PlaceInTheGlass Tasting Notes

Tasting Notes That Are Designed to Teach

All the wines described in these Notes were tasted during August and September, 2007:
In this Listing of Tasting Notes, the following wines are featured:

• 12 French Red Burgundies (mostly from 1996)
• 5 Oregon Pinot Noir
• 3 Oregon Pinot Gris
• 1 California Pinot Noir
• 3 Loire Valley Wines (One Red, Two White)
• 1 Alsatian Riesling
• 1 Red Bordeaux
• 1 Spanish Ribera Del Duero
• 1 French Corbieres
• 3 French Rhones (Two Red, One White)
• 10 Ports

Notes for Cote d'Or Red Burgundies (100% Pinot Noir):
Conclusion: Cote d'Or is a special place that simultaneously expresses in the glass both delicacy and power. The 1996 vintage, somewhat surprisingly (in the face of a pronounced level of acidity), is now fully mature and ready to drink, even at the Grand Cru level; this conclusion may, however, apply only to lighter-style producers, such as Armand Rousseau and Clos de la Arlot, but the vintage is certainly not as slow to evolve as the elevated levels of acidity might otherwise suggest. On the other hand, the 1993 vintage has remained somewhat hard, yet the 1993s surely speak of the uniqueness of that season, which is a fact that must be appreciated in spite of the rougher style of the red wines of that year from Burgundy.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 1996 by Armand Rousseau Region: France, Burgundy, in eastern France. Subregion: Cote de Nuits portion of the Cote d'Or. Village: Morey St. Denis. Vineyard: Clos de la Roche. Vineyard Legal Classification: Grand Cru. Winery: Domaine Armand Rousseau. Analysis: Silky texture. Powerful yet elegant midpalate tannins. Plenty of acidity. Red as well as black fruit flavors. Very long, as this wine lingers on the palate. Fully mature. Light red-brown colors in the glass. Will not further improve in the bottle, but will last another 4 or 5 years, at which time is will show signs of falling apart. The delicate textures of a wine from the village of Morey St. Denis shows through; this is a real PlaceInTheGlass wine. There is a richness of texture at midpalate that is usually found only in fault-rock vineyards, such as Clos de la Roche which is located at the mid-slope fault on Cote d'Or (which translated means east facing slope, as d'Or is a diminutive for Oriental, or easterly. Indeed, no overly-fertile/wet-soil vineyard could produce this beauty. The firm acidity in this wine is typical of 1996 Cote d'Or wines, so this wine expresses both its unique site and its unique season/vintage.

Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 1996 by Armand Rousseau (Tasted Twice) Region: France, Burgundy. Subregion: Cote d'Or. Village: Gevrey Chambertin. Vineyard: Charmes Chambertin. Vineyard Legal Classification: Grand Cru. Winery: Domaine Armand Rousseau. Analysis: Soft textures here, with some browning of its red colors, and with slight lack of balance by reason of acidity more pronounced than it should be in comparison to the tannins and ripeness of fruit. In spite of these imperfections in quality, this is an excellent example of Charmes Chambertin, a place that always expresses delicacy in-the-glass. If this wine were a woman, she would be a very fit, small-boned, and definitely not brawny. Images of a well-preserved yet aging gymnast come to mind. Some tasters might view this wine as thin and watered down and weakly colored, but I am reminded of David Lett? admonition: ?olor and quality are inversely proportional with Pinot Noir. Charmes Chambertin does seem to age prematurely sometimes, as compared to other red Crand Cru from Burgundy.

Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 1993 by Maison Joseph Drouhin Region: France, Burgundy. Subregion: Cote d'Or. Village: Gevery Chambertin. Vineyard: Charmes Chamertin. Vineyard Legal Classification: Grand Cru. Winery: Maison Joseph Drouhin. Expensive. Analysis: Hard acids and unresolved tannins overwhelm fading fruit. My dining companions and I could not finish the bottle, as it was not exactly pleasurable. Does Charmes Chambertin always deserve its Grand Cru status? Or, was this a poor storage issue? Or is this disappointment merely an expression of the hard and difficult nature of the 1993 vintage at age 14? It should be noted that I have been a fan of the Pinot Noir wines made by the Drouhin family for many years; that this wine disappointed is definitely not an indication of a general dissatisfaction with Drouhin wines, and, in fact, of the hundreds of Drouhin wines that I have tasted, very few have not been of outstanding quality that expressed fully and clearly the site and the season of their origin. Sometimes, by reason of poor storage or by reason of a disappointing vintage, a wine can disappoint, and perhaps wines made from Pinot Noir are more susceptible to reflect mistreatment or a poor vintage than wines made from other varieties. I am frankly beginning to wonder whether Charmes Chambertin deserves its Grand Cru status.

