dave) 2001 Château de la Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Clear deep red, lighter than the Clos des Papes, but not as much as I would have expected. Nose starts with GSM-ish spice. Would have guessed Australia blind based on initial nose. With time, get some leather and dust, along with the slightly iodine/seaweed nose I often get in CdP (but others never do). Palate shows mostly red fruit, very nice acid/tannin balance that makes it very clear this is, indeed, French. Starting to shut down, I think, though my palate is pretty tired at this point. Once the GSM sweetness blows off, this is a nice contrast with the Clos des Papes. Clearly a lesser wine in size and concentration, but much more what I look for from CdP to drink with food. (Thanks Dave) 1990 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes From half bottle. Rich deep colour tending toward orange. Immediate nose impression is a large dose of botrytis-enlivened honey, ripe nectarine, a little orange zest, and some caramel. Palate begins with fat ripe peach well balanced by acidity and the zing of botrytis. Extremely rich and unctuous, but maintaining good balance. Stong, lasting finish of honey, brulee, and spiced apple. Seems fully mature, but nowhere near decline. Really like this. 1998 Domaine de Juchepie Coteaux du Layon-Faye - France, Loire Valley, Coteaux du Layon-Faye From 500ml bottle. Deep yellow/gold, not yet showing any tawny orange hints of age. Similarly young and fresh on nose, but quickly closed up. First impression was of botrytis spores and maybe a little schisty stone. Never really opened on nose, but did show a little hay, sultana, and peach. Peach/apricot continued on palate with honey and lemon curd sweetness. Palate was a little fat tasting, without the quite the zip of acid and botrytis that I would have expected. However, my palate was shot at this point and the wine was very young and showing its sweetness and size, but not its details. I would suspect this needs at least 8-10 more years to come together, but could be very good then. (Thanks David and Nicole) Great group of generous people. I'm really looking forward to the next event. Posted from CellarTracker

One more vote for CellarTracker. If you're worried about losing your data should the site go out of business or some other mishap occur, you can download all of your data to Excel whenever you wish. Eric Levine is also a really friendly and helpful guy. If you have questions, I would suggest sending him an e-mail. By the way, I have nothing to do with the site. I'm just a happy user. Good luck, Jim Edited to add that the site is completely free, though Eric does encourage donations from those who find it useful.

Lazrowp: In another thread here there was some discussion of kaitenzushi, including some great tips from smallworld on the hallmarks of the better places. In any case, best of luck with your venture. Jim

