Comparative tasting also stuns the imagination, a
facility essential to pleasure. It should be no surprise then that there
are very few highly drinkable wines at the tops of any rankings,
especially top 100 lists. Among compulsive tasters, the twin angels of
pleasure and sustainability are only dismissively acknowledged; they are
associated with the feminine and the irrational, unworthy of serious
deliberation, paid lip service to but ignored in the end.
Instead of comparing and ranking wines, in 2005 I drank entire bottles
of whatever I felt like drinking with whomever I felt like seeing.
Sometimes I drank
Rinaldi’s Brachetto d’Aqui several days in a row. How quaint is
that? At first I was concerned this might make me
obsolete as a consultant in a suburban wine shop. After all, how could I
present options to someone looking for buttery Chardonnay when all I’d
consumed for months was Muscadet?
I needn’t have worried. I learned quickly that there is a vigorous
backlash against heavy, undrinkable, high-scoring wine among the wine
drinking public. Apparently most wine drinkers don’t “taste” wine
tournament style. They don’t feel the slightest pressure to declare
immediately what’s good and what’s lacking. Instead, they open one
bottle at a time and drink from it exclusively until it’s gone.
Who wants to rush to take one brief sip of a new
wine and then pretend to “know” it? Only tiresome know-it-alls, it turns
out. Of course there is incredible demand for such performances. Some
mistakenly believe they can be usefully guided by them.
So how is “taste” determined, that most local and
irrational idiom of the humanities?
I dunno.*
These are the 100 drinks I found most memorable in
2005. I have ordered them in an offhanded way, from memory. Feel free to
sort them any way you wish or not at all.
 1.
2001 Morgon, Jean Foillard ($25)
I consumed over 2 cases of this wine in 2005. I was surprised at who
else fell under its spell, from Shiraz-loving macho men to confirmed
Gamay-bashers. The fine-ness of the sediment and brittle wax capsule
requires extensive planning and attentive decanting before pleasure in
it can commence. Maybe the ordeal of getting one clear drink of it
builds so much anticipation in its eventual admirers that they have no
choice but to marvel at its tender, silky texture, bright acidity and
devastating, hedonistic perfumes.
Find this wine
2. 2004 Minervois, Chateau d’Oupia ($12)
The holy grail of wine consumer economics is the great $10 red. Store
shelves everywhere are crowded with blatantly cosmetic attempts at the
class, eager to flatter our addled senses but leaving us with headache
and bloat. This is a pearl extracted by hand from old Carignan vines, as
wholesome as it is delicious, sumptuous and dark. Made to drink
gratefully every day.
Find this wine
3.
2004 Sancerre, Thomas-Labaille, Chavignol, Les Monts Damnés ($24)
Ripe acids in this clear white wine make my eyes water just to remember
them. Viscous mineral extracts and naughty, exotic, ripe white fruit
flavors reminiscent of white peaches promise a honeyed future. Drink it
tonight with lobster ravioli. Drink it in ten years with hot smoked
Michigan brook trout.
Find this wine
4.
2002 Côtes de Duras, Domaine Mouthes le Bihan, Vieillefont ($16)
Adjacent to Bordeaux, the Côtes de Duras remains unproved as a
legitimate source for oaky, inky Pomerol replicas. It is however a
potential source for Bordeaux variety blends that say “drink me,
resistance is futile.” Intense black, red and white currants flavors
array transparently in layers of resiny brown spices and cacao. I found
it very hard to set down the glass.
Find this wine
5.
2004 Riesling #1, Willi Schaefer ($18)
Another acid bomb, this yellow-tinted white wine deposits lemon oil
flavored concentrates in the spaces between one’s teeth which, when
pressured slightly, explode with a vengeance, even minutes after the
drink has been swallowed.
Find this wine
6.
Mahr’s Hell ($3)
”Hell” is German for the pale color of this lager. When consumed at the
proper temperature (50 – 60 degrees F) it offers a stunning bouquet of
abundant, pure pale malt fermented slowly with house yeast which gives
it a distinct aromatic sensation of honey and tropical nuts.
Broad-textured and tangy, the finish is an intense grip of pure, clean
bitterness. Drink with chicken sandwiches on good bread.
7.
2002 Mâcon-Montbellet, Domaine de Roally ($23)
No one thinks this is mere “Mâcon” the first time they try it. It’s
mutant, ripe Chardonnay apparently swaddled in floral and pear flavors
reminiscent of great Loire Chenin Blanc and honeyed apricot flavors
reminiscent of Grand Cru Alsatian Pinot Gris. Musky, vivid and thrilling
to drink. (It’s really hard to explain this beauty.)
Find this wine
8.
2001 Lagrein Riserva, Mayr-Nusser ($22)
It hurts to think of the thousands of same-tasting wines made from
Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot I’ve tasted over the years
while never once encountering a Lagrein. This is the best Lagrein I’ve
ever tasted; who cares if it’s the only Lagrein I’ve ever tasted? A
distinct perfume of hazelnuts, combined with Rainier cherries and
French
plums. Apparently this winery was forced to remove hazelnut trees so
that the township could have its bike path. I think its fitting that
hazelnut perfumes are so dominant in the liquid they produce. How many
red wines taste of hazelnuts?
Find this wine
9.
Nanbu Bijin Junmai Gingo, Southern Beauty ($20)
You have to respect a beverage artisan who says: "No matter how long I
make sake, I am clueless about brewing. In the end, it is a matter of
understanding the relationship between the water and the rice, and it is
difficult to try and grasp the infinite variations between them."
Mr.
Hajime Yamaguchi's sake smells a bit like a middle Mosel Riesling... or
a hybrid Loire white wine -- full of quince and lime marmalade along
with aromas of paper and rice. The flavors are opulent and drenched with
succulent pear, apple, citrus, melon, kirsch and pine nut paste flavors.
Find this wine
10. 2002
Mazis-Chambertin, Hospices de Beaune, Cuvée Madaleine Collignon,
cellared and bottled by Joseph Drouhin, ($NA)
I want to keep this list limited to things that were obtainable to most
people in 2005, but I have to single out at least one wine that was not.
