750 mL An independent public journal of tasting notes for wines from around the world--750 mL at a time. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 4 2750

Articles from 750 mL

06 Firesteed, Oregon Pinot Noir 2008-01-25 21:03:00 Imagine a wine so good it becomes a part of you. One almost Edenic in its pleasure--soft, luxurious, comforting at times--as pretty as girl the girl next door. Imagine Mary Ann on the sofa drinking orange juice, Ginger raking leaves in the yard. A little perfume, a little sweat, a little innocence, a little lust. God save the battered beauty. Everything so right in that moment--you making ...

04 Selciaia, Rosso di Montepulciano Fassati 2008-01-14 19:24:00 What a gorgeous and bold winter red. Rich, powerful, robust--all those fat, inky descriptors apply here and, if I were writing this review on paper, I'd press down harder on the pen, maybe right through the paper and onto the coffee table below. This is the fragrant, luscious Tuscan wine that even the old-timers must be proud of. So much so, you laugh a little bit at the D.O.C. regulations--the ...

96 Chateau D'Arlay, Cotes du Jura Blanc 2008-01-13 23:27:00 I could drink a nip of this every morning, right after ripping off the head of a langoustine blanched in court-bouillon. Which is to say, there is something primal, but indelibly innocent about this wine, like an open-mouthed perch sweeping up minnows in the morning. It's oloroso sherry with a twist of lemon peel--maybe even that court-bouillon itself. That's what I'll never get about these ...

04 Monte Antico, Toscana IGT 2008-01-03 21:29:00 A confusion of the senses. Tired, meddling, and petty, like a sick in-law snowed into your apartment for the weekend. This bottle just won't go away, and I keep taking it, keep holding my tongue. I'm trying not to offend anyone, but it's only getting worse. "Super Tuscan" or not (it is, allegedly, a "blend" of sangiovese, merlot, and cabernet, though I'd rather call it a "mixture"), there is ...

05 Domaine du Vieux Chene, Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Cuvee de la Dame Vielle 2007-12-29 17:06:00 It's the "old lady's" wine, according to the label, but maybe it's no coincidence that AltaVista insists on translating "la dame" as "the injury"--making it the "bottle of the old injury." It tastes that way--bruised, scabby, and hastily bandaged. When they tell you to use a wine to cook with that you would at least drink, this is probably the bare minimum. And while my short ribs came out ...

04 Domaine Tissot, Arbois Trousseau Singulier 2007-12-28 00:18:00 The singular trousseau. Which is to say, the only trousseau I've ever had. And it's not without superpowers that I would ever be able to tell the difference between this and a juicy Santenay--or any Bourgogne Cote de Beaune for that matter--from a ripe year. It's so pretty, I want it to go bad. I want to beat it up a little, beat the innocence out of it. This sweet, ambrosial, chameleon of a ...

06 J. Christopher, Willamette Valley Riesling 2007-12-19 20:59:00 If you are one of the ones who don't know what I mean when I talk about "Old World" and "New World," consider yourself lucky and pour yourself a glass. This wine celebrates you. And I'm beginning to think maybe all of Oregon does. Those two distinctions have long been our only options. Does the riesling taste German/Alsatian? Maybe it has some semblance of "minerality" or "diesel" (code for ...

01 Betts and Scholl, Hermitage Rouge 2007-12-09 03:58:00 I got out of bed to write about this wine. Take one part Master Sommelier (Richard Betts), add one jigger artist (Dennis Scholl), and shake vigorously over Jean-Louis Chave, and you have the best New World interpretation of syrah. And with as much as 90% of this wine sourced from Chave's own Hermitage parcels, the 01 Hermitage is quite literally an "interpretation" or close reading of this ...

06 Brick House, Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge Select 2007-12-01 22:06:00 Words like "soft," "delicate," and "luxurious" come to mind, before I realize that this supple pinot noir tastes like one thing: cinammon-cherry farts. It's with that mindset that I go into writing about this wine--an aged-Burgundy-like pinot that fortifies itself with the real must of Oregon. The warmth of Ribbon Ridge shows here. There's so much texture to these grapes--milky, murky, like blood ...

NV Bollinger, Champagne Brut Special Cuvee 2007-11-29 21:32:00 There's something about democracy that keeps me from truly liking this wine. Oh, my American ways. We gluttonous expatriates always want more. So when this Brit-friendly champers hits the table, something inside me turns a little bit. It's fascistly austere, and while I love dry champagne (see: Andre Clouet Silver Brut), there's too much left to be desired with Bollinger. Ironically, it's ...

06 Abacela, Southern Oregon Albarino 2007-11-23 14:37:00 If there is anything true about great wine, it's that it has a sense of place. But great terroir isn't necessarily about where a wine is from--it is about where a wine can place you. And if you think the two should be the same, then start looking for a Galician penninsula just west of I-5 near Roseburg, Oregon. If there's anything distinctly Portuguese or Spanish about this varietal, Abacela has ...

Francis-Tannahill, Jackass (beta) 2007-11-17 09:10:00 I just found out today that Oregon's Francis-Tannahill winery has released the Jackass, a wine I first wrote about in The Short Pour over a year ago. Apparently, I'm a little slow on picking this up, as a few wine stores have already started selling it under the "Jack White" name (who knew Sam was such a White Stripes fan?). My shipment arrives soon. And as an aperitif to that review, here is a ...

NV Paul Bara, Bouzy Grand Cru Brut Reserve 2007-11-15 00:01:00 I'll keep it simple with a wine this good. Point blank, it's one of the most complex non-vintage champagnes on the market. It's 100% Bouzy pinot noir, which makes it 100% grand cru. But if you know Bouzy, you know its "grand cru" status means more than just impeccable fruit. There's strong, heady terroir here that, in rare cases like this, coddles the highborn pinot noir grape into something that ...

03 Puech Chaud, Coteaux du Languedoc 2007-11-14 09:11:00 It's carnal in a way that meat is not. Instinctual. Raw fleshy desire. This is not a wine; this is an elixir--a transmuting potion that makes me feel desperate, wanting, and finally fulfilled. A syrah-driven blend from Rhone legend Rene Rostaing, sweetened by grenache and held in place by mourvedre, it has the texture of beef carpaccio--chewy, but disintegrating. And bloody. This is not wine; ...

05 Vincent Dancer, Meursault Les Corbins 2007-11-13 20:44:00 I went looking for my Dancer notes to see how the 2005 stacks up, but there were none. Not a single "mmm" or "apply" or "buttery" anywhere, even though there's no Burgundy--red or white--I've had more of than the Dancer wines. I guess I've never had the impetus to write about it. Yeah, it's there, it's great, and now let's have another. It's a Burgundy I love drinking young. Dancer's only been ...