| The Ann Arbor Wine Review |
| Under $25 |
| $25 to $60 |
| $60 and Over |
| Champagne Club |
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2005 Champalou Le Portail $32 ✯✯✯½ Quality + Value This dry Vourvray (Chenin Blanc) from Champalou is quite consistently delicious, but the 2005 is a step above that. It's not a wine that knocks you over the head--but give it a few minutes and it will win you over with it's ripe pear fruit, excellent acid-balance and a remarkably graceful texture. Easy to drink by itself, a real crowd-pleaser, and nice weight for a wine of this type. If your wine philosophy is "RED ONLY--BIGGER THE BETTER" this wine can start your healing. @ Morgan & York (Packard south of Stadium) |
2005 Chateaux Carbonnieux Graves / Pessac-Leognan $37 ✯✯✯½ Quality + Value Far too many will miss this great Carbonnieux. Not because it's rare or hard to find--it is a recognized name, widely available every year--but because they chilled it to 40 degrees and drank it before it ever opened up. Decant this wine. Leave it in the fridge for an hour or two, and drink it at about 55˙F. Once awake, the texture of the wine improves dramatically. Great exotic tropical fruit (I would say more Lychee than pineapple) provides terriffic balance for such a firm acid. My guess is it's better in three to five years? I would enjoy finding out if that's true with 4 or 6 bottles in my cellar. A very nice deal At $37. If you have never had a dry white Bordeaux, this is a classic, a great example. @ Village Corner |
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2006 Lapierre Morgon $25 ✯½ Quality = Value Very bright raspberry fruit. Light bodied, (for a cru Beaujolais) but lovely aromatics. Easy to quaff. Casual, pronounced acid. The lightest wine you will ever actually enjoy. @ Morgon and York (Packard south of Stadium) |
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2003 Convento San Francisco Crianza $49 ✯✯✯✯ Quality + Value Made from 94% Tempranillo (Tinta del Pais and Tina Aragonesa --very old--clones) and 6% Merlot. The first vintage was bottled in 1999, and 2,500 cases are produced annually. This is a truly enjoyable bottle of wine. Medium bodied, carefully crafted (judging by the terrific balance and charm) Quality stands out, even among wines in this price range. @ Elie Wine Company (Main St, Royal Oak) |
Lucien Boillot Les Grands Poisots - "en souvenir du beurot" $26 ✯✯½ Quality = Value Whenever I buy a wine I know nothing about, I hope it turns out as well as it did with this wine I bought at Morgan and York during a recent scouting for what's new in Ann Arbor. Les Grands Poisots by Lucien Boillot is a Pinot Beurot (Pinot Gris) grown in the heart of Burgundy. It is not like the ultra-rich, single vineyard Pinot Gris from Zind Humbrecht, but it certainly beats the cheap, water-thin supermarket variety your mom likes. The color is a transparent brassy yellow, the nose restrained, nice balance, clean but not light. Good acid makes it versatile. With food (simple) or by itself. Your mom will like it, and you will be entertained by it, all for only $26. I like the tasteful, elegant label and all white presentation, too. @ MORGAN & YORK (Packard south of Stadium) |
2002 Diebolt-Vallios Blanc de Blancs / Cramant |
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