Yesterday I had a glass of the '07 Francois Chidaine Touraine and it is crisp, punchy, bright, very clean Touraine. No Touraine greenness (not that this would have necessarily been a bad thing).
Bought a bottle of 2006 Palmina Dolcetto. It is very rare that I buy a current release bottle of California wine so allow me to explain myself. Palmina is a project (I know, I know, in the wine world it's always a 'project,') of the folks behind Brewer-Clifton. They make wine made from Italian varietals in Santa Barbara - Pinot Grigio, Barbera, Traminer, Malvasia, and others. Their 2005 Mattia (Refosco, cab franc, Merlot) is a wonderfully balanced, lively wine that I enjoyed with my family at Maverick, a popular restaurant/wine bar in the Mission, last year. Expecting something similar from their Dolcetto, I instead got a super heavy, CA ripe (bordering on sweet) version of the Piedmontese specialty. Dolcetto means 'little sweet one' but it is something of a misnomer as the wines are usually very dry. Not so with this wine. It was sweet and undrinkable.
To end on a positive note, I had the opportunity to drink (in moderate moderation, of course) a healthy amount of sherry, cava and champagne this week, so I'm a happy camper. You see, it's not all tough criticism and snarky attitude here.
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