It was pale ruby one Saturday afternoon. There was bread and oil to eat.
It was one of those taut, pale Burgundies, the kind deplored by wine
critics who “specialize” in three continents. It changed as we drank it,
becoming more alluring as we stood there in stunned silence, silence
punctuated with outbursts of approval. A jaw bone of stony, pure red
fruits.
Find this wine
11.
Thiriez Xxtra, a.k.a “Les Freres De La Biere” ($10)
Stunning, rocky, bone white head leaps up and sticks. The liquid is
colored more like balsa wood than cattails. Fuming lemon and herb aromas
are brilliant in their purity and tightness. Wood resins and bean husks
till about as under aromas. Grassy, Sauvignon Blanc, cottonseed, and raw
dough flavors. Blanched Spanish almonds. Extraordinarily crisp and dry.
Thrilling. Intense. Undeniably useful as a drink to wash down aged goat
cheese, fresh greens and butter fried fish. 4.5% alcohol! (That’s a good
thing by the way.)
12.
Thiriez Amber ($10)
A “Todd” I know described this eloquently as “plain” tasting. It is
scented delicately of cinnamon, vanilla, blueberry paste and caramel.
This very amber colored liquid produces a mouthful of glazed nut,
chipped concrete and brown bread flavors. Very clean, yet unmistakable
as a farmhouse ale. Tangy, bruised peach and nectarine fruits toy lazily
with mildly astringent earth and nutshell flavors. There is nothing
aggressive or gaudy about it, just serene, shy farmhouse ale prettiness.
Drink it with bouillon and boiled leeks.
13. NV
Quinta do Infantado Ruby Porto ($15)
My partner Tom just about wrung my neck when he saw five cases of this
appear at our store one balmy July day, and he had every reason to. 1)
It’s not a “port” kind of store, 2) it is the slowest quarter overall
and 3) one in which we hadn’t ever sold more than a few bottles of port,
ever. But this porto was different. It was drier and less alcoholic than
shipper brands. It seemed to have that slatey, stony aristocratic flavor
I want to associate with a vineyard like Vargellas or Bomfim. The stack
disappeared rapidly, granted, with a little help from me and a fellow
gangster. It is insanely drinkable, a word one is taught never to
associate with the genre. If I close my eyes now I can still taste my
mom’s marzipan plum pie with cool glasses of this wine one day in
August.
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14. 2000
Cabernet Sauvignon, Schweiger ($20)
Unfiltered and unfined, this wine has a glob of thick purple paint at
the business end of the cork. 2500 cases, family grown and made on
Spring Mountain, it apparently escaped the harvest miasma that occurred
in 2000 on the valley floor. This is nowhere near a sustainable price
for this wine of course. I think it’s a little sad that honest,
visionary wineries like this one have to get out from under such an
admirable wine. Stand, decant and serve while sitting down.
Find this wine
15. 2003
Grenache, McLaren Vale, Tir Na Nog ($28)
Wine drinkers looking for solemn, prosaic character in red wine can skip
ahead to the next item. This is an onslaught of vigorous, pure sweet
fruits made complex by their abundance. Crushed anise and the slightest
note of tar on the palate link it to its French and Spanish kin, but the
tannins are distinctly Australian. They practically don’t exist.
Fabulous concentration (old vine magic!) is what makes this as serious
as it is delightful.
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16. 2003
Pinot Noir, Wyncroft ($45)
The reason I like some Burgundies is that they do not push themselves on
you but rather lure you in slowly, as this wine does. Pay attention to
the oozing, spicy sweetness that seems like some kind of raw wood resin
traded jealously in a spice market in Ankara. Transparent, vivid
chamomile and currant fleshiness drapes over the yielding yet full
texture. It was so good I had to drink from three bottles of it in one
night.
17. 2004
Pepiere Muscadet ($11)
Tom didn’t say a peep about 30 cases of this crisp, dry white wine,
perfect for hot summer weather, arriving just in time for late October.
I was worried though. Don’t Midwesterners all switch to heavy red wines
as soon as the kids are packed up and shipped back off to school?
Apparently not. Save for 8 bottles, all available stocks were depleted
before the solstice. It must have been the outrageously thick,
glycerin-rich texture that was so appealing to the masses. It spent 5
months longer than the minimum on its lees; that must explain it, that
and ripe, funky green grapes picked by hand from wiry vines rooted in
tangy Loire river deposits.
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18. 1998 Chardonnay
Au Bon Climat, Le Bouge D'à Côte ($18)
It is startling when wines like this can be on closeout lists at half
price. When we left an open bottle out over night the importance of this
wine was obvious. Relieved of its minor bottle funk it was like drinking
meadow air, fragrant with perfume of honey, concentrated into velvety
liquid form.
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19. 1999 Chardonnay
Au Bon Climat, Le Bouge D'à Côte ($18)
1999 produced a Chardonnay with more muscular acidity than 1998.
Preserved lemons, honey, baked green apples and cracked hazelnuts
characterize this unsustainably priced beauty, now gone from the market.
Find this wine
20. Mahr’s Bock
($4)
Serve at 50-60 degrees F. Strong lager from Bamberg, Bavaria. Honey,
vanilla, praline and macadamia nut aromas arise from hazy wheat colored
liquid. Rich, fruity mouthful. Inward, polished bitterness gives the
impression of marble and stones rather than herbs or wood. Atop this
there is a syrup-textured cascade of Bartlett pear and raw almond
flavor. Slick and rich, but fixed neatly by solid structure and girdled
with light, fine fizz. No acidity. I appreciate the purity of pale malt
in this beer. No fresh hops obscures the “bockyness” of the malt. Is
there anything else this pale and purely, stubbornly malty? Anywhere?
21. Mahr’s
Christmas Bock ($4)
Serve at 50-60 degrees F. Hazy tawny liquid. Intensely fruity aromas of
caramel glazed dried fruits and gumdrops exist within a frame of brown
dough, butter and slate. A transparent, winey mouthful of vanilla and
charred banana flavor. Roasted wheat crusts. Unctuous and boozy. Black
bitter backbone. Silky textures. Profound inner balance and logic. Utter
clarity combined with grave depth. Drink at 60 deg. F if you want sweet
beer dreams.
