As I learned later, the other wines from Tim Fröhlich
almost prepare you for the smell, taste and texture of this little king
– almost. What tastes chalky and earthy in other Felseneck vintages
appears here as mined, salted butter, and this only after one pushes
aside a cloud of pungent floral aromas. The scary thing is that the
bouquet might actually be relatively closed. 7.5% alcohol with not a
trace of simple sugar flavor, just a gel of salted white and green fruit
essence. Bottles consumed: 2. Most memorable: December 31 while watching
Gojira a block from Detroit Western High School. $50 (375 ml)
Find this wine
3.
2005 Cheverny Rouge, Rouillon, Clos du Tue-Boeuf
My girl thought this should be the wine of the year, and she’s probably
right, but then, she would choose a red. Sacrilege! We can’t have a red
wine of the year! This is a blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay, perfumed and
vivid, pretty and lazy as a breeze. Please don’t look for lots of palate
crippling, highly extracted tannins in this wine. (You won’t find them.)
Bottles consumed: 11. Most memorable: December 6 the second bottle after
Anne and Stephanie dispatched the first one while puppy-sitting across
the street. $24
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4.
2004 Anjou Blanc, La Lune, Ferme de la Sansonniere
This might have been a dessert wine, a Bonnezeaux or Quarts de Chaume by
birth, but rebel vigneron Marc Angeli doesn’t make deals with the sugar
devil (at least not when it comes to Chenin; see #29). He makes it
stable and dry to avoid the need for lots of sulfur preservative. It is
100% biodynamic Chenin Blanc harvested very ripe. Familiar Chenin
sensations are compounded with eerie flavor images of heaping, mashed
pear skins and honey. Bottles consumed: 4. Most memorable: March 31 with
Jim Lester of Wyncroft; usually fairly talkative fellows, we just sort
of laughed and shook our heads while we drank it. The rest of the day
was a bit of a blur. $35
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5.
Xalixco Gold (Reposado) Tequila
There are deals hidden in Michigan’s elaborate state liquor distribution
bureaucracy. Everywhere else in the country this brand is priced in the
mid-$20s, and that would still make it a bargain. In Michigan it’s
$14.90. One possible clue to the mystery of the absurd low price lies in
the little blank rectangular sticker placed over the word “Reposado.”
Apparently, someone thought it was true Reposado, and then someone
thought it wasn’t. My favorite entirely fictional explanation has Cuervo
mobsters pulling the strings of state bureaucrats who obediently deny
label approval to this threatening upstart brand. “Prove it was aged for
6 months,” they say, “and use the correct form!” Treat yourself to a
shocking contrast and taste Cuervo Gold, a brand of Tequila that costs
more and tastes like melted plastic, next to Xalixco Gold. Xalixco is
the largest holder of agave acreage, so it can bottle high quality
Tequila for less. $15
6.
2004 Piemonte Barbera, Mounbé, Cascina degli Ulivi
Wine should be vivid and meaningful but it doesn’t always have to be
pretty. Sometimes great wine moves emotions of horror and awe. I find it
impossible to pull away from these steeping subterranean aromatic
sensations of ash, sandalwood, roasted acid and cherry pit resin. The
color is black. Somehow, a mouthful is silky and sweet, irresistibly
succulent. This is a hallmark of Cascina degli Ulivi. All their wines
provide a glimpse into the raw, relentless pulse of vines, muscular
vines not stupefied with petrochemical poisons, vines with attitude. It
can be a little frightening. Bottles consumed: 4. Most memorable:
November 1. $28
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7.
2004 Touraine, Le Buisson Pouilleux, Clos du Tue-Boeuf
Le Buisson Pouilleux means “lousy bush,” an appropriate name for crazy
old-vine, mutant Sauvignon Blanc, so ripe it turns into an image of
abundant floral extract dipped in honey and grapefruit marmalade.
Bottles consumed: 7. Most memorable: November 22, the day before
Thanksgiving with BLiS tuna, chevre and El Pato taco sauce on grilled
flour tortillas. $25.
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8.
2005 Morgon, Côte du Py, Jean Foillard
2005’s wine of the year was Foillard’s 2001. In time this should be
every bit as magical. Now it is a closed purse of satin acids. The
tannins are tender. Red and black berry flavors emerge as one chews
them. Bottles consumed: 6. Most memorable: the first one while at work,
it was well anticipated. $27
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9. 2004 Patrimono Rouge, Carco, Antoine Arena
Like a hypothetical Sangiovese raisin espresso, punishing bitterness
wrapped in fresh berry fruit, this pure, black expression of the blood
of Jupiter defies linguistic attempts to represent it. It tastes like
"liqueur" – cassis, kirsch, plum, raspberry – seeping, pitch black
sensations with towering walls of fresh, concentrated, purple and blue
fruit to the horizon. And then there are the tannins, Sangiovese
tannins: dry and fine and a lot of them. As I chew on a drink they
release a storm of little raspberry acid flavored curly cues, like a
hundred tiny sequences of the wine in miniature. Bottles consumed: 5.