Gevrey Chambertin Les Cazetiers Premier Cru 1996 by Armand Rousseau Region: France, Burgundy. Subregion: Cote d'Or. Village: Gevrey Chambertin. Vineyard: Les Cazetiers. Vineyard Legal Classification: Premier Cru. Winery: Domaine Armand Rousseau. Analysis: Very nearly Grand Cru quality. Silky textures, yet plenty of powerful tannins and fruits. Black fruit qualities dominate over red fruit flavors. Full midpalate, and plenty of length. Grand Cru status is deserved for this 1st Cru wine. Nice expression of the Gevrey Chambertin village, with as much muscle and power as elegance and finesse. Mature and ready to drink.

Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru 1993 by Armand Rousseau Region: France, Burgundy. Subregion: Cote d'Or. Village: Gevrey Chambertin. Vineyard: Chambertin Clos de Beze. Vineyard Legal Classification: Grand Cru. Winery: Domaine Armand Rousseau. Analysis: Richly textured but slightly out of balance, by reason of the acidity seemingly more pronounced than the fruit. But it is the very strong reduction flavors and scents, reminiscent of burned rubber or unburned latakia pipe tobacco, that mark this wine---for better or for worse. These reduced flavors have been evident in every one of the 20+ vintages of Rousseau Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Beze that I have tasted over the last 20 years; these consistent but somewhat off-putting reduced scent and flavor in these two single-vineyard wines (Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Beze are adjacent but are two different Grand Cru vineyards) has not, however, been evident or present in other Rousseau wines made from fruit sourced from other vineyards, such as Clos de la Roche, Ruchottes Chambertin, Les Cazetiers, or Clos St Jacques. This is difficult to explain. Perhaps Rousseau's part of Chambertin and Clos de Beze produce musts that are low in yeast available nitrogen which can cause yeast to convert sulphur into certain compounds during fermentation, thereby leading to reductive smells. Or perhaps there is a practice in those vineyards of spraying elemental sulphur on the vines too close to harvest.

Volnay Clos des Chenes 1993 by Michel Lafarge Region: France, Burgundy. Subregion: Cote de Beaune (southerly) portion of the Cote d'Or. Village: Volnay. Vineyard: Clos des Chenes. Vineyard Legal Classification: Premier Cru. Winery: Domaine Michel Lafarge. Analysis: There are slightly rough tannins in this wine, for a Pinot Noir, which is consistent with virtually all red Burgundies from the 1993 vintage. I barrel tasted hundreds of wines in Burgundy from this vintage (in May and June, 1994), and I bought them after they were bottled because I thought that the wines were classically structured. There is a clear indication now, to me, in the glass, that this vintage is more rough on the palate than I usually prefer for Pinot Noir. This particular wine is not terribly elegant, although there are some rose petal scents that are typical of Volnay wines; this is merely an expression of the vintage. The Clos des Chenes vineyard has a reputation for producing wines that have a long life, but the tannins here are a bit too much, and, as I say, I ascribe the relative roughness of the wine strictly to the character of the vintage, not to the methods employed by the producer or to the style of the wine that comes from this particular vineyard. Indeed, nearly all 1993 red Burgundies are somewhat hard and less delicate than I like for Pinot Noir, even at now 14 years of age, and I have tasted dozens over the last 5 years. This vintage character is something that I do not think will ever change, regardless of many additional years of perfect storage. I know that some of you out there disagree, perhaps in part for the reason that Clive Coates praised this vintage when it was released and even thereafter; Robert Parker did not praise the vintage when it was released and in fact was critical of its harshness, back in the time when he used to write about Burgundy wines. On this particular vintage of 1993, I believe that Robert Parker was more prescient and that Mr. Coates was a little too optimistic, as I admit above, was I.

