WTN: Weekend Wines

[Brad Ballinger]

1998 Dr. Pauly Bergweiler Bernkasteler alte Badstube am Doctorberg Riesling Auslese, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. The nose of the wine initially teased with some golden delicious apples, lime, honey, and wet stones. I say teased because there was a slightly sulfuric component through which everything had to be filtered. With continued aeration the sulfur lessened. Delicately balanced in the mouth. The wine was not aggressive on either the residual sugar side or the acidity side. It did appear, however, to be ever so slightly diluted, leaving a “blah” impression between the attach and the finish, which were both fresh and lively. Good fruit profile with mineral undertones. Had the sweetness to go well with apple crisp.

NV Michel Arnould “La Grand Cuvee” Brut Champagne, Verzenay Grand Cru. All the fruit is from the 1997 vintage. Two-thirds pinot noir, one third chardonnay. The wine undergoes complete malolactic fermentation, and sits on the lees for three years. But there is still enough acidic power here due in part to the north-sloping Verzenay vineyards. The mousse had a soft creaminess to it, and the fruit character of the wine was heavy on the cherry and apple skin side. There was also a slight stone element and a very mineral-driven finish.

1995 Olivier, Pessac-Leognan. Showing some bricking around the rim. The nose of the wine is starting to take on a beguiling and mature complexity. Wet leather, menthol, tobacco, blackberry, and a bit of cedar. Really, the wine is wonderfully aromatic. The tannins have a velvet glove quality to them – still holding a grip on the wine, but have a silky texture. Nice blackcurrant core to the fruit profile with some earthy undercurrent. With some time in the glass, the tannins relax their grip and the fruit keeps coming and coming on the finish. Drinking very well right now.

1995 Cantenac Brown, Margaux. This is just an angry wine. Nose shows burning leaves, some roasted game, and green lentils. Austere and angular (not rounded) in the mouth, sort of like stemmy without necessarily being “green.” Uninteresting, and only asking that another bottle of something else be opened.

1992 Sebastiani Cabernet Sauvignon, Cherryblock Vineyard, Sonoma County. A wine that is just starting to slide downhill, and picked up the downhill momentum after being open only fifteen minutes. Both the nose and the finish showed me more alcohol than I like, and I think part of that could have been due to some tiring fruit. Forcing myself to get pas the alcohol, there was a lovely cherry and currant nose with a bit of cinnamon and mint. In the mouth, the wine was structurally sound with moderate acidity and still-resolving tannin. The fruit showed enough of how pretty it was a year or two ago, and the wine would still pair well with some hard cheeses even if it doesn’t quite have the stuff for the entrée any longer.