This week, several Terroirists reached for old world offerings and uncovered some gems, while David reached for some older American wines. Check out our impressions below!

David White
On Saturday night, I opened up two California gems with a handful of friends in New York City — a  2001 Williams Selyem Flax Vineyard Pinot Noir and a 1993 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Williams Selyem was beautiful, but a good deal riper than I would have expected — it certainly couldn’t have passed for a Burgundy. Sweet baked cherries & cherry jam, boysenberries, cola, some floral notes, and vanilla. The wine needed more acidity — the finish just wasn’t bright enough — but overall, it was a great example of an aged California Pinot.

The Diamond Creek was stunning. Plenty of fruit still present, with sweet herbs, cedar, and spices underneath. Soft tannins, refreshing acidity, great structure and balance. This wine is in a great spot right now, so if you have any, drink up!

Matt Latuchie
You should know something about me. I hate boring, nondescript wine. Thankfully, this doesn’t make me unique and I get the sense that more and more wine consumers are as sick and tired as I am with cookie-cutter, passionless, mundane plonk. It is with this in mind (in addition to the prodding of wine whiz Jess Chatfield at Crush) that I decided to investigate a region I know nothing about – the Savoie. It’s tucked into the rugged alpine terrain of Eastern France, not far from the Swiss border. It’s probably most commonly known for their white wines as only a small number of red varietals are able to ripen in such an environment – despite this, I chose to taste two reds both produced from the Mondeuse grape.

My first bottle was Charles Trosset’s Cuvee Confidental from 2007. This flat out shocked me. It was my first time having Mondeuse and I liken it to the aromatics of a syrah with the weight of a pinot noir. The nose was utterly exotic – my girlfriend described it as “grilled sausage and green peppers”. The meatiness of this wine would have made the most rustic Cornas, Cote Rotie’s, or St. Joseph’s blush. Its palate was airy, but the flavor was cranked up – a potent combination for me. Its meat and floral tones were textured, rustic and deep. I paid $18.99 for this and felt like it easily competes with $50-$75 Northern Rhone wines. A steal.

Later in the week I tried another Mondeuse this time from Jean Vullien. If the volume on the Trosset was turned up to an 11, this was more of an 7. The flavors were slightly less expressive and while I still thought it to be an outstanding wine, didn’t have the “wow” factor that the Trosset had. Nonetheless, it was a great week of wine discovery for me and I urge all of you to try something similar.

Rebecca Canan
I attended the first class for Columbia Business School’s Wine Society. My two favorites were the 2006 Michel Magnien Clos St. Denis, which was absolutely beautiful. A rich floral nose with a background of forest. Perfumed red cherry, but not overly sweet. Aged in 100% new French oak. My #2 wine was the 2006 Jean-Michel Guillon Mazis-Chambertin. The nose on this had “red Burgundy” aromas mixed with some tire. Woodsy, yet pretty. A little more drying than my #1. I think this one could age a little longer and evolve into something spectacular. Both were delicious.

I also opened a 2009 Vietti Barbera d’Asti Tre Vigne, which was perfect for a night in with Italian delivery. Bright, tart red cherries, dust, and great acidity to balance the rigatoni with veal meat sauce I’d ordered.