By the Glass - Wines that I Don't Like Edition

When I read reviews I always wish for a sense of what the writer doesn't like - I get the fullest sense of their palate that way. But many people only write about the wines they like. For example, Brooklynguy, a blogger I feel particularly close to, hardly ever writes about wines he doesn't like. He really should do that from time to time. If not, a reasonable person might think "Is there anything this guy DOESN'T like? He likes everything. Therefore, nothing is special to him."

Well, take it easy, folks. There are many many many wines that just suck, to my taste. But I just don't consider myself expert enough to sit here and tell you definitively that a wine is bad. Instead, I'll tell you what I've tasted recently that I don't like. You might like these wines - what do I know? In any case, you'll get a more complete sense of my palate.

At a delicious brunch at Deetrane's house he opened a bottle of NV Feuillatte Blanc de Blancs. What an interesting experience it was for me to drink this wine in all of its chemical candied glory. After a steady diet of the grower stuff, this is the first mass market Champs I've had in a while, and with all due respect to the Deetrane (he likes it, and there is an emotional attachment too - this is a special wine for him and his wife), I found it to be a cartoon version of Champagne. Incredibly sweet candied bananas clubbing you over the head, a trio of birds whistling around to signify the daze you're in. My personal mission now is to get Deetrane to try more grower Champs.

I don't dabble too often in Rioja, and the 2001 Palacios de Remondo Rioja Propiedad H. Remondo, $24, is a good example of why I stick to López de Heredia. I liked this wine when I had it years ago in a restaurant so I bought a few bottles. It hasn't been as good at home (maybe it's my cooking?). This time it seemed roasted and pruney, nothing elegant or nuanced about it. Although we had hearty food, it was out of balance and almost overbearing. The blend is 55% Tempranillo and 45% Grenache (yes, I refuse to say Garnacha). For now I stay with López de Heredia when the Rioja mood strikes me.

I believe in miracles, but I still don't anticipate tasting a DRC wine anytime soon. But Aubert de Villaine makes wines under his own name from grapes grown in the Côte Chalonnaise. That is as close as I'm gonna get for now. I drank the 2006 A & P de Villaine Bouzeron, $23, the other night and it did almost nothing for me. Bouzeron is the appellation created to showcase the Aligoté grape. Wines made from Aligoté should be crisp and lean and fresh. This wine was none of those things, even on day 2 with plenty of airtime. Maybe 2006 was no good in the area. I can't imagine that the wine was supposed to be aged - it's Aligoté for goodness sake. Most people throw some Cassis in there and call it a Kir. Anyway, this wine was very uninspiring. Maybe I'm just missing something - this Villaine guy is clearly not playing games.

You know by now how fond I am of Loire Valley wines. I want to make sure that you know that I don't love all of them, even if the producer is hot with all of the cool cat winos and sommeliers. Here is a hipster wine that I just didn't care for. The 2005 Domaine de Bellivière Coteaux du Loir Le Rouge-Gorge, $20, is a wine that I was stunned to find that I didn't like. Bellevière is the amazing vigneron who is bringing Jasnieres and Coteaux du Loir back to greatness. This is natural wine making using traditional grapes, like Pinot D'Aunis for this wine. I have always enjoyed Bellevière's wines. Not this one - it was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Isn't Pinot D'Aunis supposed to be light bodied and redolent of strawberries and flowers, with a dose of black pepper? That's what I've found in the others I tasted. This one had the pepper, but it was very deep and dark and pretty heavy too. At 14% alcohol there was not a lot of elegance going on. Flavors were a touch roasted and the tannins were intrusive. I don't think this was a bad bottle, I think instead that the ripeness of 05 encouraged wine makers to do more with their raw material, and sometimes the resulting wine is out of character.

Alright, I'm not a total curmudgeon. I'm going to open a bottle of Billiot Rosé Champagne tonight with the BrooklynLady for Valentines Day and I love that wine. I don't hate everything. Happy Valentines Day to you all.