2004 Chateau Pipeau - Saint-Émilion - Bordeaux

A short note on the 2004 Chateau Pipeau, a merlot based Saint-Émilion from Bordeaux.

Deep dark garnet colored wine with rich dark fruit intermixed with cedar. Fruits come across as cassis, blackberry and maybe a hint of prunes. Tannins need to soften. Super long finish.

Young young wine that needs time. Luckily I have more to go through and the time to let it sit!

2007 Domaine “La Garrigue” Cuvee Romaine - Côtes du Rhône - France

This is my second “wow” wine of the year. Rich ruby red in color with tar and blackberry notes intermingled up front. Dark and rich with a thick, velvety texture and a fruit laden long finish.

A large part of the “wow” comes from its $13 price tag at Garnet Wines. When Tahirih was asked how much she thought this was, the guess was $35 and it drinks like that.

2005 Domaine Marcel Deiss Pinot Blanc – Bergheim - Alsace-France

To quote my wife after her first sip of this… “Wow! And I mean that in a good way!”

The 2005 Domaine Marcel Deiss Pinot Blanc – Bergheim is unlike any other Pinot Blanc I’ve ever had. To set up the point of contrast first, most Pinot Blancs I’ve had, weather from the US or Europe, tend to be light in color and body with noticeable minerality ahead of the fruit and a clear acidic zip, not really unlike a Finger Lakes Riesling.

This was different. It was a rich golden color with what I thought were honey, orange citrus and some light notes of petrol on the nose. The minerality was there as well but as a very nice and subtle secondary layer. This also had a very full bodied texture, again unlike most other Pinot Blancs I’ve had. Very mouth coating but that same acidic zip comes at the very end if you hold the wine in your mouth long enough.

Very food friendly and extremely good!

This was a wine recommendation from my friend Chris at Blanc & Rouge, a really nice wine shop in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood. The kind of place where you can tell that everyone LOVES wine. You can tell it’s a passion of everyone who works there. You can find this wine there for $22 which makes it a great QPR find.

Anyway, I’m hoping this is the first of many recommendations to come my way from Chris and the other fine people at the shop

Bordeaux Mega Tasting...

Here are my thoughts on the Zachy’s ‘05/’06 Bordeaux tasting I attended in January ’09 at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers…

I’m just going to do it. I’m just going to list all the wines I tasted that night and let you all go…”wow”… He tasted all that? How cool!

Let me also say this, from the list below I couldn’t tell you more than 5 wines that night that really stood out to me in such a way that I could accurately describe them with anything that remotely looks like a note.

And of the ones that stood out, with the exception of maybe a couple, I think they stood out simply because they were big and rich enough to express themselves louder than the rest.

That said, I do believe that I got a general idea that these wines were good in the context of the ’05 Bordeaux vintage being a “good year” and honestly, it was pretty cool to be able to taste all these great wines that I would have a really hard time affording in today’s economic climate!

The Wines…

Les Ormes de Pez ‘05
Les Ormes de Pez ‘06

Lynch Bages ‘05
Clerc Milon ‘05
Clerc Milon ‘06
d’Armailhac ‘05
d’Armailhac ‘06
Pichon Longueville Baron ‘05
Pichon Longueville Baron ‘06
Pichon Lalande ‘05
Pichon Lalande ‘06
Pontet Canet ‘05
Pontet Canet ‘06

Beychevelle ‘05
Beychevelle ‘06
Branaire Ducru ‘05
Branaire Ducru ‘06
Gruaud Larose ‘05
Gruaud Larose ‘06
Lagrange ‘05
Lagrange ‘06
St. Pierre ‘05
St. Pierre ‘06
Leoville Poyferre ‘05
Leoville Poyferre ‘06
Talbot ‘05
Talbot ‘06

Brane Cantenac ‘05
Brane Cantenac ‘06
Cantenac Brown ‘05
Cantenac Brown ‘06
Prieure Lichine ‘05
Prieure Lichine ‘06
Kirwan ‘05
Kirwan ‘06
Du Tertre ‘05
Du Tertre ‘06
Giscours ‘05
Giscours ‘06
Labegorce ‘05
Labegorce ‘06
Malescot St. Exupery ‘05
Malescot St. Exupery ‘06
Marquis de Terme ‘05
Marquis de Terme ‘06

La Louviere Blanc ‘05
La Louviere Blanc ‘06
Larrivet Haut Brion Blanc ‘05
Larrivet Haut Brion Blanc ‘06
Larrivet Haut Brion ‘05
Larrivet Haut Brion ‘06
Latour Martillac ‘05
Les Carmes Haut Brion ‘05
Les Carmes Haut Brion ‘06
Malartic La Graviere Blanc ‘05
Malartic La Graviere ‘05
Malartic La Graviere ‘06
Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc ‘05
Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc ‘06

Beauregard ‘05
Beauregard ‘06
Clinet ‘05
Clinet ‘06
Gazin ‘05
Gazin ‘06
La Cabanne ‘05
La Cabanne ‘06
Petit Village ‘05
Petit Village ‘06
Angelus ‘05
Angelus ‘06
Beau Sejour Becot ‘05
Beau Sejour Becot ‘06
Canon La Gaffeliere ‘05
Canon La Gaffeliere ‘06
Figeac ‘05
Figeac ‘06
Larcis Ducasse ‘05
Larcis Ducasse ‘06
Pavie Macquin ‘05
Pavie Macquin ‘06
La Gaffeliere ‘05
La Gaffeliere ‘06
Troplong Mondot ‘05
Troplong Mondot ‘06
Trottevielle ‘05
Trottevielle ‘06

Climens ‘05
Climens ‘06
Doisy Daene ‘05
Doisy Daene ‘06
Guiraud ‘05
Guiraud ‘06
La Tour Blanche ‘05
La Tour Blanche ‘06
Lafaurie Peyraguey ‘05
Lafaurie Peyraguey ‘06
Sigalas Rabaud ‘06
Suduiraut ‘05
Suduiraut ‘06

2002 Termes Toro - Bodega Numenthia Termes - Spain

This lovely wine is starting to near the end of its life (within a couple years I think) but is drinking beautifully now.

Garnet colored and medium bodied with secondary notes of tar and cedar now at the forefront with some nice black currant and other dark notes receding some.

Fine tannins and a soft texture with a long finish. A touch of heat at the end is the only slight against this really nice wine.

Bought 3 or 4 years ago from Union Square Wines for $25.