Recent tastes

[Florida Jim]

2002 Lapierre, Morgon:

Good wine but not exciting with raspberry, strawberry flavors and chalk accents. FWIW, there are a number of reports of bottle variation for this vintage so, perhaps, this was one of the variants.

2003 Champalou, Vouvray:

A bit sweet, blousy and diffuse; not much here that tastes like chenin. Fair, at best.

2002 Zind-Humbrecht, Riesling Brand:

If not the best wine Z-H has ever made, certainly the one with the best acids; utterly stunning, concentrated but not thick, ripe without going any farther, beautifully balanced, weightless but powerful, and as well structured as any Brand I’ve tasted. In ten years, this will be one of the world’s great rieslings. $70, however, is out of my league.

2000 Cuilleron, Gaillard, Villard; Cornas Les Barcillants:

Good wine; false advertising.

Smells like a well-made, fruit-sweet, domestic syrah; has the slightest hint of its European origins on the palate which is medium bodied, ripe and balanced; medium finish with a touch of tannin. Anybody looking for a nice, non-woody, relatively elegant, balanced, vaguely European syrah will be happy with this bottle for $20. But if it’s Cornas you want, this ain’t it; not even close. There’s no “there” there; no meat, no olive, no smoke, no funk; no character. Drink now.

NV Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde:

Lime blossom, white grape and ginger nose; crisp and lightweight on the palate with clean flavors that follow the nose, nice intensity and a medium finish. ‘Just delightful and, at 9% alcohol, as easy to drink as any summer white. Cheap, too.

Best, Jim