Mazy-Chambertin 1996 by Armand Rousseau Region: France, Burgundy. Subregion: Cote d'Or. Village: Gevrey Chambertin. Vineyard: Mazy-Chambertin. Vineyard Legal Classification: Grand Cru. Winery: Domaine Armand Rousseau. Analysis: Silky textures, but with powerful raspberry and floral scents and flavors. Light red color is almost transluscent with no browning. Some say that color and quality are inversely proportional for Pinot Noir wines, and this wine is proof that they may be correct. As David Lett recently told me, "color in Pinot Noir is no more necessary than clothes on a beautiful woman." This wine has absolutely none of the reductive burned-rubber scents that dominate the noses of the Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Beze wines reviewed above. Instead, the scents and flavors of this wine are fresh and lively and floral and seductively long. I would guess that there are limited stems (i.e., whole clusters) used to make this wine, perhaps 20%, and that the average vine age for this vineyard is quite old (over 30 years). Indeed, this is a wine with what I call old vine stuffing at the midpalate.

Ruchottes Chambertin 1996 by Armand Rousseau Region: France, Burgundy. Subregion: Cote d'Or. Village: Gevrey Chambertin. Vineyard: Ruchottes Chambertin. Vineyard Legal Classification: Grand Cru. Winery: Domaine Armand Rousseau. Analysis: Similar to the Mazy-Chambertin in texture, color, and flavors, but this wine has very slightly more muscle at the mid-palate and a little more cherry than raspberry scents. All of these 1996 Rousseau Grand Cru wines are fully mature, yet they will keep for another 5-7 years. Like the Mazy, the Ruchottes also has no hint of reductive scents or burned rubber flavors, unlike the Clos de Beze reviewed above and made by the same producer from the same vintage. Could the viticultural practices at Clos de Beze or at Chambertin differ from those at Mazy or Ruchottes or is this just a matter of vineyard expression of its place-in-the-glass? All of the mentioned vineyards are located within the tiny hillside area surrounding the village of Gevrey-Chambertin, and all four are made in the same winery. This Ruchottes Chambertin is one of the finest wines that I have ever tasted, and it will improve for the next several years, as demonstrated in part by the improvement of this wine in the glass for over an hour after it was opened.

Chambolle Musigny Premier Cru 1996 by J. Drouhin Region: France, Burgundy. Subregion: Cote d'Or. Village: Chambolle Musigny. Vineyard Legal Classification: Premier Cru (this particular wine is a blend of several different premier cru sites). Winery: Maison Joseph Drouhin. Analysis: Fully mature and slightly browning in color. A little pronounced acidity that is indicative of the uniqueness of this vintage in the glass. Soft lovely textures on the palate with delicate raspberry and leather scents, as one would expect from a wine from the village of Chambolle, which is perhaps the most feminine expression of Pinot Noir in Burgundy. This wine has layers of complexity and a grip at midpalate, as well as plenty of length---more of the quality that I have come to expect from the Drouhin family wines (as compared to the disappointing 1993 Charmes Chambertin analyzed above).

Chambolle Musigny 1996 by G. Roumier Region: France, Burgundy. Subregion: Cote d'Or. Village: Chambolle Musigny. Vineyard Legal Classification: Village. Winery: Domaine George Roumier. Analysis: Out of balance, with the acidity overwhelming the fruit, as is sometimes the case with wines from this particular season (1996). The very dark color of this wine, for a Pinot Noir, and the somewhat coarse textures are inconsistent with the somewhat weak flavors and short finish. It is possible that the fruit for this wine came from a site in the village of Chambolle that tends to produce roughly textured wines, or perhaps the winemaking employed long macerations or other techniques that have given us wine that speaks with what seems to me a raspy voice.

