Three for the life list

[Florida Jim]

2005 Earl Alain Michaud, Brouilly Prestige de Vieilles Vignes:

13% alcohol from very old (over 85 years) vines; black fruit nose with talcum powder and earthy accents; a sinuous, satin smooth delivery that is chocked full of black fruit and has substantial tannins, bigger than expected but better balanced than the size would first indicate; long, grippy finish. One hell of a wine; expressive, authentic, youthful, almost brooding depth and an imposing (but ripe) structure; one to hold. About $22; buy it by the case; I did.

1999 Nigl, Grüner Veltliner Piri Privat:

The breadth of this wine amazed me; as always, this producer’s wines have plenty of cut but this was also sappy and deep, almost fat, with powerful scents and flavors and lots of developing complexity in a perfectly balanced, very easy to drink wine. From the Senftenberg vineyard, about 13.5 % alcohol and, at release, about $23; larceny at that price which I would surely pay again.

1998 Ogier, Côte-Rôtie:

A wine I have followed since release and it has always been impressive; now, all the more so for its more expansive and beautifully supple mid-palate; always an aromatic wine, it has developed some secondary character and texture, retained its ample yet understated structure and has at least twice the complexity of its youth but the fruit of the mid-palate is heart-stopping. Truly, a wine deserving of the descriptor ‘great’ and, at the $41 I paid for it on release, something to buy as much of as financially possible.

Best, Jim