Some of the better wines tasted recently. Ain’t summer grand?

2007 Bera Canelli Moscato d’Asti $15 (?): A Louis/Dressner Selection which almost always bodes well. This bottle was left over from summer 2009 in tBoW’s cellar and from 2008 on the store shelf! In other words, a Moscato d’Asti ain’t supposed to go past its release summer and here we have one two seasons over the limit. At three years old it was showing plenty of flavors of peaches and ripe pear juice. Light weight, delicate spritz and at this alcohol level don’t we have to get the current release? Delicious. 5% (more…)

The Scene: Palate Food + Wine, LA’s top dining room. The Event: A tasting of Camille Giroud Burgundies featuring 2006 and older vintages to 1974. The Outcome: Renewal of faith. Rebirth of cool.
This was the last shot to rekindle an old love affair with Burgundy that had gone sour with the 1996 vintage. The complaints were too familiar as logged in previous tBoW posts: unreliable and finicky wines, marginal and spotty producers, over-hyped vintages, and way too expensive. Don’t forget the failure of domestic winemakers to produce outstanding Pinot Noir with consistency. Why even bother trying to find decent Burgundy when there is so much great vintage Beaujolais available? (more…)