What We Drank (April 19, 2010)

Here's what the NYCR editors are drinking now…

Evan Dawson: Villard 2006 Condrieu de Poncins

Northern
Rhone whites just do not get enough love.

Of
course, there is a very good argument that Northern Rhone whites are
almost prohibitively expensive, and thus price themselves out of the
love they deserve. The best bottles fetch Napa Cab-style sticker prices.
Too bad.

On special occasions, this is a go-to
wine region for my wife and me. She loves Northern Rhone whites, and
with this outstanding viognier, it's easy to see why.

It
smells and tastes like a peach puff pastry, but just when it starts to
get so rich that it borders on buttery, it amps up the stony, racy edge.
It's an extremely fresh wine with a big
body.

Given the price, it will be awhile
before we return to Condrieu, but I'll have high expectations for the
next occasion.

Lenn Thompson: Waters Crest Winery 2003 Cabernet Franc

Tasting so many wines when or shortly after they are released, I don't always have as much time as I'd like to look back.

So over the weekend I pull this wine from my cellar to pour for a couple wine geek friends familiar with Waters Crest.

When I first reviewed this wine in September of 2005, I said:

"Extended maceration gives
this wine a deep, rich garnet color and beautiful extraction. Aromas of
cocoa, exotic spice and wet topsoil reach right up out of the glass.
This red is full bodied and mouth-filling, with lush chocolate flavors.
Jim made only 130 cases, with long-term aging in mind."

We're not quite at what I'd call "long term" yet, but I don't think this wine has much longer to go.

Not that it's dead yet either. My bottle was incredibly smooth — to the point of having nearly no structure left at all.

The chocolate and intense character has faded quite a bit, but the spice remains with a leafy-earthy component that I described as beet greens over the weekend stepping forward. That's akin to the "top soil" note from five years ago.

If I had to guess, I'd say this one isn't going to improve anymore in bottle. In fact, it's probably just a bit past peak. Not dead, but getting tired.

I left the bottle with my friends and apparently it fell off the table by a couple hours later. If you have any of this, drink up.