Moving in, Drinking Up

This is one delicious Beaujolais with a long life ahead of it.

Moving into a new house is chaotic. After ten days or so, I’m starting to catch up and regain some level of order to my surroundings, but boxes are still stacked up all over, stuff is still littered about and the cats are still out of their minds in their new environment. 

But before the move, I made sure to pack a few wine glasses for easy access. What better way to christen a new home that popping some corks? 

I look forward to hosting a lot of great dinners and wine tastings in my new home this year. But in the meantime, here are some notes on a few recent bottles sipped among the chaos.

2011 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc - California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
$18/half-bottle
Bright green apple and melon, mixed in with more obvious elements of green and white peppers and spices, underlying notes of honey and white tea. Full-bodied and creamy but bright acid. The green apple, grapefruit and melon fruit is rich but mouth-watering, and the crisp acid keeps this clean and fresh. Notes of white pepper, jalapeno and shallots mix with richer notes of nuts, honey and dried almonds, green tea. Interesting, but I think I like Merry’s Sauv Blancs when they’re younger. I’ve been experimenting with aging a few, but I tend to enjoy them more within two years of the vintage. Still a beautiful Sauvignon Blanc, though. (90 points)

2012 Domaine Guerrin Pouilly-Fuissé La Maréchande - France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé 
$22
Light golden color. Bright lime and lemon, topped with sea shells and salt, mixed with honeycomb, nuts and some sesame seeds. Medium-bodied and creamy but with refreshing acid, this wine is nervy and bright but set against a backdrop of ripe apple and apricot. Mineral-driven and salty, but some underlying richness, like honeycomb, white tea and wheat. Long finish. For $20, this is a total steal and should do interesting things over the next few years. (89 points) 

2010 Olivier Decelle - Pierre Jean Villa Côte de Brouilly - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Côte de Brouilly
$25
Bright ruby color. Tart berries, strawberries, intense floral tones, really floral and pretty but serious rocky-loamy notes underneath. Firm tannic structure, on day one the tannins were severe, but the clean acid helped a lot. By day two, the wine had totally opened up and changed its approach to show a silky, bright and approachable sensibility. I got tart strawberries and red currants, along with serious mineral, graphite and earth elements. Opens up so much with air and gets softer and more refined. Incredible what air does to this wine. Long, pretty, tart, elegant, delicious. One for the cellar for sure, or at least a long decant. I love this gorgeous wine. (91 points)

2010 Domaine Vallet St. Joseph Meribets - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
$24
Dark ruby colored. Dark plums on the nose, tart red berries, some smoky tones and earth, some underlying pepper and bacon fat. Medium-bodied, 12.5% alcohol, bright acid keeps this fresh and lively, but it has a bold structure and firm tannic backbone. Tart currants and plums, hints of blackberry, the fruit is bold but oh so fresh. Lots of complex non-fruit elements: violets, roses, black tea, peppercorns, mix in some graphite, charcoal and smashed rocks. Just starting to show some bacon and smoke notes, especially with air, but this needs time to show its full potential complexity. Opened after a marathon day of moving and sipped this with family while eating Pete’s New Haven pizza. Good times. (89 points)

2005 Milz Laurentiushof Trittenheimer Leiterchen Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
$19/half-bottle
Golden apricot colored. Smells of apricot sauce, honeycomb, clovers, white peach, guava nectar. Crisp acid cuts through the intense richness on the palate, and this is actually quite a clean and fresh wine. Flavors of lime, white peach and guava, mixed with honeycomb, clovers, candied lemon and orange peel. Some underlying minerals, oceanic and slate elements. Sure it’s rich and unctuous, but I’m really surprised by the crisp acid here, which makes this capable of pairing with more than just sweet desserts. I’m a huge fan of the salinity and airy quality to this wine, which lingers long with those richer honeycomb flavors on the finish. Seems to have serious stuffing for age, but gorgeous now. (93 points)