2005 Vieux Telegraphe: We had Julia and Tony over for dinner last night and it seemed about time to crack one of these open. I'm slowly working through a case that I bought a few years ago, opening about one per year or so. Its drinking well right now. Everything seems to be coming into alignment. There's still a bit of Rhone fire, but I wouldn't want that to completely mellow away. '05 was supposedly a good year if you track that sort of thing and this one is still going very strong and I suspect it will be good for many years to come.
2005 Jouget Cuvee Terroir: This is another of my large stock of '05 Loires. Its drinking well right now. The bright violet has given way to a bit of an aged garnet and the leather and spice that I love in Loire cab franc is really coming through. As a bonus, I nursed this one throughout the week and it really held up even a few days after opening. That leads me to think that it would do well with a decanting for a few hours, but I haven't done that yet.
2008 Pierrette et Marc Guillemot-Michel Macon-Villages from Quintaine: I love white Burgundy and I find Maconnais wines to be a good route into Burgundian lands without having to blow the entire month's wine budget. This wine was around $25 and worth every penny. They farm 7 hectares of land and adhere to strict biodynamic practices. The wine is 100% Chardonnay and allowed to go through 100% malolactic fermentation. It never touches oak. What's most amazing is the mouthfeel and lusciousness of this wine. There aren't any oak flavors, but if you didn't have tastebuds and only the ability to sense mouthfeel, you'd think this wine was heavily oaked because of its unctuousness. There's so much going on with this wine and it is really just a fun one to sip and think about. Apricot, honey, and peaches all come to mind. Delicious!
On a side-note, its been a busy few weeks with some professional and personal matters cropping up. So, I haven't been able to keep up with the wines I've been drinking. I've left out a few. Most notably a really nice new Bordeaux that I kept on the counter for about a week intending to write about and never got around to it. It was good, whatever it was. Anyways, here's to staying up to date on the wine consumption. Cheers!
