2014 Domaine Chene MACON MILLY LAMARTINE (Southern Burgundy, France)

This vibrant, flavorful, unoaked Chardonnay should be every restaurants' house white.  Just a fantastic value.

Shimmering bright, light gold color.  Almost Riesling-like nose of ripe, juicy yellow peach, mouthwatering crisp apple, honey and wet stones.  Mouthfilling, yet extraordinarily light on its feet.  Peach, pear, and apple fruit mingles and leads to a stony, honeyed finish.  Very nice acids buoy the whole thing up.  Drink over the next year for its liveliness.  (Great value!)  A-.  Was $12.99 from WTSO.com.  Imported by MHW, Ltd., Manhasset, NY.

(Sorry, 2013 shown.)

2012 Simonnet-Febvre SAINT-BRIS (Northern Burgundy, France)

I think the Saint-Bris area produces some of the best value Sauvignon Blancs in the world.  They're crisp, minerally, refreshing, and can serve as an aperitif or an accompaniment to a wide variety of lighter dinner fare.  This one's an excellent value and is a very typical, very well made exemplar.

Extremely pale, crystal clear gold color, with a slight greenish glint.  Lively nose of clean gooseberry/green apple fruit, with a squeeze of lemon, along with a gun flinty, stony mineraliness.  Bone dry, with loads of chalky minerals framing very clean, tart green apple fruit  Great acidity and a clean, fairly long finish punctuated by a tiny bitter herb note. B+.  Was $11.99 on sale at Whole Foods in Arlington.  Imported by Louis Latour, Inc. of San Rafael, CA.

2010 Louis Boillot CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET Blanc (Burgundy, France)

 This wine took me on a surprise journey.  When I first opened it, it looked suspiciously dark gold.  And it smelled kind of flat, and felt flabby and tired in the mouth.  We finished off half the bottle without much enthusiasm the first night, although, over time the first night, it tightened up a bit, and the color lightened.  I put it under a Vacu-vin closure and stuck it back in the fridge.  Two days later, it was much, much improved.  I think this wine just needs a couple of years in the bottle.  If you open it now, I would actually recommend decanting it a few hours ahead of time -- which is usually unnecessary for a white.  Stick the decanter back in the fridge in the meantime.

The following notes are from 48 hours after opening.

Bright, luminescent medium light, brassy gold.  Wonderfully vibrant nose:  pristine apple fruit, a squeeze of lemon, a little whiff of light honey and toast, and a very clean, hay/limestoney earth note.  Lean, but with excellent flavor persistence, this wine has excellent acids (a characteristic of the 2010s from Burgundy).  Flavors of green apple, pear, and straw last a long time and leave on a very faint hazelnut note that lingers and lingers.  This wine kept getting better through the last sip.  That suggests this needs time and air.  By the end, I gave it a A-.  (Don't ask about when I first opened it.)  Was $24.99 from WTSO.com.  Imported by MHW, Ltd., Manhasset, NY.

Three wines and lots of guests

We had people over for dinner Saturday and Sunday, so with all the talking and laughing etc., I didn't get to do detailed notes, but here are my impressions of three of the wines we popped.

2010 Domaine Vignaud CHABLIS PREMIER CRU Fourchaume -- Nice, minerally, brothy nose.  Nice entry, but then lean and a little hollow at present in the mid-palate.  Finishes with lots of clean, limestoney minerals in the finish.  Will be better in 2-4 years.

2005 Chateau Lascombes MARGAUX -- Much better than it was two years ago when I opened my first bottle.  Starting to develop some complexity, with the California-like primary fruit and oak I thought dominated the first bottle I popped a couple of years ago starting to subside and beginning to develop into a more sophisticated Bordeaux cedary character.  Very long finish.  Another wine that will be better still in 2-5 years.  Too bad that was my last bottle.  Paired well with Saturday's grilled steaks.

2006 Paul Pillot CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET PREMIER CRU CLOS SAINT JEAN (Rouge) -- a gorgeous, fully mature red burgundy.  Resiny cherry fruit, along with loads of gravelly minerals.  Leaner style, with very good acids.  Very nice with Coq au Vin.

2010 Simmonet-Fevre CHABLIS PREMIER CRU MONTMAINS (Northern Burgundy, France)

This is a big, extroverted Chablis.

Very pale gold.  Nose burbling over with green apple, peach, lemon, and chalky minerals.  Fleshy, flashy, and vigorous in the mouth.  The first day the fruit was at the fore, and it seemed ripe, intense, and somewhat simple.  But the next day, the minerals were out in force, with intense chalky-stoniness overshadowing the still ample fruit.  The first night it seemed almost -- unusually for a Chablis -- like there was a bit of residual sugar, but as it aired, that sweetness decreased.  By the second day it seemed bone dry.  Good acids for such a large-limbed Chablis.  What it lacks in complexity and elegance it makes up in sheer force and vigor.  B+.  Drink over the next 2 years, over which it will probably gain a bit of complexity.  Was $21.99 from WTSO.com, and imported by Louis Latour, San Rafael, CA.

