The Golden Goat Awards, 2010, The Wines I Wish I had Another Glass of

These are wines that, for one reason or another, i couldn’t get enough of. i’ve been lazy on the old blog lately, but here you go.

1999 Overnoy-Houillon Vin Jaune: This would be worth risking Jean-Claude Van Damme in Timecop coming back in time to drink over and over again in an endless loop. I’ve said a lot about this producer HERE, but honestly there isn’t really words to describe the wine.

2001 Giacomo Conterno “Cascina Francia” and ’88 De Montille Volnay: Drank on the same night in passing, both decidely old-school and brilliant. Spending time with wines like these shows you how dumb the idea of hit-and-run wine tastings really are,

Some sort of 1995 Donnhoff: I forgot to write down the specifics. Sue me. one of the finest rieslings I’ve ever drank, if not the finest. It sort of wedged itself into my memory and has stayed there.

1999 Valantini Trebbiano: Good lord this wine restructured my whole conception of wine it was that good.

Eric Texier’s Fukuoka Vineyard: Eric made a tiny plot of wine in his home village with his neighbors using the Fukuoka technique. There is so little made (each person involved gets three bottles i believe) but Eric let us try a little. it’s the result of passion, community, experimentation, care and talent, something that gets lost when we make wines into brands or commodities.

La Clarine Farms “Home Vineyard” 2005: This wine was never released commercially but Hank pulled out a bottle for us to drink over a lunch at his house. A field blend from his own property. Tastes like the future and past of California viticulture all at once.

Yvon Metras L’Ultime 2005: Drank in an apartment overlooking the unfinished cathedral in Narbonne. Soul warming stuff.

Emmanuel Lassaigne “Le Cotet”: God damn is Lassaigne brilliant or what? Farm Wines is bringing these wines to the west coast now. Don’t sleep on them.

Maybe some other stuff as well, but that’s all in my memory now. Perhaps someday I’ll be standing over the stove and some wine will pop into my head unbidden and I’ll smile and continue on.

~ by Cory Cartwright on January 21, 2011.