Beaune Clos des Mouches 1996 by J. Drouhin Region: France, Burgundy. Subregion: Cote de Beaune portion of the Cote d'Or. Village: Beaune. Vineyard: Clos des Mouches. Vineyard Legal Classification: Premier Cru. Winery: Domaine Joseph Drouhin. Analysis: Silky textures, barely mature, fresh raspberry fruit flavors, good length, good but not top balance by reason of excessive acidity, medium body, plenty of acidity. This wine comes from the Clos des Mouches vineyard near the town of Beaune, one of the largest in the Cote d?r region. This vineyard sits mid-slope on the Cote d Or, just as does the nearby vineyard Clos des Chenes (reviewed above) and as do nearly all of the Grand Cru rated wines throughout the Cote d?r region. This placement at mid-slope, not at the bottom of the hill and not at the top, appears to give just the right balance of water stress at just the right time during the growing season. Jacques Lardieres, winemaker at Domaine Louis Jadot (also in Beaune), once told me that the placement of the Grand Cru vineyards and superior Premier Cru vineyards (like Clos des Mouches) is no accident and that there lies at the mid-slope a fault underground, which Lardieres says ?reates friction and heat deep in the bedrock of the midslope Cote d?r vineyards, into which bedrock old vine roots inevitably reach. Whether it is faultline friction in the bedrock, or some other explanation, one thing is certain: Clos des Mouches is a superior site that makes great wine in many different vintages, and the 1996 is just another example of the transparent way that the Drouhin Clos des Mouches wines reflect the superior mid-slope location of the site as well as the uniqueness of each vintage?n this case, the high acidity of 1996---this wine still needs time to shed the acidity over more time in the bottle.

Notes For Oregon Pinot Noir: Conclusion: 2002 is an excellent vintage for Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and wines from this vintage are now fully mature and ready to drink. The 1999 vintage has a huge drinking window, perhaps as long as any recent vintage from the Willamette Valley, but this window may not yet have opened. Dark colors and long-maceration for Pinot Noir is not necessary to express place, variety, and vintage---with the indicia of quality.

Eola-Amity Hills Jessie Vineyard 2002 by Cristom Region: Oregon, Willamette Valley, near Portland. Subregion: Eola-Amity Hills, influenced by cool ocean breezes which sneak through the Van Duzer Corridor. Vineyard: Jessie, steep east-facing densely planted site. Winery: Cristom Vineyards. Analysis: Complex, with layers of secondary and tertiary flavors. Very long with a rich midpalate, both of which are sometimes missing in North American Pinot Noir. This wine, however, is full bodied, long, and elegant. In fact, this is a compelling wine, one that expresses the ?lightly warmer than cool climate of the Willamette Valley. There are red fruit flavors typical of Eola Hills wines. Indeed, we have here a wine that expresses well its placeintheglass, and this wine does so with finesse. See the website homepage for an online video class featuring a walkabout in the Jessie Vineyard.

Eola-Amity Hills Jessie Vineyard 1999 by Cristom (Magnum Format) Analysis: This massive wine is not yet ready. Perhaps the Magnum format has delayed maturity. There is rich concentration, but the wine has not acquired a complexity or a length that one would hope that this wine will eventually express. After having tasted this wine (and been impressed) many times back when the wine was young, the lack of complexity and length is disappointing. A good wine but it lacks finesse, which is critical for Pinot Noir to be considered great. Perhaps such finesse will display itself for this wine when it is older.

Dundee Hills The Eyrie Vineyard 1992 Reserve Region: Oregon, Willamette Valley. Subregion: Dundee Hills. Vineyard: The original Eyrie Estate Vineyard. Winery: Eyrie. Analysis: Mahogany colors. Lively scents and textures; this wine is fully mature but will live another decade. Many layers of complex fruit and floral flavors. Rich midpalate?hat ?ld vine stuffing. For its almost translucent color, it has a deep concentration and good frutinesss. Proof that deepness of color and quality in Pinot Noir have no relation to one another. A fine wine that shows its place of origin and its source from very old vines.

Eola-Amity Hills Seven Springs 2005 by St. Innocent Region: Willamette Valley. Subregion: Eola Amity Hills. Vineyard: Seven Springs. Winery: St. Innocent. Analysis: Very Complex with rich midpalate textures, perhaps enhanced by a total lack of filtration and fining. Great varietal character: Pinot Noir as ?n iron fist in a velvet glove. Above average length. Dark red color. Should improve, but shows well now. We shall have to wait and see, as this was just recently bottled. I continue to be impressed with the complexity and fine balance of Eola Hills-fruit-sourced wines made by St. Innocent (Mark Vlossak, winemaker).