22. 1999 Rioja Abel
Mendoza Jarrarte ($25)
This is a textbook case of a wine with healthy young acidity badly
overlooked by competition-minded retail pundits. Since its release in
2003 this wine has gathered exciting detail and complexity while at the
same time, mellowing into a caress of silk-textured, fine tannins. It’s
as agile and light as it can be for the immense, operatic range of
berries, spice and cocoa flavor it displays.
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23. 2003 Bourgueil,
Catherine & Pierre Breton, Nuits d’Ivresse ($28)
What happens to stigmata? Screw caps replace corks. Sherry becomes
trendy. Scrappy, New World wines become over-priced. Now Loire Valley
reds are perceived as sexy and aristocratic. In this Cabernet Franc,
cool aromas of dewy pines and truffles drape over rocks and pulpy,
sticky currants, which are piled up to the moon.
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24. 2003 Chinon,
Catherine & Pierre Breton, Beaumont ($22)
Condescending Eurocentric elitists will not enjoy the exuberant, pulpy,
black interior of this outrageously concentrated effort. This degree of
transparency and power from Cabernet Franc can’t be produced anywhere
else in the world. This wine will thrive for decades if properly
cellared.
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25. Christoffel
Blond ($4)
Long cool lagered tropical fruits and nut sap are evident on the nose
along with a chewy, tender impression of cool, resinous herbs. Lots of
honey, toasted nuts, bitter greens and outstanding, whipped rich
texture, especially at close to room temperature.
26. 2000 Edmunds
St. John Syrah “Wylie Fenaughty” ($39)
Word on the street was that this juice had a “brett”
problem. Really? Whether it was brett, terroir or typicity, I would
place the quite remote gamy character in this wine somewhere between
that of a typical Syrah from Pierre-Marie Clape (Domaine Clape) and a
typical spic-n-span edition from Tim Spear (Clos Mimi) or
Ehren Jordan (Neyers,
Turley Cellars). Abundant with bursting purple berries of flavor with a
solid core of finely spice-flavored structure. It revealed pleasure and
pomp equal to any New World Syrah I’ve ever tasted. Horsey? No. Cornasey,
now, maybe.
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27. 2004 Koehler
Ruprecht Riesling Kallstadter Saumagen Spätlese ($35)
Yup.
Find this wine
28. 2004 Nigl
Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben ($38)
I’m guessing this wine saw some lees contact, as it had a creamy
flavored core of minerals. Being unfamiliar with high-end Grüner
Veltliner, it occurred to me to compare this with certain, creamy, ripe
Grand Cru Chablis wines I’ve tasted along with fragrant, green-fruited,
dry Savennieres. It stunned two very talkative winos into complete
silence.
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 29. 2002 Dugat-Py
Mazis Chambertin ($300?)
I’m a lucky bastard. I have a friend who wanted to binge on
Dugat-Py one
weekend this summer. It was time to gather the remains of my
constitution, misspent years ago on brand name drinks, and do battle
with bottles of great young Burgundy. Despite its pretty, thick
wrapping of sweet purple berry flesh, this wine was an uncompromising
beast from the plant kingdom. Such spice paste
and purple berry scented air lasts for quite a while.
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30. Jolly Pumpkin
Maracaibo Especial ($7)
Dark, barrel-aged ale. Serve at 50-60 degrees F. Copper brown with a
fussy, resigning mass of noisy foam on top. The aromas are of plums,
nectarines, cinnamon, cocoa and pepper. Big, streaking lines of fiery
fizz. The fruits and sugars are wiry and natural, evoking baked fall
fruit pies, chalky sweet dried spices, brown sugar, and raw cocoa. The
finish is deliriously bitter. I've just come from drinking an Oro de
Calabaza with family and friends for a friend's birthday. It was
followed by a Tempier 2001 Cabassou, lamb chops and a 30 minute drive.
That should expose any falseness in a beer, and this one passes with
flying colors. Jolly Pumpkin’s Ron Jeffries is the voice of a generation
and his success is proof that this is a great country.
31. 2001 Nuits St.
Georges, Robert Chevillon, Vaucrains ($70)
This is typical of how the best 2001 wines are beginning to ramp up in
appeal. Penetrating acids are now creamy, showing off vivid, spacious
spice, fruit, tea, berry preserves and cool stone flavor.
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32. 2002 Bourgogne
Rouge, Sylvain Cathiard ($22)
Those Oregon Pinot Noir drones sure can be condescending elitists. This
has every bit of the ripe extract and mysterious shadings of sappy spice
and vanilla that any Oregon Pinot Noir has.
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33. 2003 Toscana IGT,
Montesecondo ($16)
I still can’t comprehend the metamorphosis this wine seems to undergo
each time I open it, and I’ve opened more than a dozen. It has all the
impact and evident extract of a typical $5 Sangiovese, that is until one
or two long drinks are absorbed. Then it’s a drinkable fountain of
gladness. It’s like trying to remain conscious while succumbing to a
dream state; one must forget everything one “knows” about Tuscan wine
learned from the American marketplace. They’re all so hopelessly
commercial. This one is ruby red and preciously balanced with dusty
tannins and succulent acidity. The fruit is a dynamic fluid rush of red
berries and cinnamon stick. I demand more!
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34. 2003 Perrini
Primitivo ($17)
This wine taught me more than any wine book ever did. At first I thought
it was oak flavored, until I learned it hadn’t touched oak. Then I
thought it tasted like root vegetables in a weird sort of way, until
Geo
T. blessed it with sage allusions to prehistoric California Zinfandel. I
also thought wines made from organically grown grapes were supposed to
taste sour and funky. Not true. This beauty is ripe, dark and dry, pure
tasting, with dense flavors of black grapes and black cherry extract.
This is pure sunshine Salentino. Give it a minute. Serve with grilled
greatfish.
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35. Bell’s Wheat #6
($1.50)
Rusty brown dirt colored liquid offers little in the way of lather.
