2004 Domaine de Courbissac Minervois-La Livinière Pandora- France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Minervois-La Livinière (2/6/2010)
Didn’t have the over-mature notes of previous bottle, but really boring. A lot better on day 2 with herbal notes and a nice streak of acidic fruits. Nice enough.
2001 Château La Conseillante- France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (2/5/2010)
Back on track with that incredible velvet texture and plush body. Balanced between matured fruit and developing beyond notes. Yum. Squared.
2004 Scholium Project Babylon Tenbrink Vineyards- USA, California (2/4/2010)
Black as a witch’s … Massive wall of black fruit jam and nicely feisty tannins. Had a moment, but ultimately was like downing creme de cassis and became completely oppressive and brutal. While I abstractly admire the purity and precision in the power, one doesn’t drink abstract.
1998 Fernando Remírez de Ganuza Rioja- Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja (1/30/2010)
Developed into a solid expression of Rioja - nice cherry acids, piment, brick dust. Solid. Only drawback is a weight which is incongruous for the acids and structure. Still a very nice wine.
2005 Maison Anselmet Le Prisonnier- Italy, Valle d’Aosta, Torrette (1/27/2010)
Lots of complex fruit and slight spicing with a really nice svelte profile, but also nothing stepping outside that fruit-centric box. Loads of enjoyment as it is a very pretty box.
2005 Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin- Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley, Okanagan Valley VQA (1/24/2010)
Disappointing in relation to previous bottle - flat, boring, thin.
2004 Vodopivec Vitovska Venezia Giulia IGT- Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Venezia Giulia IGT (1/21/2010)
Love that colour - pure pink-tinged copper. A really nice interplay of fresh acidity, slightly musky fruits and intriguing edges. Beeswax, Tang and metallic notes. Nice linearity and precision here. Really good stuff.
Interesting comment on Scholium. I find his wine sometimes facinating, but have often ended up thinking “but do I actually like it and want to drink it?” Often the answer is “Fun to taste, but not to drink”.
An interesting take…I had the 2004 Babylon recently, and absolutely loved it without qualification. However, it is definitely a singular wine of great intensity and power, not likely to “play well with others,” but by the same token you don’t have to worry about your food overwhelming it! I think wines like these are best consumed with a group, where you can savor their intensity and not get too bogged down in it. Parenthetically, a solid decant really does this wine good.
I first had the '04 Babylon as a barrel sample. You think it has great intensity and power now? You should have tasted it then - a real head banger. And that’s not a criticism. I love wines that have flavor and this is definitely in that category. I drank the '02 Babylon last year and it had calmed down a bit and I really liked it. I’ve been thinking recently about what wines might go with Indian food, particularly lamb dishes. This is a candidate. And I love “does not play well with others.” A great description. And it applies both to other wine and to people.
I feel like the Scholium wines are exercises in form or theory rather than completed works. That isn’t to say they are bad, but I also don’t feel like spending money on them.