Most memorable: July 31. $39
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10.
2002 VOE (Viñedos Organicos Emiliana) Coyam
Forget the organic and biodynamic hype storming around this wine. It
surpasses more famous, more expensive Chilean wines purely on the basis
of immediate, impressionistic sensory standards. Imagine one of the more
dense Clos Apalta vintages from Casa Lapostolle, like 1999 (cocoa,
blackberries, opium, fine, velvety tannins), and add the slight roasted
herb flavors that should never be absent from a good Bordeaux-variety
blend. Bottles consumed: 1. Most memorable: December 29 with local,
grass-fed T-bone steaks cooked over a 1112 degree F hardwood fire in the
shadow of the Ambassador Bridge. £12
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11.
2004 Vallée d’Aoste Torrette, Franco Noussan
I wanted to prove that my sense of taste couldn’t be relied upon when
confronted with hundreds of novel samples all at once (and thereby
presume to add to the evidence that no one’s can.) My first taste of
this item was October 24 at a trade tasting with several hundred wines.
As usual I took my time: tasting, retasting and taking notes. When I got
to this item I was fairly certain it was too pale, tart and thin to be
remarkable, and certainly not worth more than $20 (twiggy, tart, dried
fruit, spice). But I had seen great light wines dismissed in such
contexts before, so I tried hard to clear my palate and mind and see
what others saw in it. No luck. My colleague Tom had the same reaction.
Then, during a break, I went downstairs to Astor and found it on the
shelf. I bought a bottle. Later that week I shared it with Todd Abrams.
We found it to be more or less as I remembered, but then as we drank it,
it got better. As we squeezed the last drop from the bottle and traded
sincere, loud expressions of appreciation for this mystical mountain
smoke of forest fruit, I resolved to learn my lesson: next time get two
bottles. Bottles consumed: 2. Most memorable: October 27. $20
Find this wine
12.
Winterkoninkske (Winter King), Kerkom
Why brew a beer with juniper berries if the taste of juniper in the
finished beer isn’t made obvious? Do you cook with ingredients or
“flavorings”? Juniper and a bit of lavender appear in this beer only
suggestively, revealing the dark brown ale’s inner dimensions like a
ripple on a pond. Nor does this beer exemplify the popular trend,
particularly in Belgium, toward syrupy sweet flavors and textures. It is
as dry as a cup of black coffee. Seven types of malt, two Belgian hop
varieties and the air and earth amidst the best cherry orchards in the
world make this ale as powerful as it is balanced and fine. Bottles
consumed: 2. Most memorable: December 12 while editing entries #1-17 on
this list. $5
13.
2002 Bourgueil, Clos Senechal, Catherine & Pierre Breton
This nimble, biodynamic Cabernet Franc grown in clay and limestone over
tufa just keeps getting better. The intense red berry fist of fruit
loosens to reveal soft fertile perfumes of clay cake and cocoa dust.
Taught, wiry vine energy reveals facets of this generosity like rapids
reveal river rocks. It feels like cake you can eat forever from and
never get full. Bottles consumed: 9. Most memorable: June 1. $25
Find this wine
14.
2005 Pineau d’Aunis, Tesnière, Thierry Puzelat Selections
From the Clos Roche Blanche vineyard called Tesnière. 2005 made a
concentrated Pineau d’Aunis there: dark, powerfully scented, unruly as
always. I can’t see any reason why anyone who drinks aged Nebbiolo,
Pinot Noir or Rhone wine wouldn’t think this was some kind of freakish
bargain. Write to me in 2008 to find out how it ages. Bottles consumed:
8. Most memorable: September 8th with Dave Antonelli who declared it to
be “port like” (and delicious); it was a hot day. $23
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15.
2005 Vouvray, Francois Pinon
It seems like all the Chenins I can find are either dilute or massive.
The range of perfume in this one -- from raw almond, to green fig, to
quince, to stone -- is impressive considering its lean fuel mixture
(12.5% alc). Bottles consumed: 11. Most memorable (tie): August 15 in
the company of Anne’s new puppy who was subsequently named “Peanut” in
honor of Mr. Pinon and November 23 as an aperitif to Thanksgiving dinner
at mom’s. $18
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16.
Mönchsambacher Lagerbier, Zehender
This is a pale lager brewed at a small guesthouse in a small town by a
lazy river in northern Bavaria. It has good fruit, sweet herbs and
butter flavors; it’s chewy and creamy with a hard spine of bitterness.
The fruits are dazzling, like crushed ripe peaches and pears. It has a
homemade feel like fresh bread (caramelized grains and yeast). I detect
no tartness, not even the least degree of green apple or lemon-flavored
tang. Quite stony. Nobly cured herbs can be found in a sensory analysis
of it. 300 bottles imported. Someone should import ten times that
amount. Bottles consumed: 27. Most memorable: bottles #2-9 on March 15.