Willamette Valley Amity Eco-Wine 2006 ('Organic Wine' Label) Region: Willamette Valley. Winery: Amity. Analysis: I mistook this wine for a Gamay. There is very little Pinot Noir varietal character in this wine. Indeed, in my view, this wine does not express well its varietal or its place of origin. There is a limited midpalate, with bubble-gum-like scents similar to those found in carbonic maceration or hyper-whole berry fermentation. I have found these scents and light textures sometimes in wines that are so-called ?ulphite-free or ?rganic. Organically grown grapes are one thing, but organically produced wines is a different topic altogether, because the use of sulphur dioxide (SO2) is prohibited in a wine that is labeled as an ?rganic wine but SO2 totally allowed in a wine labeled as a ?ine made from organically grown grapes. [I will note that the addition of commercially produced yeasts are allowed for organic wines but not for certified biodynamic wines, to which limited amounts of SO2 may be added and for which only native noncommercial yeasts may be used.] Organic wines are thus often subjected to physical treatments such as sterile filtration for elimination of spoilage bacteria or unwanted yeasts, but are not subjected to chemical protection against the action of such unwanted microscopic critters (by means of the use of sulphur and other historically traditional winemaking chemicals). The result, sometimes, is a physically rather than chemically manipulated wine; this physical rather than chemical treatment for control of such things as bacteria might be viewed as the basic distinction between organic and conventionally made wine. This particular organically-made wine shows what appears to be some such manipulation, possibly sterile filtration, that appears to me to have stripped the wine of its midpalate textures and flavors to the point that it lost its soul, even its ability to express its grape variety. Interestingly, this wine has ?on many top medals at wine competitions, including the Oregon State Fair; who were the judges at that fair?

Notes on Oregon Pinot Gris
Conclusion: This simple and not overwhelmingly aromatic white varietal can make refreshingly pleasant wine, or dull boring wine, or spicy interesting wine. All of these versions can be found among Oregon producers.
Oregon 2006 by King Estate Region: About 60% of the grapes sourced from the Willamette Valley, the rest from the King Estate estate vineyard, which is not in (but is near to) the Willamette Valley. Analysis: Pale color, refreshing, but with very little complexity and virtually no palate persistence. Some barely perceptible residual sugar (about 0.45%?). Some limited spice flavors on the finish. Barely a decent value at about $16, but then again almost all Oregon Pinot Gris costs something close to this number.

Willamette Valley 2006 by Eyrie Region: Willamette Valley. Subregion: Dundee Hills. Analysis: Color is pale yellow. Scents show very slight oxidation from time spent in older barrel. There is a spicy, clove-like scent at the back of the palate, right up into the nose; this is an indication of Pinot Gris grown in a place that allows it to express its varietal typicity. A rich midpalate is distinctive here?ome of the fruit used here is from very old vines and the wine was put through a malolactic conversion (called MLF). Some people might find this wine unappealingly flabby, as the acid level in this wine is slightly low, perhaps from the use of MLF in converting harsh malic acids to lactic acids. Read my James Beard-nominated article on Oregon Pinot Gris that is available at the placeintheglass.com homepage, for an explanation of the use of MLF in the making of Oregon Pinot Gris.

Willamette Valley Vitae Springs Vineyard 2006 by St. Innocent Region: Willamette Valley. Analysis: This single vineyard-sourced Pinot Gris exhibits a creamy texture reminiscent of Champagne that has had long term lees contact. There is little question that this wine was softened by malolactic conversion, (by using lactic acid bacteria to convert harsh apple-like malic acids into softer, milk & cream-like lactic acids), and the soft textures are lush, yet the final acidity intheglass has been preserved somehow. This is a good example of what is possible in the cool Willamette Valley with Pinot Gris in the hand of a careful and competent winemaker.

Notes For California Pinot Noir Arroyo Grande Pinot Noir 2002 by Talley Region: California, Central Coast. Subregion: Arroyo Grande, near San Luis Obispo. Vineyard: Blend of Rosemary and Rincon estate vineyards. Analysis: Slightly candied scent, with brilliant red color, typical of California Pinot Noir made in sites that are slightly warm for Pinot Noir that nonetheless experience a cooling influence from the Pacific and from fog. A good expression of place in the glass here. Complexity and length are good but not outstanding, perhaps a matter of slightly fertile soil, perhaps a matter of climate. The wine is slightly out of balance, with the alcohol a bit higher than the concentration or acidity or fruit can support, also indicating perhaps slightly fertile location; as such, this is actually also an expression of the place Arroyo Grande.