Scented of raw red apples, tea and black pepper, leather and allspice
too. Faintly: mint, hemp blooms and lemon. Smooth graphite and charcoal
bitterness from top to bottom. Opposite that there is a simple,
alcohol-derived sweetness. Cinnamon candy backward. Hushed, patient fizz
plays well with other elements. Chalky and bitter finish.
36. Bell’s Wheat #2
($1.50)
Bronze liquid. Cream colored finger of tight foam melts straight away.
Aromas of overripe bananas and cracked, raw grain. Incipient bubblegum
and raw spice character. Bold, creamy mouthfuls attack sweet, issue
delicate herbal and nut flavors, and then turn abruptly dry leaving
bitter, oily flavors. Drink with country food.
37. Bell’s Wheat #4
($1.50)
Bold, brown paper color with a tower of crispy foam on top. Canned pears
and fruit cocktail aromas infused with sweet brown spices and wilted
herbs are muscular and exotic. Beyond that can be found roasted carrots
and mashed, oily nuts. (This could be cutting edge Belgian ale like
something from De Dolle, at least from the smell of things). Bone dry at
every point, from beginning to finish, with nectarine flavored citric
acidity interlaced with flavors of pulpy tree bark and cream. The finish
is nicely balanced and surprisingly clean. Unusual beer and proof that
KBC is as relevant today as it was at any point in the last 10 years. An
emblem of house diversity.
38. 2000 Cornas,
August Clape ($60)
One word: “klahp.” Clape is the high priest of the strangely carnal dirt
found in Cornas. His wine is the essence of pure, natural Syrah. It is a
wine like a John Coltrane solo: confident, serene, patient – a wine
etched deeply with everything black colored that you long to taste:
licorice, black berries, charred meats, pepper. Yet it’s more than that.
Find this wine
39. 2002 Cornas,
Auguste Clape ($70)
A student once compared Clape’s wine to a
Coltrane solo: muscular, vivid
and freeform. It is full of vanilla, blueberries, licorice, tar flavors.
Find this wine
40. 2002 Cornas
August Clape, Renaissance ($45)
When you drink young Syrah from the northern Rhone, with all of its
sinews flexed and exposed, it helps to be patient. The first few minty,
twiggy drinks of this at arm’s length were followed eventually by the
final, green tea, absinthe and Guatemalan coffee flavored drink, hovered
over and painstakingly applied to the most sensitive areas of the
palate.
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41. 2003 Cornas
August Clape, Renaissance ($55)
Sweet, melting globs of juicy purple berries heed not the soft, round,
slightly tarry tannins. Won’t they always?
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42. 2001 Cotes du
Rhone, Kermit Lynch Selection ($14)
This wine taught me what réglisse tastes like, though I’ve known it for
years in the form of several wines from Gigondas and Chateauneuf du Pape.
I find that it helps to use the French word rather than the English
word, “licorice.” Wine must have its own jargon, er, vocabulary after
all.
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43. Birra del
Vecchio ($1.50)
The best, 100% all-malt pilsner for sale in the Midwest. Dense,
balanced, nutty and clean. Thanks to World of Beer in Rochester NY for
bringing it into the country.
 44. 2003 Clos de
los Siete ($15)
Michel Rolland summons purple extract from young vines again. When style
is the most important thing, choose Michel Rolland brand wine!
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45. 2004 Thierry
Puzelat, Pineau d’Aunis, Touraine ($20)
I have no idea why I once thought this wine was weird. Pardon the crude
comparison to “other” wines, but it seems to have the tart, heathen
fruit of a Foillard Morgon (#1) and the seriously fine tannins of a
Montesecondo Rosso (#33), two wines it has nothing in common with other
than non-interventionist winemaking. Lovely wine to drink with sensible,
sensitive wine drinkers, like my wife.
Find this wine
46. 1999 Pinot
Noir, Au Bon Climat, Mt. Carmel Vineyard ($50)
Insane closeout.
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47. Rothaus
Tannenzäpfle, a.k.a. “Pils” ($3)
Bold yellow liquid with a whipped splatter of white foam carelessly
adhering to surfaces on top. Pure, cracked, sun-toasted grain aromas
provide notes of pepper and lemon to brighten an image of sticky mash.
Bitterness cracks open a mouth-coating expanse of bread and yellow fruit
flavor. The texture is massive for a Pils, sharpened precisely with
Novocain-flavored tiny bubbles (reminds my of Ployez-Jacquemart NV
Brut.) This is powerful, ruthlessly efficient beer. There is no apparent
end to the sun-flavored, bitter finish.
48. Rothaus
Eiszäpfle, a.k.a. “Märzen” ($3)
A touch of orange color here adds to the standard set by the Pils'
brilliant yellow. On the nose and on the palate apricots, honey and
tangerine fruits sketch a line of syrupy malt that courses through a
field of resin and toast. The fizz is fine and eagerly supports the
generous volume of flavor. A hard baked crust of bitterness encases
notes of cherry tobacco, salty sea air, baked citrus and chalk. Sound
heavy and weird? It's actually clean and razor sharp. I want to cry.
49. Rinaldi
Brachetto d’Aqui ($24)
Most of the Wine Rats were justifiably interested in the Barolos,
Barbarescos and Barberas at the Piedmont tasting in March. For a break
from the tannins I tried some of this and two of us made sure it was
completely drained before proceeding. It was pale red, sweet and fizzy.
It had all the profound scale and dimension of the colicky, younger,
cellar wines, only it was outrageously drinkable. What wicked
deliciousness!
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50. 2003 Darting
Riesling Spätlese, Ungsteiner Herrenberg ($25)
10.5% alc. Pfalz. An explosive, beery cocktail of mashed nuts, lemons,
orange peel and nearly caustic, peppery, chipped rock aromas are
adequate preparation for a clean mouthful of rosewater, tangerine,
pinecone and pepper flavor. Believe it or not this wine is exceedingly
coherent. One may compare it to Grand Cru Riesling from Alsace. For
drinking while noshing on charcuterie or herb-stuffed roasted game bird.