$5 (500ml)
17.
2005 Gavi, Cascina degli Ulivi
I assume there is something about a vineyard biodynamic for 20 years (in
foggy, hilly Piedmont) that uniquely produces flavors and textures like
this. At first it was a little shocking. Honey sweet, acidic and spicy
with the flavors of fermentation. What was that sensation I wanted to
grasp … beeswax? Sandalwood? This brings you a little nearer than normal
to the riot of fruit, mineral and spice that raw wine can be. It’s a
Huxleyan blinder-free look into the vine’s machinery of sweetness
production. Truth be told, humans weren’t meant to know about it; it was
only ever intended for bees. Bottles consumed: 11. Most memorable:
October 16 watching Peanut and Misha (a neighbor’s rescued boxer)
wrestle and run around the yard for two hours. $17
Find this wine
18.
Ivanhoe
Catch this beer fresh from a bottle and it reminds you why entire
advanced civilizations formed around beer. Bone dry, ruby caramel
colored, and flavored like apple pie with buttery wholemeal crust. Drink
at solid room temperature with a sandwich that contains at least one
layer of pickle slices. $4
19.
2002 Chambolle Musigny, Gerard Raphet
Sure, lots of 2002 red Burgundies still taste appealing, but will they
last? Try this test: expose several bottles to high heat until the seal
around the cork breaks and the wine begins to leak down the front label.
Then wait a while and drink them. After such handling, wines lacking the
core strength to age will, to varying degrees, tend to suck. One thing
poor wines won’t do after such torture is emerge steadily, for two hours
after opening, from a state of blurry mushroom tea flavored tannins and
alcohol all the way to an arresting display of pure, intense sweet
cinnamon infused raspberry droplets of spiced queen bee honey. $60
Find this wine
20.
NV Champagne Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Larmandier-Bernier
The mousse in this Champagne is so authoritative and expansive you could
drive a truck into it and start a colony of Champagne-bedazzled
cultists. Your senses are free to move freely within the browned Alabama
biscuit, lemon and apple flavors because there is no sticky sugar to
interfere as you browse its detailed features. A solid rock of mineral
extract makes the base notes astonishingly crisp. You may tell your
Champagne geek friends that this is estate grown, organic,
hand-harvested and wild yeast fermented. $45
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21.
2003 Mâcon Montbellet, Domaine de Roally
So Chardonnay is the winemaker’s grape eh? Then why, after a change in
winemaking that spans two families and three generations, does this
“Chardonnay” still taste, like always, like no other wine? Neither bees
nor beer can put this amount of the sun’s complex yellow love in your
glass. $25
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22. 2001 Langhe Rosso, Roagna (Nebbiolo)
This wine makes little sense in a massive mixed tasting. In such
contexts the legendary 60-80 day maceration regime seems to provide only
tannin. Yet once isolated it becomes clear there is an entire thick
layer of sticky, chewy, cocoa and berry bean flavored texture, one I’ve
never experienced in Nebbiolo before. Proof of this came two days later
when it was opened as a mop-up selection after an examination of various
Paolo Scavino products, including 2000 and 1997 Rocche del Annunciata.
This was superior in every way that matters. $25
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23.
Cantillon Kriek
In the textbook of great original drinks, traditional dry Lambic
deserves no less ink than Burgundy, Scotch, Sauternes, German Riesling,
Mountain-grown Arabica Coffee, or the teas of China. Yet most people
have never had one. That’s probably because 1) they are unusually dry
and sour, and 2) there is no way to mass-produce them, cash in, and
thereby drive elaborate promotional campaigns. When it comes to “beer,”
the taste mainstream has settled about as far from this wild truffle of
fermented grain art as possible. Cantillon, more than any other
practitioner, sets the standard. Two bottles are enough for anyone to
become oriented. Start with the Kriek and recall the last young August
Clape Cornas or Chave Hermitage you drank. Then reverse. Serve at cellar
temperature! $12
24.
Cantillon Rosé de Gambrinus
Just as #21 on this list caused one American to give up a journalism
career to become a wine importer, so this item caused the Shelton
brothers to give up lawyering and begin importing beer. Someone had to
bring us this: an essential liquid document of sour, pulpy nature
combined with expert brew craft! It defines the peak of agrarian
civilization and this is the reigning definition of Framboise Lambic.
Only whole ripe raspberries are used (a lot of them) and no sweetening
is added. Be patient and enjoy the aroma. Wait until your mouth waters
so much you can’t stop drooling, then pull a big drink of it in. Serve
at cellar temperature! $14
25.
Cantillon Iris
Things we love that are sour: lemons, Riesling, sourdough, limes,
tamarind, sherry vinegar, Grüner Veltliner, green apples, kim chee,
raspberries, Picpoul de Pinet, grapefruit, cherry tomatoes, cherries,
new pickles, sauerkraut, mustard, Manzanilla, Blaterle, Gavi, Muscadet,
Albariño, Vinho Verde, malt vinegar on fish and chips, pickled herring,
miso, black bean sauce, fish sauce, salsa verde, seviche, ceasar salad,
tabbouleh, and every freaking beer brewed at
Brasserie Cantillon –
make the pilgrimage. Serve at cellar temperature! $16
26.