Notes For Loire Valley Wines: Conclusion: Chinon is a much overlooked red wine that goes well with simple foods, that is highly fruity, and that is relatively low in tannins. It is made from Cabernet Franc (also called Breton) and has a texture not unlike that of good Cru Beaujolais. Best of all, Chinon expresses the placeintheglass of the cool Loire Valley for surprisingly little money: typically $11-18. Muscadet, a refreshing mountain-stream-finish white wine from the western Loire, near the Atlantic, is also a great value and is a perfect match for freshly shucked oysters.

Chinon Les Granges 2005 by Bernard Baudry Region: France, Loire Valley. Subregion: Touraine. Village: Chinon. Zone: Cravant Les Coteux. Winery: Bernard Baudry. Grape Variety: In Chinon, for reds, always Cabernet Franc. Analysis: Typical lead pencil scent, but atypically opaque purple in color; Chinon is usually quite light and semi-translucent. But 2005, like 1990, was a year that produced darker richer and more ageworthy Chinon. Elevated acidity and lowish tannins, consistent with Breton/CabernetFranc grown in the Chinon region near the river Vienne. Jammy flavors, with a hint of musk and barnyard and strawberries. Chinon usually has a lighter and more obviously strawberry flavor, but not in 2005; this is a brawny version, thanks to the weather that year. Taste of seasonintheglass. Chinon is usually a good value, especially in Paris, where it is commonly served.

Clos de Sainte Catherine Coteux de Layon 1969 by J. Baumard Region: France, Loire Valley. Subregion: Anjou. Zone: Coteaux du Layon (meaning literally the slopes of the Layon River, a tributary of the Loire River). Vineyard: Clos de Sainte Catherine. Winery: Jean Baumard. Grape Variety: In Anjou, for whites, always Chenin Blanc. Analysis: Fresh at age 38! The Chenin Blanc white wines of the Loire are distinguished in part by reason of their incredible ability to outlive the people who make them or buy them. This one, by Jean Baumard, has very light residual sugar, although many Coteaux du Layon wines are much sweeter than this one. This particular wine, which is typical of older Coteaux du Layon, has a light and elegant quinine finish, with hints of herbal tea and lemon. It was purchased with dinner at New Sammy? Cowboy Bistro, (In Ashland, Oregon), one of America? finest restaurants, with perhaps the west coast? finest wine list. Clos Sainte Catherine is situated near the Layon river in sandy soils, which explains the light textures of this lovely wine.

Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie, Clos des Alliers, Vielles Vignes 2005 by Luneau-Papin (Tasted Twice) Region: Western French Loire Valley, near the Atlantic. Subregion: Pay Nantes. Zone: Muscadet Sevre et Maine. Grape Variety: Melon de Bougogne. Analysis: Tastes like a cold mountain stream, but a little zestier! This could only be Muscadet Sur Lie from the area near Nantes, at the mouth of the Loire Valley on the Atlantic; the formal name on the label for this region is Sevre et Maine. No other wine is quite like it, just as the Nantes region is like no other. It is not a big wine but it has a lot of heart. It cries out for a plate of freshly shucked oysters. Expressive for the price, usually about $14-15, Muscadet should be on the table at every shellfish restaurant in the world.

Notes on One Alsatian Riesling: Conclusion: Clos St. Hune is perhaps the greatest source for Riesling made in the dry (i.e., not sweet) style of Alsace, that part of France along the westerly edge of the Rhine, directly across the river from Germany. Under French law, Riesling may be grown only in this zone, near the Rhine, thus explaining why Riesling from France outside Alsace is not to be found. Alsatian Riesling, unlike German Riesling, is normally made without residual sugar and relies on frutiness, body, and alcohol to define its structure; German Riesling relies upon a balance of acidity and sugar (which offset one another in the mouth) and pretty much ignores alcohol as a factor in defining the style of the wine. Clos Ste Hune 1983 by F. E. Trimbach Region: France, Alsace. Vineyard: Clos Ste. Hune. Vineyard Legal Classification: Grand Cru. Winery: F.E. Trimbach. Analysis: Complex, with layer after layer of lemon-citrus and petrol-like flavors. This wine is now at its peak, but will last another 2 decades or more. Typical of great Alsatian Riesling, with layers of tree fruit flavors but no perceptible residual sugar---this wine, somewhat unusual for Alsatian Riesling, is laced with citrus as well as the more typical kerosene scents (that are sometimes called petrol scents). A rich midpalate and fine balance. Excellent length. This is a profound wine that hails from a special place for Riesling, with a taste-able tradition.