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51. 2003 Etienne
Dupont Cidre Bouché Brut De Normandie ($9)
I can't recall another French cider that was this dark. Two bottles
produced a bizarre look of gelatin as the bubbles struggled to rise
thorough the liquid. Florid, yeasty aromas of Roquefort caves, trampled,
rotting apples and pie spices. The texture is fluffed with fine mousse.
Calvados, pepper, skin tannins, whisky barrel, mild, plummy tartness and
bitter apricot pits. Overall, this is structured with tannin rather than
citric acid. It is bone dry, yet the lack of sourness allows sweet
impressions of twice-baked apple pie, and cinnamon-dredged baked pears
to dominate. A stunner for power. Time will tell if it has finesse.
Find this wine
52. 2003 Cantillon
Lou Pepe – Kriek ($22)
Dry lambic. Serve at 55-60 degrees F. "2001" appears on the neck label
-- "bottled in 2003" on the cork. I've never had a berry beer that was
this darkly colored. The top is shocking pink too. Penetrating roomfulls
of cherry pulp, cherry sap, skins, seeds and flesh characterize another
savory bouquet from this house. This is more wine than "beer."
Mouthcoating with globs of dry, fruit essences and succulent mousse,
there is a paint-like permanence to the flavors. It's like a Chevillon
Burgundy or Clape Cornas: sappy, full of energy and immovably dense.
Sucked through clenched teeth and chewed on, it gives velvety rich
texture and briny, stewpot succulence. The finish is quite long and
drenched with satisfying acidity.
53. 2002 Zinfandel
Chateau Montelena ($28)
The situation in the Zinfandel section has been deplorable for years.
Price inflation, alcoholic jammy style homogeny, ugh! What’s this? A
bearably red berried elixir, polished with firm, delicious toasted oak,
highly compatible with food. A Zin I can drink with food! Amazing.
Eurocentric elitists might even like this.
Find this wine
54. 2001 Zinfandel
Chateau Montelena ($25)
Mocha flavored, dry, highly drinkable Zinfandel. For a minute I thought
I was drinking some kind of righteously sassy Rioja.
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55. 1988 J.W. Lees
Vintage Harvest Ale, Neil Young Harvest Moon label ($8)
17 year old beer. A good hiss was heard upon uncapping the rusted cap.
The pour produced a surprising amount of fizz, though no real mass of
foam -- rather a spiral streak of tiny bubbles. Lots and lots of chunks.
Aromas of French processed prunes, blond tobacco, Madiera, ancient and
profound. The texture was light and transparent. It revealed bitter
sugars, stone fruits and cough medicine. The sweetness seems totally
dissolved. There was no sense of fat, syrupy youth, only myriad
transparencies of flavor. Alive and thriving.
56. Pivovarna Laško,
Zlatorog ($3)
Slovenian Pilsner. Serve at 45-60 degrees F. A delicately balanced,
captivating perfume of honey, minerals and rosy baked brioche crusts
emerges from this blonde liquid. A mouthful of biscuit, pepper and cream
flavor is round yet stony and dry. Stabbing prickles of gas leave dusty
etchings in the buxom, generous flesh. Neatly extracted bitterness makes
the bones. Suggestions of honey-drenched apricot, plum and other stone
fruits join unobtrusive mint and lemon/lime flavors. Buried within are
measured amounts of butter and hot cereal notes. Stylistically this lies
somewhere between a Bavarian Helles and hoppy Märzen. I'm surprised. I
wish someone brought this into the US. I'd buy 10 cases today. This
sample was obtained in the Detroit suburb of Canada. Life is looking
pretty good there. I wonder how many readers “won’t get” the joke near
the end of this paragraph? (Editor's note: I laughed out loud! - Geo)
57. 2004 Sancerre
Domaine Girard ($20)
La Garenne is a 2.5-hectare, chalky vineyard. Its glimmering liquid
treasure is fermented spontaneously using only native yeasts. Real
Sauvignon, fermented slowly with ambient yeast like this one, does have
a whisper of grapefruit-like flavor, but it doesn’t dominate the notes
of green apple, prairie grass and flint.
Find this wine
58. 1973 Pommard,
Francois de Montille, Les Pézerolles ($NA)
Pale, satin pillows of steamed orange blossom, cherry and strawberry,
dusted with cinnamon. Completely open and fresh tasting. This is the
prettiest Pinot Noir I’ve ever drunk.
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59. 2004 Le Domaine,
Domaine le Grand Vallat ($15)
Indigenous yeasts make this clean, balanced Rhône wine with power and
transparency.
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60. 2004 Le Merle
(Merlot), Domaine le Grand Vallat ($15)
Chocolaty, pure berry juice and so drinkable.
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61. 2003 Gaïa,
Domaine le Grand Vallat ($22)
Old-vine power. Massive wine. These Ventoux wines shame most
Rhônes from
more famous appellations.
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62. Boelens, Bieken
($5)
Belgian strong, pale, very dry ale brewed with honey. Serve at 55-60
degrees F. Explosive foam settles very quickly. Scorched gold colored
liquid with slight flurries of yeast dirt. The aromas derive
recognizably from honey but don't give the slightest impression of
sweetness. The image is more that of a vitamin jar: earthy, milky and
rich in tone. Very slight sticky pollen and herbal notes. A mouthful is
hyperactively fizzy and leads with slate-flavored bitterness. As the gas
bursts and resolves across the palate there is a tense balance of sweet,
floral perfumes, fig nectar and bitter pine nut flavor. The intense
texture contradicts the exquisite delicacy of flavor.
63. Panil Barriquée
($15)
Italian ale brewed in the tradition of Flemish Red, á la Rodenbach.
Serve at 55-60 degrees F. This drink reminds me of a particularly sour
batch of 2002 Goudenband in one of its bygone peaks, red fruited, though
meatier with oak and more dramatic with iron and steel metallic flavor.
Brown liquid with loitering drippy freckles of foam. Aromas of box of
nails, cookie, decomposing plum, black grape and vanilla. Quite dry and
sour. Fleshy mousse. Sweet brown spices. Sandalwood. Oak. Very easy to
draw drink after drink from. The combination of hushed seriousness and
uncontrollable drinkability is possibly unique among all beers. Pure
beer umami. The operatic clash of plump, pulpy fruit and relentless iron
and acidity seems legitimate: no seams, no ego. It has a vulgar surface
character that coexists with aristocratic soul.