Jolly Pumpkin Bam
From Dexter Michigan, outside of Ann Arbor. DISCLOSURE: one of the
owners of my shop works with a guy who helped finance this amazing new
brewery. This cozy little arrangement is making us all rich beyond our
wildest dreams, selling tart, chalky-dry, wild cultured, barrel-aged
beer to the masses. This is made in the so-called “farmhouse” tradition,
which basically means at some point, after striving for the healthiest,
natural, living beer possible, the brewer rolls the dice and lets odd
little brettanomyces and souring cultures that live in used barrels have
a turn. Bling! $2 (12 oz.)
27. 2005 Cheverny Rouge, Clos du Tue-Boeuf
To be a Cheverny a wine can be made from almost any grape varieties, as
long as it’s a blend of exactly two. Otherwise it’s a Touraine. Got it?
Me neither. This particular Cheverny is a blend of ~70% of the grape
variety grown in Chiroubles (Gamay, possibly Gamay with black juice)
with ~30% of the grape variety grown in Vosne Romanee (Pinot Noir and/or
Pinot Fin). It is even softer and prettier than wine #3, possibly
because it has less Pinot Noir in it. $17
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28.
2004 Chinon, Le Clos Guillot, Bernard Baudry
Great Chinon whispers in the wood anyway, but Bernard’s takes you back
to the days of less populated continents in the northern hemisphere when
stone breezes glided through the pines, bearing a tempting scent of wild
black currants and wood ears. The tannins are rocks washed clean in the
running water. You alter before them. $25
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29.
(2005) VdT Rosé d’un Jour, Ferme de la Sansonniere
On the front label of his 2004 Anjou Blanc (#4) Marc Angeli lists
‘grapes’ and ‘40 mg/l sulfur’ as an ingredients. On this label he lists
only grapes. Do the grape varieties Grolleau, Cabernet Franc and Gamay
make a more stable wine than Chenin Blanc? Is that why he doesn’t add
even a pinprick of sulfur? At 11.2% alcohol and the residual sugar of an
Auslese, this murky pink biodynamic wine might qualify as a dessert. It
is a buxom cocktail of strawberry, apricot, cherry and white grape
flavors. $30
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30.
2004 Coteaux du Loir, “Hommage à Louis Derré,” Domaine de Bellivière
Louis Derré was the last Jedi of Pineau d’Aunis before Eric Nicolas
realized he wanted to work up to his elbows in it and show the world its
mysteries, so Eric named this 100 year-old vine Pineau d’Aunis cuvée
after him. If only more Burgundies revealed this much taught resin,
fruit and spice character. $35
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31. 2004 Chorey-les-Beaune, Catherine and Claude Marechal
In March and April it was a plump sweet baby, oozing with red berry
syrup and Java spices. In August and September it was a colicky brat,
offering ropy vegetal tantrums of tannin. In November it began to reveal
its adult personality: sharp and muscular, with aristocratic sweet herbs
replacing once raw leafiness and thereby yielding to a drier, more
articulated array of red fruits. $30
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32.
2005 Patrimonio Rouge, Grotte di Sole, Antoine Arena
Nielluccio is sometimes referred to as Sangiovese. This is thick, dark
and chewy and embarrassingly sweet. Tarry fruit tannins force a rough
balance with no help from oak flavor. Think of this like a port of
Brunello. Undeniably mineral, though covered with sticky, black resin,
iodine, seaweed, iron, sticky, dessicated French plums and oozing black
figs. It has a decent amount of dissolved gas in it. If this annoys you,
just shake the bottle before pouring. $35
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33. (2004 Patrimonio) Blanc, Carco, Antoine Arena
For some reason Antoine Arena had to declassify his Carco Blanc in 2004.
The only way we know it is a 2004 is the cheating little lot number on
the bottom of the label: “L 2004.” Like the Grotte di Sole Blanc, this
is 100% Vermentino (unless it isn't). The color is straw and clear with
a shimmer of trapped gas. Aromas of salted roasted nuts give some
indication of the extreme ripeness of the wine. 14% alcohol. Interior
raw wood aromas, stone/mineral, plump, sweet fruit flavor in the
vicinity of green bananas and mushy ripe pears. Throw in some preserved
lemons and oranges, maybe a little mint. These are punctuated with
fennel and sweet herb flavors. $37
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34.
Hansje Drinker, De Scheldebrouwerij
Brown-paper-bag-in-orange-sunlight-colored, thick with translucent blur.
