One nice thing about wine business trips is that I sometimes get to dine at the homes of friends who do not live nearby and are not ITB. At the end of last week, I had an invitation and a really lovely dinner.
My hostess just told me to grab a white wine out of the fridge, she was only drinking red. She had two Albariños I did not know, I grabbed the one with the screwcap and did incredibly well with something completely new to me:
2017 La Val Albariño Rias Baixas – Lovely aromas of quince, with a hint of pineapple, not something I expected. The palate was fresh, firm, tender, an exemplar of this DO, surprisingly refined and fully mature at 18 months. The flavors had some of the faint saline tang you find in fine Rias Baixas along with a tiny thread of herbal green, like thyme or maybe sage. Way above average quality, a real treat, rated 90 points.
The beef braciola was on the way and so was the red wine, Pinots from France and California despite the dish. An Instant Winner preceded by one that took a while:
2011 Chandon de Briailles Pernand Ile de Vergelesses – recommended by a customer, this is a producer I like, although I’ve seen some negative comments on the board. I was dubious because I buy Burgundy by the vintage, and this ain’t one of them.
This is a tale of one bottle, two wines. Pop and pour, the aromas were lovely, showing tender red cherry fruit, some nicely secondary sous-bois and a hint of minerality. On the palate however, the wine was disjointed, with sharp-elbowed acidity, decent fruit but slightly aggressive tannins. There was good body on the entry that immediately turned hollow. I decanted it and opened the next bottle (note below).
A few hours later, this had come around. The palate had knit, the acidity had dropped a few degrees and the tannins had started to resolve. An 84 point rating was now an 89.5. I have ordered 3 more bottles and will wait 3 – 5 years, at which time I confidently predict a rating of 91 – 92.
2006 Mount Eden Pinot Noir Saratoga Cuvee – Rushed into service when the Pernand was recalcitrant, this was a beauty from the start. The color was light to medium garnet to the rim. The aromas were more secondary than the Pernand to start, but with nothing old or tertiary. They featured red cherries but also red plums and the inimitable conifer character of fine Santa Cruz Mountain Pinot. The palate had the real Jesus in velvet trousers texture I rarely find outside of Burgundy. If lacking in great intensity, it had a sneakily rich texture in the finish, excellent harmony, fine-grained, fully resolved tannins, some red raspberry and a wonderful hint of black raspberry as well. Perfectly mature, rated 93 points, I would drink up in the next year or so.
Dan Kravitz