TN: A pretty bow

BeauThorey 2001 Côteaux du Languedoc “Bella Parra” (Languedoc) – It’s bretty, to be sure, but the stank is part of an overall impression of aging Northern Rhône, perhaps Crozes-Hermitage. There’s hard, masculine black fruit enveloped and dominated by leathery meatwhips, some barnyard, a little dusting of black pepper, and a firm, long, complex finish. If this sounds a little more like a strange ad for an S/M club than a wine note, I suppose that’s intentional, because that’s rather the impression created by this wine. Despite periods of doubt, I quite like it, and were it not for the worry that brett will eventually overwhelm all else, I’d consider aging some…though in a way, it already shows everything that some fully mature wines take years to achieve. Impressive, to a degree. (2/07)