Aromas of caramelized bananas and ginger cake. Brothy. Distantly cooked
pineapple and oatmeal cookie tussle amongst a range of sweet and savory
spices: cumin, coriander, nutmeg. Indian curry and English buttery fruit
cake. Dried cherries, raisins, poppy, marzipan. This is the smell of
this beer. All of this is a picture of coherence and balance. Malty,
caramel, wood resin and spice swing seamlessly between leafy branches of
dripping sweet globes of heirloom sweet peaches and plums. Big nutty
tannins seem to reveal almond paste and hazelnuts. All of this is dry. A
vinous surge dominates the finish, wiry like Nebbiolo, sentimental like
Gamay. Tannic. Transparent. $5 (330 ml)
35. 2004 Kaseler Nies'chen Riesling Kabinett, Karlsmühle
This Kabinett has the aromatic intensity of a stone-flavored Auslese.
Camphor, lime and raw honey. The texture too is rich for a Kabinett.
Acidity expands broadly and with energy, in perfect pace with the open,
dramatic effusion of sweet apple, white peach and pear flavor. The
slightest sensation of pineapple rind becomes evident as adjustments are
made to the sheer intensity of so many layers. $23
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36. 2002 Oberemmler Hütte Riesling Kabinett, von Hövel
From the extreme heights of the Saar, there is essentially no weight to
this steeped stone elixir. Now, once raw shafts of green fruits and
yellow acids are conspiring to form extravagant wilting trails of steamy
lemon lime apple pie and honey aromas which caress the minerals in order
to reveal their geometry. $18
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37. Thiriez Xxtra
Gobrew had been touting this beer, and buying it up, so I decided to
revisit it. MAN! How did I miss the dry, nutty, toasted biscuit malt
flavor? And while it may be hoppy, suitable for the Hop Head tribe, it
is a delicious, discriminated breed of hops. The stiff, hyperactive
eggwhite topping completes the picture. What a great beer. Drink it with
white-bean succotash (using Gruyere, Reggiano and Idiazabal) and pork
chops. Holy crap this is delicious beer! Bottles consumed: 11. Most
memorable: All of them in March. $10
38.
Del Maguey San Louis del Rio
Aromas of fine, old, brown things (strange for a clear firewater):
Solera brandy, carob paste, walnut shells. Huge cakes of vanilla, sticky
angel food cake. Lots of steamy, tropical leafiness. Dry and laser-sharp
on the palate. Good grip. $65
39. Zinnebir, Brouwerij Sint-Pieters
Deep yellow with a thick topping of white. Candy cane minty aromas play
with a pungent pale malty malt wine perfume. Tropical fruits, cream,
vanilla, butter, honey ... this is like a beer version of a Thevenet
Macon or Weinbach Gewurz. The texture is cream fluff. Trying to isolate
any instance of gaseous prickle is difficult, but it can be seen. Piles
of sweet green apple flesh bind to anise and green herbs flavors. Big
pear notes. Appetizing, leafy bitterness resists drawing attention to
itself. Light pastry dough texture and flavors keep pale honey sweetness
lifted and clean. Pure, wholesome and natural drinkability. This item
defies Belgian beer stereotypes deliciously. What a find! $11
40. 2005 Patrimonio Blanc, Grotte di Sole, Antoine Arena
Grotte means "cave" and shares its etymology with the English word
"grotto" as well as "crypt". This is a very thick-textured glass of
white wine, round shaped. Apples, pears and green fig flavors seem
lifted by sweet lime oils. Intense chalk flavors bind the fruit to ripe,
nutty grapeseed bitterness and fresh acidity. No sign of wood flavor.
Pale color. The grape variety is Vermentino. $35
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41.
2002 Oslavje, Radikon
Oaked oil of yellow grapes, fresh with Sauvignon blossoms. $45 (500 ml)
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42. 2002 Jakot, Radikon
Oil of Friulano. This is really a yellow-colored red wine. $45 (500 ml)
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43.
2004 Cour-Cheverny, Francois Cazin
A line drawn from Vouvray to the Saar comes within 40 miles of the
vineyards of Champagne and Chablis. It also passes through the heart of
Cheverny. An accident of history made famous the grapes used to
elaborate the first group of wines – Chenin, Riesling and Chardonnay –
while leaving obscure that of latter: Romorantin. Yet the specific grape
variety in these locations is important only insofar as it happened to
adapt to the local cold climate, and this it did by clutching
tenaciously to the rocks beneath the frost. If you are hip to minerality
in wine, you should locate a good Romorantin. $17
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44.
2005 Muscadet, Domaine Pepiere
Wine pundits still don’t use the word “drinkability” often enough.
Prevailing critical wisdom requires table wine to taste profound and
massive; these values are almost always at odds with drinkability. It’s
as if describing a wine as drinkable would be to condemn it to the
discount bin of watery industrial grape juice. One might even assume
drinkability is the exclusive province of lager beer. Yet there is an
insurgent movement in celebration of wines that yield no measure of
mineral substance and intensity while remaining compulsively drinkable.
