TN: Jesi Bucci Rosé John

Bucci 2004 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico "Superiore" (Marches) – Fresh but lively, with citrus rind and a seashore quality carried on striking (yet balanced) acidity. It gets more complex on the finish, throwing flowers and exotic but very gentle spices into the mix. (7/06)

See my previous note for more on this wine. Alcohol: 14%. Closure: cork. Importer: Empson. Web: http://www.villabucci.com/.

Tablas Creek 2003 Rosé (Paso Robles) – Earthy mixed red berries with a soft elegance and some obvious, alcohol-driven palate weight. In fact, it’s too elegant; previous versions have shown more intensity, and I think this might be suffering from a mild cork taint. It’s so mild that the wine is still pleasurable, but everything that should be at this party, isn’t. (7/06)

64% mourvèdre, 28% grenache, 8% counoise. Tablas Creek varies the blend of this wine from year to year, using whatever the vintage gives them to maximum effect (when, that is, the wine is intact). This should not be viewed as experimentation – though there’s an element of that at work in every blended wine from this producer – but as the freedom to be flexible; the one advantage Paso has over the Perrin family’s better-known wineries (e.g. Beaucastel) in the Rhône Valley. Alcohol: 14.8%. Closure: cork. Web: http://www.tablascreek.com/.

Peillot 2003 Bugey Mondeuse (Ain) – The zip of blackberry soda without the sparkle, plus a hefty dash of black pepper and aromatic purple flower pollen, make this wine a true eye-opener. Fine acidity doesn’t hurt, either. There’s a ton of fruit, but everything’s in balance and harmony, albeit at a slightly higher volume than this wine usually achieves. (7/06)

One of the rare successes of the 2003 vintage in Europe (some of the others have been Loire reds), though the vintage renders this wine more than a bit atypical. The fruit is elevated, the intensity ramped up, and the earthiness is all but invisible, yet all the wonderful structural elements that usually inhabit this wine are still there, and carry it through the heat-induced difficulties experienced at most other domaines. Alcohol: 12%. Closure: cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner/LDM.

Edmunds St. John 2001 Syrah (California) – Solid, leathery blackberry with a lovely mix of earthen and fruit paste aromas lurking underneath. The wine’s a bit bass-heavy now, but with time the higher-pitched aromatics will emerge from what is already a highly aromatic wine. A terrific value, as well. (7/06)

This is a blend from all over California – Sonoma, El Dorado County, San Luis Obispo County and Paso Robles – constructed with the deft, light touch of ESJ at its best. It seems like a bargain wine, but it continues to show little sign of doing anything other than gentle, pleasurable aging…so if you have the will to preserve a few bottles, do so. Alcohol: 14%. Closure: cork. Web: http://www.edmundsstjohn.com/.