64. Fantôme
Chocolat ($12)
French ale. Serve at 55-60 degrees F. Pretty trails of gun smoke drape
over the uncorked aperture. Hazy amber liquid marched through by
Champagne pinpricks. Eggy splatter on top suggests the end of a brief,
tall explosion of foam. Mustard seed, red apple cider and cocoa aromas.
Faintly: vanilla pods. More faintly: mulled citrus. Very low acidity.
Silky, dry-textured. Unusual bitterness: tidy yet sooty and expansive.
This is bitterness beautifully cushioned by nutty, toasted crust
flavored malt and glycerin. The bitterness completely eclipses any but
the most fleeting manifestation of the tangy fruit implied in the
aromas. A haunting hallucination of fruits and spices keeps its distance
on the finish, like the laughing souls of hell. Still no edges. No
sweetness. No alcohol flavor. Beautiful integration and rhythm.
65. Arran Blonde
($6)
Very dry, very pale, Scottish ale. Serve at 55-60 degrees F. The color
is identical to 1999 Kracher TBA #6, a deep yellow. The top is even and
sticky white. Aromas of tender lemon pastry and green tea. Surprisingly
dry, with biscuity tannins. Woody, crusty bitterness. Wholesome and neat
rather than full bodied. A deep yet concise core of butter,
butterscotch, green apple and roasted nutshell flavor gives way to caky,
resin-rich dry herb tannins and back palate impressions of grapefruit
peel. Highly drinkable. In fact, as it warmed it became hypnotic. It had
the nuance, complexity and refreshment of a great Sancerre. It simply
got better and better and better. Stocking up on 12 of these for a
serious session with good company would have to be one of life's most
blissful pleasures.
66. Mahr’s Leicht
($3)
2.8% alcohol “light” lager. Serve at 55-60 degrees F. This beer is
quantum in nature, unyielding to scrutiny. Initially it tastes like not
much more than so-called light lager. From a red wine glass the aromas
gather to suggest pure whole pale malt perfumes. There is an intensely
mineral backbone which tightly binds the flavors to clutching, vigorous
threads of sharp gas. No big, high impact impressions on the palate.
Allow it to warm. Perfect artistry and balance characterizes nutty
bitter tannins. Despite its bright quenching profile it actually
exhibits an inexplicable density and viscosity. Chew on it. It releases
grassy herbal fragrances, raw nutshells and honey. Not only is this beer
haunting and lovely, but it is utterly poundable.
67. Mahr’s Pilsner
($4)
The standing rainwater funk of the Mahr's Leicht becomes a luxurious
swamp in this, their Pilsner. Succulent floral aromas seamlessly lead to
scents of honey and stony earth. In the mouth it does a dynamic roll
unleashing a dizzying array of flavors, from raw almonds to green tea to
lemon juice. Sweet fermented storage grain perfume, it reminds me of
bräetzel in the park. The texture is thick and opulent, seeming somehow
more alcoholic than a mere 5.0 ABV. Vermouthy herb flavors work nicely
with ones of dough and earth. Incredible viscosity for such ostensibly
dry beer. Bitter pine and root flavors build up as it repeats ever
warmer. What is truly astonishing about this beer is its combination of
three things: 1) seamless integration -- no jarring tannins or sticky
sweetness, in fact the opposite, wilting blends of suggestive sensations
like pages blowing in the wind, 2) thrilling range -- honey, tea, roots,
and 3) transparent balance -- it is clear this beer evolved naturally,
with a long slow fermentation.
68. NV Blaterle,
Mayr-Nusser ($19)
White wine from Italy, 25 miles from the Austrian border. OK?
Find this wine
69. 2004 Fleurie,
Clos de la Roillette ($19)
It was Thanksgiving day at 1:30. Surprisingly, Anne was in the kitchen
making what would later prove to be the most amazing organic,
Michigan-grown pumpkin pie I’ve ever tasted. I was in the living room
watching football and smiling.
“How are they doing?” she asked.
“Getting their butts kicked,” I answered.
“So why are you smiling?” In reality I wasn’t merely smiling, I was
practically laughing out loud in childish glee.
“It’s this wine. I can’t help it!” I was drinking Fleurie.
Inexplicably, the Lions’ mixed performance seemed somehow shrouded in
the pure prettiness of the wine’s bouquet. Even the turnovers looked
impressive to me.
Clos de la Roillete’s Fleurie is one of the stateliest Beaujolais wines
I’ve ever tasted. It has none of that appellation’s tendency toward
funky, cranberry and vegetal flavored wine. Instead it is as polished
and pure as a 2002 Jacquesson Rully or 2001 Vietti Perbacco. I have no
doubt this will reward patient cellaring.
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70. 2001 Nebbiolo,
Cantine Vietti, Perbacco ($25)
Based on a forum exchange that included winemaker
Luca Currado, this
would appear to be a blend of three Barolo vineyards. I assume that it
is not classified as Barolo because it wasn’t submitted to the sometimes
odious aging requirements for that designation. Who needs it? More
perfume and extract than any Perbacco I can recall, and with all of the
scented richness of great Nebbiolo.
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71. 2002 Jacquesson
Rully Rouge, Les Chaponnieres ($30)
In 2004 the young acids in this wine made it impenetrable. As they have
relaxed dramatically a wine of silky, pure berries and a stone flavor is
revealing itself. Gosh.
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72. Mahr’s
Jubelfestbier ($4)
Black Oktoberfest beer. Serve at 55-60 degrees F. The bouquet is
seductive with raisin, cappuccino, blackberries and opium aromas in
spite of an essentially milky, mild character. Roasted seeds and pale
malt perfumes dance about. Dry and quenching while also containing
robust, tangy roast flavor. Sweetness is completely buried, something to
be approved of. Images of burnt budlets seem to squeeze out droplets of
black fruit infusion. This is a wholesome beer. It moves in a cascading
motion. Entertaining, pure, nutritious and quite gulpable.