More accepted buzzwords for these types of wine are “freshness” and
“balanced.” Here you have the standard for profoundly refreshing,
restorative drinkability. Please drink it at cellar temperature. $12
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45. Tawny Porto, Quinta do Infantado (bottled in 1997)
Important: resist – filtered – port. Write it down. Filtration conceals
flaws but it also kills character. Bottled in 1997, several cases of
this unfiltered tawny were misplaced in a local warehouse for 8 years.
Time gave it a satin-texture and elucidated spicy, fruity complexity of
flavor. It is obviously and infinitely better than shipper-brand tawnies
that sell for quadruple. Buy a fresh one and lay it down. (Unfortunately
the bottling date is no longer included on the back label, so write the
purchase date on it.) $16
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46. 2004 Touraine Gamay, Clos Roche Blanche
Drinkable drinkability. There are tannins here too. Ripe shiny ones,
black-colored and polished. After further probing more flavors are
revealed: grape flavored fruit, grape seeds, supported by spring water,
sweet elm leaves, river stones, licorice, poppies, cola bean … $14
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47. 1999 Cornas, Cuvee “C”, Marcel Juge
1999’s tannins (in Burgundy and the northern Rhone) are still fresh but
beginning to let through some sweet berry-colored light. $NA
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48. 1999 Chinon, Clos la Dioterie, Charles Joguet
Chew and concentrate and these tannins also become transparent allowing
lots of detailed, sinewy red fruit and spice to show. From magnum, $50
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49.
La Choulette Blonde
When beer is used like wine, to wash down afternoons on the street side,
linked to sustainable ancestral virtues of labor, it tastes like this:
like soft wild fermented yellow wine, floral, with all the fruity
sweetness of wild dough and none of the bulk. $8
50.
La Choulette Amber
When the sun gets lower the beer darkens to capture the remaining light.
Now begins the inventory of one day’s proceedings. Disengage, weigh,
plan. Remain sober enough to dream. Hops are for breakfast. $8
51.
La Choulette Sans Coulottes
Todd Abrams said it best: “I adore beers that look like fat brass coins
under mountains of stark white pillows. What the funk, aromas of
softening apples, jessamine and bong hits in winter poplar stands
connecting your senses to raw materials like no stinky double IPA will
ever be able to. Alternatively sweet and dry and earthy with a subtle
lingering baked leaf finish inducing your lips and tongue to sup once
more again please. I can only imagine how tasty this brew might be
paired with some sliced pear and a salty triple cream.” $8
52.
NV Champagne Brut, Rosé, René Geoffroy
Subtle, creamy and dry. And blush pink. $31 (375 ml)
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53. De Dolle Stout
Wacky hipster Belgian Imperial Stout with the prunes and chocolate we
associate with the classic British style plus all the vigorous mousse
and peppery yeast complexity you ever wanted from hipster Belgian
brewers. $4 (330 ml)
54.
2001 Sonoma Coast Syrah, Edmunds St. John, Peay Vineyard
The debut vintage from a cleverly selected, cool vineyard. I believe
I’ve never tasted another California Syrah this clean and uncluttered in
proportion to its level of concentration. Sadly, people around here
prefer their domestic Syrah with the standard ration of raisin, prune
and fudge flavor, because this was a closeout. $25
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55. Whiskey Willy’s Bloody Mary Mix
Trust Willy. He lives in Orange Beach Alabama and he makes an
uncompromised tomato cocktail. All natural. $7
56. BLiS Organic Maple Syrup, Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Drizzle on grilled pheasant, shrimp-n-grits or fried green tomatoes. $16
57. Mondeuse Franck Peillot
Pure and purple, fruity like Beaujolais, stony and tannic like Syrah, no
drink goes better with Lafayette Coney Island chili dogs. $18
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58.
2002 Bandol Domaine Tempier La Tourtine
Impatience. Give me a vintage of this wine that is ready to drink at the
age of 5 and mark it down. Black olives, lamb, wild herbs and plums: is
that what it tastes like or is that what you should eat with it? $40
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59.
Birra del Vecchio
One single batch of this pilsner made it into the country in 2004. In
2006 it still tastes perfect. Three top 100 selections in a row. $2
60. 2005 Touraine Cabernet, Clos Roche Blanche
As if this wine wouldn’t be appealing enough in an ordinary year, mix it
with a vintage like 2005 and you get sinfully dense purple organic wine
a glass of which is impossible to put down. I’d like to see this in a
liter bottle. $14
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61.
Gaudriole, Nathalie et Christian Chaussard
From the Domaine le Briseau in Jasnières comes this unfiltered sweet
bubbly that tastes a little bit like home made apple pie. It pairs
unbelievably well with squash. $17
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62. 2005 Touraine, KO: In Côt We Trust
Slim, black haired flirt. $25
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63.