Notes on Red Bordeaux: Chateau Meyney, Saint Estephe, Cru Bourgeois 1990 Region: Bordeaux, Western France, on the Atlantic. Subregion: Left Bank of the Gironde River Commune: Saint Estephe. Vineyard Legal Classification: Cru Bourgeois. Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot. Analysis: Cassis flavors are dominant, and the wine is fully mature, with secondary layers of complex flavors. This wine is far better than generic Bordeaux, but is lacking the length exhibited by classified growth wines. This is a good example of the exact level of quality that one can expect from a Cru Bourgeois, which is the level of quality that back in the early 1800s was a kind of Purgatory for wines later promoted to classified growth status. Meyney is often, as a result of its non-classified growth status, a good value. 1990 was a warm year that produced well balanced and fruity wines.

Note on Spanish Ribera del Duero: Ribera Del Duero Crianza 2001 by Pesquera Region: Ribera Del Duero, Northern Spain, along the Duero River. Analysis: Typical opaque purple color, tea leaf scents, lowish acidity, firm tannins. Reflects Ribers Del Duero? verion of Tempranillo, which has naturally low acidity but firm tannins, with a much darker color when grown in Ribera Del Duero, as compared to RiojaTempranillo, which usually exhibits a reddish translucent color. This wine has good complexity but just and average length, both of which are also typical of Ribera Del Duero wines, (except the wines of Vega Sicilia, which are outstanding and very expensive). This wine spent a year in wood cask, as noted by the Crianza notation on the label, and the wood presence is detectible but a pleasant addition. There is also an appetizing astringency here, also typical of really good Tempranillo. Now mature. Will go another 5 years, not more. Showed some age after opened for an hour, with the complexity fading a bit.

Notes on French Corbieres: Corbieres Domaine Faillienc Sainte Marie 2005 Region: Southern France, Corbieres, just north of Spain, on the eastern side, near the Mediterranean. Grape Varieties: Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault blend. Analysis: Spicy, fruity, rustic, somewhat complex, refreshing, yet not leathery or cloying. Outstanding value, (about $15), because the world? collectors have not clamored for it. Drinks well young, something that most collectors and critic-score chasers fail to comprehend. Not subjected to extensive manipulation, such as preferment cold soaking and macerations. This is truly artisanal wine, expressive of where it was made: a placeintheglass wine.

Notes on Rhone Wines: Cotes du Rhone Villages St. Gervais 2004 by Eric Texier Region: France, Southern Rhone Valley. Grape Varieties: Grenache, Syrah, maybe some Cinsaut. Analysis: If there is such as thing as generic French wine that often fails to express a site, Cotes du Rhone is a candidate, but not this wine, which shows its warm climate place of origin without exhibiting stewed fruit flavors. The nice cherry scents of Grenache are well integrated with the leatheriness of Syrah and the refreshing lift of Cinsaut. This is one of the 20 or so villages that have the right to append its name to the label of a Cotes du Rhone wine. Gigondas and Vinsobres and Vacqueras used to be in that category with the other 20 but now they are no longer Cotes du Rhone Villages, but simply Gigondas or Vinsobres or Vacqueras, each of which has its own placeinthegla expression. This producer, Texier, has often impressed me, including with this wine.

Chateauneuf du Pape by Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee 1990 Region: Southern Rhone, Chateauneuf du Pape. Grape Varieties: Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, perhaps Cinsaut, and maybe others. Analysis: A fully mature Chateauneuf that expresses the place, with the layover of tradition in the form of the unique Chateauneuf blend of varieties. There are rich anise scents and black fruit flavors in this wine. Very long and supremely complex. The greatness of site and of vintage show here. One of the greatest wines of the month, among a long list of stars.

Condrieu Les Chaillets 2005 by Yves Cuilleron Region: Northern Rhone, Condrieu hillside, just a few miles south of Cote Rotie, where they blend a little Viognier in with Syrah to make a red wine. Grape Variety: Viognier. Analysis: Intense apricot flavors, very long, rich midpalate, amazingly complex with layer after layer of apricot and lemon. Complexity is what sets Condrieu Viognier apart from other Viognier. This wine is very slightly hot (14.5% alcohol), showing more of the season than the site. If the alcohol were a little lower, this would be truly great rather than just outstanding. In the US, this wine might have been dealcoholized by reverse osmosis (some producers of Viognier in the US have done this in recent years?ut is illegal in France), which would have reduced the alcohol but also changed the wine a bit---likely for the worse overall. So, the fact that this wine is slightly hot is something that I can live with as an expression of vintage in a way that must be accepted---perhaps that is the reason behind the French rules about these sort of things. It is my view that that Viognier from Condrieu is as great a wine as Chardonnay from Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy; the expression and transparency of site is so amazing with Condrieu that it must be considered in the same breath as great white burgundies.