2010 Domaine du Mont VIRÉ-CLESSÉ (Southern Burgundy, France)

This was a fantastic white.  If I had tasted it blind I would have thought it was a young premier cru Chablis.  Ripe, cleanly minerally, and crisply refreshing.  Excellent value.

Light gold color.  Enchanting nose of ripe apple, ripe pear, nose-tingling lemony acids, and crushed seashell minerality, along with a hint of that Burgundian earthiness that frequently, in the whites, reminds me of dried hay lying around a barn.  Absolutely refreshing in the mouth.  Concentrated flavors, yet light on its feet, with a linear, lemony streak through the apple/green apply fruit, and a bolt of chalky, seashelly minerality follows through from the nose to the mouth.  Soft texture.  Brilliantly clean, lengthy finish.  I know it's just a Macon, but I have to give it an A.  Was $14.99 from WTSO.com, making it a steal.  Imported by MHW, Ltd., Manhasset, CT.

2009 Domaine Louis Boillot SAINT-AUBIN 1er CRU "LES CASTETS" (White Burgundy, France)

A fragrant wine, with nice flavors, balance, and length, but a little undernourished in the mid-palate.

Light gold with silver/greenish highlights.  Toasty, hazelnut and brown butter notes dominate the nose, with nice pear fruit and stony minerality underneath.  Soft and full in the mouth, with oaky and mineral flavors overshadowing the fruit a bit.  Bone-dry, with good acidity, and after the lean midpalate the finish stretches out and lasts for a while.  B/B+.  Was $23 fro WTSO.com.  Imported  by MHW, Ltd, NYC.

2009 Domaine Laleure-Piot PERNAND-VERGELESSES PREMIER CRU (White Burgundy)

This was an extreme wine.  So minerally and brothy that it's hard to believe grapes had anything to do with it.  Not my cup of tea, but I know several wine geeks who would love this style.

Medium light, pewter-inflected gold color.  Nose very closed the first day, even with pouring through a Vinturi. Day 2 the nose was more extroverted, smelling like an emulsion of freshly-pulverized limestone dust, chicken broth, and tart green apple/lemon peel.  Quickly attacks the palate with very lean, minerally, straw-tinged earthy and brothy flavors.  The mineraliness clings long in the mouth, and there's good acidity (duh), but where's the fruit?  Mineraliness is great as a complexity-adder, but there's got to be fruit there to add to.  Right now, this is a C-.  But I've experienced white burgundies that blossom from green and closed to real beauties in 2 or 3 years.  I don't know if this is one, but it's probably better to wait and hope than drink now.  Was $22 from WTSO.com.

(Sorry:  2005 shown)

Mom & Dad's Visit -- Round three

2009 Domaine Perraud MACON-VILLAGES "Vieilles Vignes" -- This unoaked Chardonnay was large-framed, earthy, with lots of wet straw and gravel scents, along with intense pear/apple fruit.  Very nice.

2010 Chateau Soucherie ROSE DE LOIRE "Cuvee L'Astree" -- This rose, which I believe is Cabernet Franc-based, was ridiculously crisp, fresh, floral and zesty, with excellent minerality and sweet/tart strawberry fruit.  Excellent.

2009 Three Vineyards "Old Vines Field Blend" (Contra Costa County, Cal.) -- Much bigger, riper, and in-your-face than the 2008 (which I've previously reviewed here), this wine would be an excellent choice on a cold fall or winter evening with a beef stew.

2008 Umani Ronchi LACRIMA DI MORRO D'ALBA "Fonte del Re" (Marche, Italy) -- This wine is grown in the hills where my grandfather was born, and is quite unique in its aromas and flavors.  It's got an intense, bitter dark plum/grape and licorice aroma, with a bit of dry gravelly earth, and is both mouth-filling and palate-cleansing at the same time.  Very nice accompaniment to rich, meat and tomato sauces and braises.

2002 Selbach RIESLING EISWEIN (Mosel, Germany) -- Wow.  Light tawny-copper color.  Intense, complex nose leaps out, with honey, apricot, bright citrusy acids, and sweet earth.  Utterly ridiculous in the mouth, with mouthfilling richness and honeyed, intensely sweet fruit, but juxtaposed with such vibrant intense acids that it literally makes your mouth water.  Fantastic, long finish.  In 500 ml bottle, so a little more to enjoy than the typical dessert 375.  This wine will last another several years.