(2005) VdT Giroflees Belliviere
The time may come again when off-dry pink wines get the respect they
deserve. This is the exploded, fleshy sweet interior of Pineau d’Aunis
grown in the Loir valley, and it goes with Thanksgiving dinner far
better than any other wine ever made. $23
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64. 1989 Muscadet, Luneau-Papin
Take a great young Muscadet, clear and bracing, and add several
transparent layers of buttery pistachio nougat flavor. $35
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65. 2002 Muscadet, Clos du Poyet, Luneau-Papin
Age ripe, single vineyard Muscadet on its lees for 12 months. In the
hands of another agent it might sound like a gimmick, but here it is one
step in the inevitable international acceptance of Muscadet’s potential
to cost more than it does. Fat, opulent texture held up by bracing
minerality and acid. A bargain. $30
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66. VdT La Pangée, Nana Vins et Cie (Nathalie and Christian Chaussard
of the Domaine le Briseau in Jasnières)
Funky, murky, and irresistibly gulpable red wine. (Lyle Fass says it’s
Pinot Noir and Gamay). All the power is diverted to the bouquet: mud,
strawberry juice and cinnamon. On the palate it slides by pastorally and
fresh. Strangely enough, this wine only truly makes sense while thinking
about baseball. $17
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67. 2005 Vouvray, Les Argiles, François Chidaine
Fat, oily Chenin Blanc with roiling, fresh, sweet, green fig, apple,
pear, marmalade, and obvious clay flavor. $30
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68. 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Domaine Pegau
This wine changed a lot in 2006, from a polished sweet inky New World
cousin in February -- barely recognizable as Pegau -- to a Pegau trumpet
on Corduroy Day. $65
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69. 2004 Lake Michigan Shore Pinot Noir, Wyncroft
Breezy, friable mineral perfumes whoosh through dots of spice, red berry
preserves and incense. $40
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70.
2001 Chianti Classico, Fontodi
Dense layers of spicy red fruit and spicy weathered wood, as light
textured as its massive flavor will allow. $17 (375 ml)
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71. Bell’s Lager
Rumor has it that this is simply reissued “3rd Coast Beer.” Finally, a
Bell’s product that is actually better from the new brewery! $2
72.
2003 Côtes du Rhône, Chateau de Tours Emmanuel Reynaud
I intend to watch this producer (as long as he keeps making $25 bottles
– I got bills to pay!) On one occasion the tannins and acids controlled
events. On another, the sweet oil of the earth inside bore fat, fleshy
berry and spice flavors, as groovy to toss back as grape drink. Granted,
that last encounter was served with particularly loose, braised lamb
shoulder straight from the farm. $25
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73. 1999 Roagna Barbaresco Paje
Young, sticky sweet black bonnets of nectar, licorice and coffee oil
fruit. $55
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74. 1999 Roagna Barolo Rocca e la Pira
Chiseled, tannic sculpture; black cakes of powdered fruits and spices.
$55
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75. 2004 Langhe Rosso, Perbacco, Cantine Vietti
While this does not have the tactile density of (the older) Roagna
products on this list, it is still remarkable for its song-like purity
of bright, juicy Nebbiolo berry flavor. Raw, declassified Barolo. $27
Find this wine
76.
Kapuziner Hefe Weizen
Goldilock’s’ wheat beer isn’t too sweet or too tart. It’s just right:
bone dry and abundantly scented of clove and banana. $2, 500ml
77.
Miller High Life
Miller indulges us with this
endangered species of beer, not flavored like soda pop. Put down
the Pabst Blue Ribbon. (Do not confuse MHL with MGD. MHL in your area
may differ.) $1, 12 oz.
78. 2004 Riesling Kabinett, Forster Ungeheuer, Eugen Müller
Broad and bright, maddeningly chipper for its size. Breezy. It makes you
want to take it down a peg or two. Put it in its place. Sheesh,
“Kabinett” – for drinking? With lunch? It’s just not right. $20
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79. 2000 Cahors Clos Triguedina
Tannic purple Malbec grown on the slopes. Bottles consumed this year: 2.