73. 2005 Anchor
Brewing, Our Special Ale ($1.50)
Serve at 55-60 degrees F. Dark brown. Aromas of chicory and Postum lead
to strawberry, baked raspberry jam and grapey, dark red wine.
Gingerbread underlies hand picked, juicy sweet strawberries. Angry,
charred bitterness snaps at the delicate fruitiness. Purple grapes upon
grapes: Black Muscat, Pineau d'Aunis, Gamay, Concord, etc. Irrationally
scented. Deeply sour, like burnt, freshly milled pine timbers. Ripe,
sweet perfumes of stones, marsh and moss. Unyielding, dry and shriveled,
sour finish beckons renewal. Drink this beer warm, like red wine! Grape
jam flavors. Grapey. Irresistible. Completely unique.
74. Bell’s Batch
7000 ($2.50)
Darker brown than any drip-brewed coffee, though not quite
espresso-opaque, the top is a healthy full brown of milky foam. Quite
confusing aromas of deeply piney resins and best cocoa. In the mouth
this is clearly Eccentric Ale with mega coffee and cocoa roast. It is as
deep and slippery textured as only Eccentric Ale is (rum soaked dried
apricots). Resting this beer for 5 years or so should deplete some of
the Lemon Pledge hoppiness. There are very few beers that will clearly
"improve," but this would be one of them. Akin to a marriage of
Howell
Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and Domecq PX Venerable.
75. Ridgeway
Ivanhoe ($5)
Very dry English Bitter. Serve at 55-60 degrees F. An aggressive
stampede of crispy crumpety meringue overruns the bottleneck and
moistens the desktop. As it erodes in the glass aromas of Christmas
cookie, lemon, raspberry jam, hazelnuts and rope appear. Perfectly dry
attack introduces mysterious coffee, tobacco and Indonesian spice
trawler flavors. Suggestively fruity yet made angular by hard
bitterness. Bright, airy texture. It is as light as it can be without
jeopardizing intensity or balance. Nutty. Very drinkable. These dry,
lean beers always seem to improve with repetition.
76. 2004 Gysler
Weinheimer Hölle Scheurebe Halbtrocken ($15, 1 liter)
What if New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc met Riesling and Gewurztraminer?
This is loaded with pink grapefruit essences and bright mineral traces.
Because of the vintage it is unusually fat and chewy, though it finishes
dry as a bone. Sadly, Skurnik sez it’s sold out.
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77. 2000 Bandol,
Chateau Ste. Anne, Cuvée Mourvèdre 98% ($34)
Some modern Bandol wines are opaque, barrique-aged attempts
at Bordeaux or Cabernet style wines and some are not. This belongs to
the second category. Don’t get me wrong. It’s concentrated. It’s just
that there is so much more here besides mere extraction and purple
color. I assume all admirers of traditional Barolo and Burgundy will
enjoy this wine’s sappy, wild berry perfumes, spicy leather and
dramatic, stony mineral substance. As benign proof of this producer’s
aversion to using sulfites the first of three bottles we opened
contained dissolved CO2. Thrice decanting corrected it for those who
thought it an error.
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78. 2000 Camerano
Barolo, Cannubi San Lorenzo ($50)
So pale it will be as orange as a pumpkin before it’s ready to drink.
Devastating perfumes emerge from this ambrosia: roses, nutmeg, licorice.
Kinetic flavors for flavor gawkers.
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79. 2004 Touraine,
Clos Roche Blanche, Sauvignon ($13)
My mom bought a case of 2004 Clos Roche Blanche Sauvignon after first
drinking a glass at my house. She rinsed out the bottle and took it home
as a trophy. I don't think she’s ever bought a case of wine before.
As a drink of Sauvignon Blanc it has viscosity, shattered with gleaming
sparkles of natural, slight CO2. In the nose one meets country harvest
images: bushels of sweet, ripe green apples, hay bales, fresh herbs. The
texture is a dream, and the bracing intensity of pure fruit and mineral
flavor perfectly occupy the generous space it provides. I haven’t wanted
to drink Sauvignon in years. Now we open it by default. I was surprised
to learn how well Sauvignon could go with fresh Michigan sweet corn,
salt-wilted arugula dressed with Moris Farms olive oil, Pecorino Sardo
and flame-peeled crimson Michigan tomatoes. I wonder how it goes with
chevre?
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80. 2002 Bourgogne,
Catherine & Claude Maréchal, Cuvée Gravel ($24)
It smells like a cider mill: the juice press, doughnut spices and old
timbers. There are sweeter Pinot Noir wines at this price, but they are
usually simpler. I taste something different each time I open it. One
time it was cola and dried herbs. Another time it was cranberries,
raspberries, apple juice, ginger and chocolate. It’s possible to drink
100 Pinot Noirs and 100 Burgundies without enjoying something this
prolifically faceted.
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81. 2002 Bourgogne
Rouge, Dugat-Py ($45)
At first it tasted of oak, like Bernard Dugat’s other wines, only
without the flesh required to absorb it. It seemed astringent and
skinny.
As I poked away at a full glass I thought about the various encounters
I’ve had with the work of Mr. Dugat. I imagined the possible barrel
selection process for this cuvee and it seemed honest and faithful.
All of a sudden I really liked the wine.
I was past the first ten pages of a long, important novel and now the
pages were turning on their own. It is a privilege to drink this
practical, wiry, fleshy Gevry-like Pinot Noir. It cuts a deep groove of
wood-oriented spice resins, and these are handed off neatly to vinous,
fruit-born resins that only Pinot Noir seems to deliver with such
authority. Needs time.
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82. 2003 Riesling,
Dr. Bürklin-Wolf, white label ($14)
12.5% alc. Pfalz. White/gold color. Aromas of ripe, tart red apples
mixed with apricot and chalk. Not only does this have lazy late summer
perfumes (melancholy associations of bushels of fruits, raw honey,
hayrides etc.) but in contrast to the stereotype for 2003 it has a
vigorous, penetrating and fine acidity. It smoothly blankets the palate,
yet resolves with hard, dry mineral astringency.