Mom & Dad's visit -- next few rounds

Louis Roederer CHAMPAGNE Brut Premier -- Very nice, toasty, yeasty, apply scented, on the lighter side but with a very long, crisp finish and great persistence of bubbles.

2010 Pascal Granger "La Jacarde" BEAUJOLAIS-VILLAGES BLANC (!) -- A rare white Beaujolais, from Chardonnay grapes and completely unoaked.  It has a ridiculously fresh, fruity fragrance with crisp peach and ripe apple fruit, and was nicely balanced, medium-light bodied, and as fresh as cotton sheets lined-dried on a crisp, sunny fall day.  ($21 at Houston Wine Merchant).  Get this.

2008 Core GRENACHE Santa Barbara County -- Tasted like freshly crushed plum and raspberry juice.  Very unusual, but good.  After a couple of days an herbal side came out.

2008 Chono SYRAH (Elqui Valley, Chile) -- Previously reviewed here, this wine remains a fantastic value.  (Available at Houston Wine Merchant and at Central Market).

2009 August Kesseler SPATBURGUNDER (Pinot Noir) ROSE (Rheingau, Germany) -- Fragrant, with crisp, light cherry and floral fruit, and surprisingly large -framed for a German wine.  Unique and good.

2006 Ottimino ZINFANDEL "Von Weidlich Vineyard" (Russian River Valley, Cal.) -- Very elegant Zin, showing the classic profile of a Zin with some bottle age, which tends to mute the up-front fruit and bring out a brambly quality.  More depth than the previously reviewed "Ottimino Vineyard" bottling from this producer.

2009 Domaine de le Chapelle MÂCON SOLUTRÉ POUILLY (White Burgundy, France)

A superb, crisp, minerally, flavorful, unoaked Chardonnay.  If you like Chablis Premier Crus but don't want to spend $30+ for a good one, this is your poor man's version.

Very unusual gold color that was inflected with almost a very light tan tint.  Gorgeously fragrant nose of bright, chalky earth and crisp pear/green apple/not-quite-ripe-peach fruit.  Bright, mouthwatering, pure flavors of slightly bitter citrus and pear over crushed limestone.  Long, pure, clean finish.  Very nicely done.  A-.  Was about $18 at Spec's on Smith.  Imported by Weygandt-Metzler.

(Sorry, 2007 shown)

2007 Domaine Pommier CHABLIS 1er CRU COTES DE LECHET (Northern Burgundy, France)

This was one of the most uncompromisingly, desicatingly bone dry Chabliseses I've ever had.  But I liked it.

Stunning color:  luminous and crystal clear medium dark gold, with a nice greenish glint.  The nose changed substantially over three nights (closed each night with a Vacu-Vin closure), which indicates to me that it can age and improve a few more years at least.  Closed and showing a sharply talc-y/minerally initially, by the third night it offered up really nice toasty, talc/chalk scents over intense pear and ripe apple fruit.  Bracingly bone dry, with medium light body and great, mouthwatering acids.  Intense sea shell/minerally-tinged green apple and lime fruit, along with light clear chicken broth, in the mouth.  Razor sharp, pure, stony/lemony finish.  A challenging wine to drink, but fascinating if you like the more austere versions of the Chablis style of Chardonnay.  B+.  Imported by Robert Kacher, I got this for around $26 at Spec's on Smith several months ago.

Wines at my brother's house

2008 Domaine Henri Darnat MEURSAULT "Clos du Domaine" -- Very tight but nicely concentrated. Nose was earthy, smoky, apply. Leaner style, but showed very good presence in back half of the palate, as well as good length and acidity. Very elegant. Will keep and improve for a few years. Got this from WinesTilSoldOut.com awhile back.

2008 Vallana SPANNA COLLINE NOVARESE -- My first wine of the new era of Vallana's presence in the U.S. after a long absence. This wasn't bad, but not up to the Spannas this producer cranked out in the 1960s and 70s. Earthy Nebbiolo fruit on the nose, but with a slight shoe polish, funky prune note detracting a bit. Medium concentration, but with some nice earthy cherry fruit. Decent finish.

2009 CHAD Carneros PINOT NOIR -- From WineAccess.com, this was an excellent value. Classic Cal. Pinot Noir with rich but focused sappy, earthy cherry fruit. Good concentration, with good acids too. Loads of cherry fruit with earthy minerals and some toasty oak. Yummy. Not sure who makes this, but it's good!

2008 Heretiers de Comte Lafon MACON (White Burgundy, France)

Lafon is one of my favorite producers of Macon Chardonnays. The house style, in my limited experience, tends to emphasize the riper, fruitier aspects of Chardonnay, rather than the earthy/stony nature the grape usually takes on in Macon. This basic Macon is the entry level wine.