Most memorable: June 26 at the Wine Rats party in the stunning Royal Oak
backyard of
Darla Rowley. $20
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80. Goliath
The world’s only all-malt tripel sneaks up on you with maddening
drainable drinkability. $8
81. 2005 Roussette du Bugey, Domaine Franck Peillot, Altesse
Roussette and Altesse are synonymous but ordinary “Roussette du Bugey”
may be filled with Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc hamburger helper. This is
different: the rare, pure stuff, 100% Altesse, earthy from lees contact
and subtly exotic with apricot, apple and fig fruit. $23
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82. 2005 Beaujolais Rosé, Jean-Paul Brun, Brun d’Folie
Wild wine starter juice, light red, serve cellar temp., drink with
taqueria tacos splattered with fresh salsa and cilantro. $14
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83. 2004 Barbera d’Asti, Cascina ‘Tavijn
Razor sharp, dark 14% alcohol Barbera. Drink with porcetta rubbed with
garlic, herbs and scorched sugar. $20
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84. 2004 Dolcetto Monferrato, Bricco della Serra, Vittorio Bera
We’ve been mislead to believe Dolcetto can and should be either a
beastly, tannic wine or a pale industrial dilution. Then what on earth
is little dolce, “little sweet one,” supposed to mean? Now I know: it
means drinkability. The first taste is pleasant enough. Then it seems to
make sense to gulp it down. Sneaky little wine! $20
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85. 2005 Riesling Spätlese, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Willi-Schaefer
More piercing mineral aromatics than the '05 Himmelreich Kabinett, like
the slate has been roasted in the sun until it turned yellow, then
cracked into a glass, sweetly painful. Cracked pepper, lemon peel, honey
squeezed from a tart little apple, chipped pear meat. Clear, agile
texture contained by towering barriers of black stone flavor. (AP:
25831540306) $35
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86. 2004 Verdiccio di Casstelli di Jesi, Bucci
Like green apple-flavored Chassagne Montrachet, 2004 outclasses the
2005. $24
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87. 2005 Riesling Kabinett, Graacher Himmelreich, Willi-Schaefer
Immense preserved lemon oil aromas with smoldering mineral fumes. Once
adjusted to this I smell a candyland of sasafras, pistachio meats,
flagstone, and warm apple leather after torrential summer rain. Volumes
of texture obscure sugar, alcohol and acidity. The attack is creamy.
Chewing releases shards of tangy yellow sun splinters which don't quite
fade through a timeless finish. $22
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88. 2004 Touraine Pètillant Naturel, Thierry Puzelat
Unfiltered, unsweetened white wine with a bit of fizz. Not only is this
wine rapidly proceeding through adolescence, but no two bottles are the
same. It's a moving target. Early it is aggressive flavors of wild
fermented cider and peppery yeast. Later it is a lazy unfolding of nutty
burgundian honey. $20
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89. 2004 Coteaux du Loir, Le Rouge Gorge, Domaine de Bellivière
There is a degree of polish to this Pineau d’Aunis that makes it more
accessible (to some, like my sister, and Charles’ family) than the same
varietal from Tesnière. Exotic with mincemeat spice flavor, it serves
perfectly with grilled lamb (avoid tomatoes).
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90.
2004 Scheurebe Gysler Halbtrocken
The ripeness window for Scheurebe was wide open in 2004; this has more
acidity than typical ripe Scheurebe and it has riper fruit than typical
Scheurebe that is sufficiently acidic. The effect is a mass of opulent
grapefruit flavor that invites favorable comparisons to costly,
tricked-up New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. $13 (1 L)
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91. 2002 Morey-St.-Denis Domaine Dujac
Voluptuous texture, subdued acidity, sweet berry pulp and wild mushroom
flavors. $55
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92. 2004 Coteaux du Loir, Vielles Vignes Eparses, Domaine de
Bellivière
Flamboyant, piercing, persistent and round Chenin Blanc -- a trip around
banana and lime patches in limestone goggles.
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93. 2004 Coteaux du Loir, L’Effraie, Domaine de Bellivière
There is a little wriggling weasel of acidity burrowing in the mineral
and fruit flesh of this Chenin. It makes the drink vibrate, hum and
infect you.
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94. 2001 Pinot Blanc Herrenweg, Charles Schleret
Roses and orange blossoms steeping in brandy with orange peel and
nectarines. I had no idea that ripe Pinot Blanc could resemble my
misconception of Gewurztraminer! $20
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95. 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Napa Valley, Castle Rock
3000 cases were bottled of this California negotiant wine. It’s not that
it’s layered with superlative velvet texture and aristocratic sugarplum
perfumes; it isn’t, but unlike the norm for this important commercial
category, it is concentrated, perfectly dry and perfectly ripe, like a
relic from a bygone era of California Cab, Chuck Heston on Planet of the
Apes, except honest and spontaneous. The tannins have something to say.
$17
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96. 2005 Anjou, Domaine Mosse, René’s Chard
Wait a minute. Chardonnay isn’t legal in Anjou! Put that bottle down.
It’s evidence! $23
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97. Parpas
I’m not sure why it is, but most grappa I taste seem a whole lot sweeter
and easier than one would expect from a liquid distilled from wine muck.
This, by contrast, delivers all the steamy spiced grapeseed resin and
wilted brown stem oil that I was looking for. Not that it’s lacking
fruit mind you: great grapey globes of fruit flavored of musky grapes.
Dramatic and thrilling. $NA
98. 2005 Cidre Etienne Dupont
More balanced and less oily-sludge-textured than the 2003, which was
excellent too. $10
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99.
Arran Blonde
Beers from Scotland are supposed to be alcoholic and taste like spiced
molasses and raisins, yet this tastes like tall yellow grasses made into
chewable biscuit tonic. $5
100. Tito’s Vodka
It’s about time someone made a good vodka and didn’t give a crap about
the bottle design. $19
Previously in Putnam At-Large:
Tasting Denotes
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