Opened last night with friends.
2003 Latour Macon-Lugny "Les Genievres". - Nice white burgundy for
$12.00. Notes of pear, flowers, a nice richness and roundness and a
hint of hazelnut on the finish. B

1997 Heitz Bella Oaks Napa Cabernet-still youthful color. Effusive
nose of mint and eucalyptus,and black cherries with a touch of dust
and red berries. Rich and smooth on the palate with plenty of sweet
red fruits and black cherry. A touch of vanilla and minerals with
very plush tannins. A-

1996 Podera Colla Barolo Bussia Dardi le Rose-Big, lush upfront
fruit. Typical tea and roses nose. Lots of anise, smooth black
crrant and fig notes with a touch of tar. SMooth well resolved fine
tannins and a nice high toned acidity at the finish. B+

On Dec 11, 6:10�pm, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> Opened last night with friends.
> 2003 Latour Macon-Lugny "Les Genievres". - Nice white burgundy for
> $12.00. �Notes of pear, flowers, a nice richness and roundness and a
> hint of hazelnut on the finish. B
>
> 1997 Heitz Bella Oaks Napa Cabernet-still youthful color. �Effusive
> nose of mint and eucalyptus,and black cherries with a touch of dust
> and red berries. �Rich and smooth on the palate with plenty of sweet
> red fruits and black cherry. �A touch of vanilla and minerals with
> very plush tannins. A-
>
> 1996 Podera Colla Barolo Bussia Dardi le Rose-Big, lush upfront
> fruit. �Typical tea and roses nose. �Lots of anise, smooth black
> crrant and fig notes with a touch of tar. �SMooth well resolved fine
> tannins and a nice high toned acidity at the finish. B+

Re the Macon- the paradox of very ripe vintages. I tend to not be a
fan of 2003 Burgs, yet some lower-priced bottlings from vineyards that
maybe sometimes have trouble reaching ripeness did well. Similar to
some of the less-well-situated small St Estephe properties and Loire
reds in 2003.

Podera Colla is usually considered "old school" Barolo, right? Glad to
see it already drinking well.

Nice notes, as usual

DaleW wrote:

> Re the Macon- the paradox of very ripe vintages. I tend to not be a
> fan of 2003 Burgs, yet some lower-priced bottlings from vineyards that
> maybe sometimes have trouble reaching ripeness did well. Similar to
> some of the less-well-situated small St Estephe properties and Loire
> reds in 2003.

Yes, from what I've gathered, the most favored parcels in '03 were those
at lower elevation at the bottoms of the hills because they actually
weren't so starved for water (though still pretty dry). Since the 1ers
and GCs can be relied upon to be further upslope, it tended to be the
lowly village-level wines that came out best in '03. Paradoxical
indeed! (I still didn't buy any -- even the Chevillon Bourgognes just
didn't taste much like Pinot Noir to me in '03)

Mark Lipton


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On Dec 12, 9:02Â*am, DaleW > wrote:
> On Dec 11, 6:10�pm, "Bi!!" > wrote:
>
> > Opened last night with friends.
> > 2003 Latour Macon-Lugny "Les Genievres". - Nice white burgundy for
> > $12.00. �Notes of pear, flowers, a nice richness and roundness and a
> > hint of hazelnut on the finish. B
>
> > 1997 Heitz Bella Oaks Napa Cabernet-still youthful color. �Effusive
> > nose of mint and eucalyptus,and black cherries with a touch of dust
> > and red berries. �Rich and smooth on the palate with plenty of sweet
> > red fruits and black cherry. �A touch of vanilla and minerals with
> > very plush tannins. A-
>
> > 1996 Podera Colla Barolo Bussia Dardi le Rose-Big, lush upfront
> > fruit. �Typical tea and roses nose. �Lots of anise, smooth black
> > crrant and fig notes with a touch of tar. �SMooth well resolved fine
> > tannins and a nice high toned acidity at the finish. B+
>
> Re the Macon- the paradox of very ripe vintages. I tend to not be Â*a
> fan of 2003 Burgs, yet some lower-priced bottlings from vineyards that
> maybe sometimes have trouble reaching ripeness did well. Similar to
> some of the less-well-situated small St Estephe properties and Loire
> reds in 2003.
>
> Podera Colla is usually considered "old school" Barolo, right? Glad to
> see it already drinking well.
>
> Nice notes, as usual

I agree on the paradox. I think that given the ripeness levels that
the wine was "fatter" than normal but just fat enough to give it some
body and depth. The 2005 is a bit leaner than the '03 but that could
be due to bottle age.

Podera Colla is "old school" but I think the ripeness of the fruit in
'96 gives it a bigger fruit profile that seems to over shadow the
tannin levels. I almost get the feeling that the winemaker decided to
make a shift towards the "new age" international style in the '96
vintage.