Notes on Port: All Ports are fortified with brandy spirits (with exactly 77% alcohol) before the grape sugars have finished fermenting. This preserves residual sugar (almost always about 9%) and also boosts the final alcohol percentage to about 20%. So, Port is sweet and alcoholic. There are two kinds of Port: Ruby, or fresh-fruit-tasting Port, and Tawny, or dried-fruit-tasting Port. Generally, Rubies are aged in bottle, while Tawnies are aged in wooden casks for many years and then bottled. Ruby Ports are darkly colored (deep purple) until they have spend years ageing in bottle and they see limited wood cask contact before bottling, whereas Tawny Ports spend literally decades under wood contact in cask, giving translucent colors and delicate flavors at the time of bottling. Late Bottled Vintage Port (often called ?BV? is something of a hybrid, with a few more years in wood than most Ruby Port, but not nearly as long as a Tawny. Yet LBVs are closer to a Ruby than a Tawny, and LBVs always bear a single vintage date, which few Tawnies do (and when they rarely do, they are called a ?olheita Tawny). Vintage Port is the ultimate and greatest expression of single vintage Ruby, and not every vintage is technically called Vintage, as only the best weather years qualify; when a great year does so qualify, that year is called a ?eclared Vintage, which is not a legal declaration but rather a house-by-house decision, and of course there tends to be a consensus among houses as to which years deserve to be declared good enough for true Vintage Port production. Single-Quinta Ports are produced from a single vineyard owned by a single firm with fruit from a single year, one that sometimes has not been generally declared as Vintage Port by the majority of producers. Single Quinta ports can be thus thought of as a special version of vintage port that acquires its specialness from the fact that it comes from a single vineyard AND from a single vintage.

• Delaforce 10 Year old Tawny
• Fonseca 20 Year Old Tawny
• Taylor Fladgate 30 Year Tawny
• Taylor Fladgate 40 Year Tawny
• Fonseca Bin 27
• Taylor Fladgate LBV 2000
• Fonseca Vintage 2003
• Fonseca Quinta do Panascal 2005
• Taylor Fladgate Quinta do Vargellas 2005
• Croft Quinta do Roeda 2005

Region: Northern Portugal, along the Douro River (which is called the Duero in Spain before the river crosses the border and changes names). The grapes are grown in the infertile hot inhospitable (for everything but winegrapes) hills up the steep river canyon, but the wines are vinified in a suburb of the city of Oporto, called Vila Nova de Gaia. Grape Varieties: Dozens legally permitted, but Touriga Nacional, Tinto Cao, and Tinta Roriz/Tempranillo are the best and most often used. All the grapes are thick-skinned, the climate is highly variable from day to night, and the soil is infertile (such that ripeness of tannins is possible here much more often than in flat fertile soil locations.) Analysis: While certainly the price variability for these wines generally followed the differences in quality, all of these wines expressed the uniqueness that is Port in each of the two styles. This uniqueness is in part defined by the types of grapes grown and the climate in which they are grown, but it is the traditional adaptation through winemaking to these conditions that define the placeintheglass for Port. The 40 year old Taylor Tawny was like a fine old Cognac, and the Fonseca 20 year old Tawny is richly flavored with a mahogany color. But the single Quinta Ports from the 2005 vintage were the stars in this line-up. At about half the price that one would pay for true Vintage Port, (such as 2003, as 2005 was not generally declared, thereby making single Quintas will be the primary source for single vintage non-LBV-ruby style ports from 2005), these beauties are great examples of what the place of the Douro and the traditional style of Port wines are all about. While the Taylors Quinta do Vargellas 2005 is quite tannic and may outlive the other single Quintas tasted, the Croft Quinta do Roeda 2005 was to me complex, long, chewy (a good attribute for young Port), and yet elegant. There are few mid-priced (about $50 retail) single Quinta Ports as good as this one.