Earthy, crushed stone, hay-infused chardonnay fruit on the nose. Also scents of metallic pear and peach pits. Steely, liquid minerally flavors of crisp pear and apple. Very clean finish. Very nicely put together. 88. Imported by Becky Wasserman. Can't remember where I got this (Richard's maybe?) but I think it was around $18.

2008 Chateau de la Greffiere MACON-LA ROCHE VINEUSE "Vieille Vignes" (White Burgundy, France)

This was one of the tightest Macons I've ever had. So tightly wound and closed at first, but burgeoning over the course of several days (during which I had it sealed with a Vacu-Vin closure) into a really remarkable wine.

Light bright gold color. Closed nose at first. Days later, a very elegant, fragrant nose developed. Smoky, lemony, limestone & chalk, along with peach and white grape fruit. Smelled like a baby Puligny-Montrachet. No joke. Just beautiful. Rich, and packed with stones and vibrant, ripe apply fruit, this wine had nice concentration and acidity. Very clean, refreshing finish. GREAT value. 91. $15 at Spec's. Imported by Weygandt-Metzler. Make sure to let this wine AIR OUT!

2007 Pierre Morey BOURGOGNE ALIGOTÉ (White Burgundy)

Not bad.

Very pale grey gold. Medium intensity nose of earthy minerals, toasted nuts, and crisp, citrusy apples. Bone dry, crisp, liquid minerals in the mouth, with some vague lemon lime notes and a tart, refreshing finish. A light-bodied, palate-cleansing sort of wine that would pair nicely with New Orleans Barbequed Shrimp or an Italian fish stew like a brodetto. 85. Was $18 at Central Market. Imported by Wilson Daniels.

2006 Domaine Louis Jadot PERNAND-VERGELESSES "Clos de la Croix de Pierre" Premiere Cru (White Burgundy, France)

A superb and very distinctive white.

Light pewtery-tinged gold color. Intensely mineral-infused, smoky, earthy nose, with clove and peach pit notes. Soft, broad, and slightly viscous (in a good way) in the mouth, yet with a lovely, light feel. Rich, long flavors of butter, minerals, stones, and slightly bitter-edged peach/pear fruit. Lots of the clove notes throughout. Love the texture and the unique flavors.

Pernand-Vergelesses is, in my view, one of the most underrated white burgundy towns in France. Very near the much more expensive and famous Corton-Charlemagne vineyard, the best Pernands share some of the distinctiveness of its more expensive neighbor's expression of Chardonnay fruit. 90. Was $29 at Spec's on Weslayan (and on Smith). Imported by Kobrand.

2008 Comte Lafon MACON (White Burgundy)

Another winner from this upscale producer. Classic Macon nose, flavors, and minerality.

Very light gold with light greenish glints. Fantastic nose of crisp white grapes, powdered stones, sweet minerals -- and I could swear there's the barest hint a hint of cinnamon back in there too. Crisp, yet full-bodied, with lots of body and a decent dollop of tangy acidity. Loads of lemony, green apple fruit, good weight and balance too. Not the most complex white burgundy, but a lovely and textbook example of what Macon should be (it should be a poor man's Chablis). 88. Imported by Becky Wasserman Selections. Was $19 (and worth it) at Spec's on Richmond.

(Sorry, 2007 shown.)

2007 Simmonet-Fevre SAVIGNON SAINT-BRIS (Northern Burgundy, France)

This is a relatively hard-to-find Sauvignon Blanc from what is most certainly Chardonnay country -- the area around Chablis. But ZOUNDS, what a fun wine!

Very luminescent, bright gold. I mean, get the shades out. Fantastically lively nose of ripe, fresh squeezed lemons and limes, with flinty powdered stones, and freshly-mowed straw. Absolutely vibrant in the mouth, with (literally) mouth-watering flavors of ripe, juicy lemon juice-drenched grapes, bight stones, and, in the finish, an interesting marzipan note. Just delicious! Not a blockbuster in terms of concentration or body (it's relatively light-bodied), but really fun to drink. 90. Was a ridiculously cheap $11.99 at Houston Wine Merchant.

2005 Verget MACON-CHARNAY "Les Clos St-Pierre" (Burgundy, France)

Yet another terrific 2005 from Verget. This unoaked Chardonnay was round, minerally, vibrant, complex.

Crystal clear, almost luminescent light gold with greenish glints. Interesting and complex nose of creamed crushed stones, and spiced pear juice. Round and flavorful, with bright acidity and a nice, insistent but subtle minerality over dry pear and apply fruit. Long finish. Refreshing and satisfying. 89. Was $18.46 at Spec's on Smith.