Find this wine
83. 2004 Mönchhof
Riesling Spätlese, Mosel Slate ($20)
9.5% alc. AP# 2602 029 010 05. Mosel. There is an almost meaty richness
to be detected in the aromas of this wine. I blame the long hang times
of the relatively cool 2004 vintage. The result here is a sensation of
pulpy density. Ripe, tart apples, lemon zest and smoldering slate
impressions join the nose and palate. The texture is quite rich and
weighty while crackling acidity creates benign tension and impressive
length.
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84.
Brasserier Des Géants, Goliath
Belgian tripel ale. The “only” all malt tripel. 9% alcohol beer was
never this dangerously drinkable, dry and bitter.
85. Bellenda
Prosecco ($18)
Some use Prosecco as an "alternative" to Champagne. I suggest you use
Champagne as a substitute for Prosecco. Champagne, and Champagne-method
wines from California and Spain can never offer the expressive
combination of dry mineral flavor and perfumy, musky fresh fruit
fragrance that Prosecco can. Champagne is ponderous compared to good
Prosecco. Drinking only Champagne for one’s fizzy wine needs would be
like drinking only Medoc for red. Champagne -- sometimes slightly tannic
from oak-aging -- is for evening attire, as a prelude to a large meal,
or for serious partying. Prosecco is for summer evenings, club
sandwiches and jazz. Drink Champagne while wearing leather shoes;
Prosecco with sneakers and flip flops.
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86. 2002 Le Pigeoulet
en Provence ($14)
If there is a more joyous red wine than Pigeoulet (peezh-oo-lay’),
dollar for dollar, I don’t know what it is. It is absolutely dry, pale
red rosé colored and bursting with aromas and flavors of sweet
strawberries, cherries and comfort resins for structure. What is a good
wine with sesame chicken, pasta or sandwiches you ask? This one. There
hasn’t been a Chianti this food friendly at this price since 1998, and
there is simply nothing from the New World I know of to compare it with. Pigeoulet is made by the
Bruniers of Vieux Telegraphe.
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87. 2004 Domaine de
la Mordorée Côtes du Rhône Rosé ($15)
Red wine drinkers can look at rosé one of two ways: 1) it is pink and
unmanly 2) it is the only wine with any red color that can be served
quite chilled in the summer. This is a big, broad, sweep of bulging
berry flavor. Christophe Delorme is the winemaker.
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88. Tio Pepe
Palomino Fino
Now in the more authentic 15% alcohol version. Finally, balance and
freshness of fruit! Saddle up! We’re drinkin’ Fino until we get to
Reno!
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89. 2003 Bourgueil,
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie, Vielles Vignes ($17)
My pal Tom and I each have a case of this sappy 60 year-old vine
Cabernet Franc nectar at home ready to begin testing what we view to be
reliable claims regarding its durability and power to transform
pleasantly. It may be on a warm spring evening in 2013 when I open my
case.
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90. 1994 Dow’s Vintage Port
($85)
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91. 2001 Bandol,
Domaine Tempier, Cuvée Speciale ($39)
I drank this after a lovely bout with Euro-absinthe among friends and it
was a seamless segue. Bright spice bark and currants flavors on slick,
velvety tannins.
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92. 2000 Sagrantino,
Paolo Bea ($70)
Sour cherries covered in cinnamon and chocolate sound good. Make it a
barrel-aged wine from the hottest heirloom grape revival of the last
decade and I’m so in.
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93. 2002 Syrah,
Jaffurs, Santa Barbara County ($28)
For fans of Syrah essences, complete with wild, brambly, meaty
character. This is another wine that more than deserves the “Sideways
effect.”
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94. 1999 Prieure
Lichine ($29)
…can be consumed by the curious wine student (or hedonist) now, but 2009
would be a good time to begin drinking it in earnest. It features loads
of coffee, cocoa, truffles, blackberry and pencil flavors. Surprisingly
substantial.
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95. 1996 Prieure
Lichine ($32)
1996 was a more tannic vintage than 1999, but the aromatics and flavors
are more classical. The 1996 Prieure Lichine is a study in the magical,
floral and black-fruited perfume that marks all true Margaux wines.
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96. 2003 Riesling,
Zilliken, Saarburger Rausch, Spätlese ($26)
Prepare for mineral scents before you put your nose into a glass of Saar
Riesling. For mineral extraction, in all the world of wine, these take
the cake. It is a quality that must be present for any wine to be truly
great, and these have it in abundance. Fruit-cocktail flavors of pears,
watermelon and white grapes currently dominate the acidity, but it is
there, and so is the fabulous mineral structure. Connoisseurs of
Sauternes and Quarts-des-Chaume will be stunned by the opulence and
incredulous at the price.
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97. 2001 Sauternes,
Chateau Lafaurie Peyraguey ($30, 375 ml)
Yum. The Almighty’s Bit-o-Honey. I don’t regret drinking this all up.
Nope.
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98. 2003 Vacqueyras Cuvée
Lopy ($45)
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99. 2001 Moulis, Chateau
Poujeaux ($35)
Find this wine
100. 2001 Bordeaux
Superieur, Reignac ($30)
Ah, the concentration, the polished outcome, ordained by Mr. Michel
Rolland. Awesome!
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* ”I dunno” returned over 5 million
Google results
on 1/4/2006
Many of these drinks come from three importers:
Joe Dressner,
Terry Theise and Dan Shelton. A quick word about these
fellows:
Besides selecting and selling drinks, each of these agents is an
educator. Their work is organized by a belief that natural and cultural
diversity matter and exist to be enjoyed. Each of them stubbornly
believes that enough consumers are interested in this diversity to make
possible a business in mediating it.
It strikes me as willfully egalitarian (cynics
will say “naïve”) to dive so deeply into a cultural study, as these
Americans have, and to assume that the rest of us might sense remotely
–– in our apartments and at restaurant tables –– the same pleasures that
they have found at the source. But they do this, and it must work for
them. I sincerely hope it continues to because it works for me.
Previously in Putnam's Monthly:
Diversity: A
Response To A Skeptical Reader
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