BURG NIGHT IN TOKYO - Cote d'Or (7/12/2005) A few of us gathered last night at Cote d’Or in Tokyo for a small burgfest. Can’t remember everything others ate, but I had an anago mousse/pate (really light and silky with a texture between a very fine-grained terrine and a bavarois) followed by a queue de boeuf with a rich demi-glace driven sauce and a final course of Epoisses, Rocquefort, Pont l’Eveque, and Beaufort. First two wines were consumed with the anago pate, third with the beef, and last two with both the beef and the cheese. Cote d’Or did a great job with both the food and the wine service and the company couldn’t have been better. Special thanks to Steve for organizing and making a disproportionately large contribution of some lovely wines. We served the 71 Pez first among the reds, as we were really worried about it getting lost behind the Rousseau and Faiveley, which each had the potential to be rough in their own ways. 1999 Domaine Georges Roumier Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Aloxe-Corton Bright deep yellow of young white burg. Initial nose is somewhat high-toned with immediate lanolin, honeysuckle, hazelnuts, oak, and apple. First palate impression is very tight and restrained, with richness and roundness coming largely from oak, with fruit under extremely tight wraps. Acid is evident, on the edge of scratching, but keeping just within bounds. With time, the nose shows a very slight tropical character with more white fruit and, for fleeting moments that come and go, the richness of some dark berry liqueur. Palate gradually, oh so gradually, begins to show lemony apple fruit and strong minerals come out. All of this darts in and out through a very lean and long finish that adds a bit of the tropical (coconut, pineapple) from the nose. This is way, way young and extremely angular, but the angular bones are very fine. I’d stay away for at least ten years. Thinking of Corton Charley generally, this doesn’t seem very typical, but it is amazingly transparent and true to form once you consider the placement of Roumier’s small plot. If you think the apotheosis of Corton Charley is Coche, this won’t do much for you (and probably never will). However, if you like a leaner, sharper style, this will be a damn fine pleasure. 1971 Hubert de Montille Pommard Les Pézerolles 1er Cru - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard Light old burg red well along the path toward brown, but without any cracking at the edges. Nothing in appearance to suggest anything but very full maturity. Nose has a huge dose of VA, not quite varnishy but enough to obscure almost any other notes. The VA never entirely blows off, but after ten or fifteen minutes subsides enough to let other notes come out. Then, for about thirty minutes, the wine is very, very pretty but has lost the complexity and brightness on the nose that it must once have had. Nowhere to be found are the sweet tea and mushroom one I often finds on the nose of such wines. The dominant notes of the nose are a little sweet cherry, some plum tart, and just a little sous bois. On the palate, during the wine’s short window of grace, is a hint of tannin turned to faded tea, a tiny bit of brandy in which cherries have been macerated, and occasional surprising stabs of brighter cherry. And then the wine topples gently but suddenly over the hill, leaving camphor and the melancholy sweet smell of Miss Havisham’s house. Despite all that, I really enjoy drinking faded beauties like this. I also think this may not have been the best bottle and others may have held together better. In any case, drink up. 1985 Faiveley Clos des Cortons - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Ladoix Still vigorous in appearance, deep red but softening. Amazingly ready-to-go on pouring with very clean, sweet nose dominated by dark fruit and sun-warmed earth. Immediate palate impression is of mature sweet fruit, a surprising absence of tannin, and a tremendous size made up of fruit and body held in check by (just) enough acidity. Suprising combination of size and deftness for both the producer and the vintage. As it sits in the glass, it develops aromas of sweet summer flowers, blackcurrants, and the slightest bit of mocha. On the palate, it takes up the earthy nose note and combines it with mineral in a way that is almost textural. A little (even slightly rough) tannin peeks out and seems to linger under the tongue and at the back of the roof of the mouth, but never gets in the way of the fruit. The palate moves to dark cherry skins with a little chocolate. Finish is, perhaps, a little short. This is ready to go and should hold for a good long while. For the vintage and the producer, this is a stellar effort. In the grand scheme of things, good and very enjoyable but not great. 1983 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin Looking more mature than the Corton, this has the first hints of the rust color that will come. Nose is a little reticent at first, showing some earth and a very slight funkiness, but blossoms nicely with only a little time in the glass to show a broad array of notes – mature dark cherry fruit, earth, a little game, some smoke, and a bit of leather – that waft in and out over time. The palate shows surprising integration, maturity, and balance. Tannins are clearly present but very well integrated and the wine is very, very clean. Either these vines escaped the hail or there was a huge triage effort. The acid never really peeks out very far, but does show up in a tart berry note that accents the same dark cherry fruit from the nose. Smoke and mineral complete the palate, all with a richness and volume that makes the oak just a sweet hint that one has to look for to find. Long expanding finish. Damn good for the vintage. Damn good on any scale, in fact. I think there’s some of this available on the market in Tokyo now, but I’ve heard much less flattering reports on other bottles over the years. Does anyone know if Rousseau bottled by lot in ’83? Or was there one big assemblage? 1990 Louis Jadot Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Youngish darker red, youthful vibrancy all the way to the rim. Nose shows a little gaminess and sweet oak on first approach, holding everything else back. Palate shows nicely balanced structure and full but silky body with tannins that no longer scrape, but that are still strongly noticeable and behind which the rest of the palate hides. Almost immediately, though, a little spice and mushroom and cocoa start up on the nose, followed by a little dark, sweet citrus. Similarly, the palate quickly begins to offer earth and crushed berry fruit and a slight spiciness that comes and goes. Finally, with a little more time, the Vosne flowers come out on the nose. And then they’re gone. That’s really what happened with the whole wine; there was a nice complexity from a varied array of notes, but all those notes appeared and disappeared so quickly that off and on (for much of the time) the wine was nothing but textural richness, the same richness that was the dominant note of a nicely persistent finish. Clearly, this is still very young and needs at least five years (and maybe much more). It’s hard, though, to know exactly where this will go. If the nose/palate flavor notes remain as fleeting as they are today, this will be enjoyable and interesting but not much more. But if they step up in volume and persistence, this could rise to a much higher level. All the bits are there, but I don’t know if it will all come together at once. At any rate, it has escaped the roasted ripeness that plagues some wines of the vintage and is a sexy drink that hints at seduction to come. Despite the performance of the Pez, I was struck again by how good the quality of older wines purchased in Tokyo usually is. They can be a little steep in price and one must still be careful about provenance, but the Japanese attention to fine detail delivers a great deal of care from merchants – in their acquisition, shipping, and storage. Posted from CellarTracker!

Isn't kKaennip actually sesame leaf? I think Korea shiso leaf (Perilla frutescens var. japonica) is called ilbon kaennip isn't it? In any case, I've certainly not seen ordinary mint in Korean food. As to fish sauce, I've often seen Korean fish sauce (jotgal) used both in yangnyeom for kimchi and also as a dip for bossam and similar preparations of pork, among other things. But I've never seen it as part of a dip for Korean barbecue. I guess I need to watch more Food Network (not!). Jim

(Florida) Jim: Here's a recent impression of a small pour of the '96 Clos St. Hune... "Any concerns about the match with my oysters went away when they brought me a glass of '96 Clos St. Hune without my asking (or paying). Just a nice thought? Or second guessing the Cordier recommendation? The Clos St. Hune was a perfect match, with great acidity, good riesling steeliness, but the generosity that only comes out in Alsation riesling. No petrol, but mineral galore. Great wine." I would add that my note may be a little misleading. Don't mistake my comment of "generosity" for anything approaching maturity. It really was a case of structure, mineral, and that kind of textural/structural generosity that can come out in Alsatian riesling. The generosity was not about a broad range of mature flavors, though I fully expect those will come in time. I don't have a note on the '89 Lynch Bages, as I haven't had it in three or four years and wasn't disciplined about notes back then. However, this is probably my favorite LB vintage I have tasted. It was still relatively tannic and tight, but showed clean, pure fruit and an absolutely classic nose and palate profile, along with what seemed to be great balance. I would say this is a reference point wine. If I had to write an article describing what Pauillac tastes like (or is supposed to), I might pour a glass of this for reference. Its absolute typicity is what most excited me. However, for all of those positive comments and my inability to describe a fault, it didn't yet have any edge or point of interest to make it memorable in its own right. It was missing the subtle birthmark that can make a beautiful woman even more beautiful. Does that make sense?? Enjoy, Jim (Jones)