Sunday I spent morning at office, then afternoon alternating between
raking and painting- ah, the joys of home ownership! When I escaped
from the alcohol-based primer fumes, I felt like some wine. While
dinner was cooking, I opened a 375 of the 2004 Pierre Matrot
Meursault. Crisp and citrusy, a little oak in background. Good length,
concentration. I thought this was pretty decent Chardonnay, but not
very Meursault-esque. All about lemon and slightly underripe pear
fruit, not the fatness I associate with Meursault. Ok -nay, good-
Burg, but I like the good to excellent 2004 Meursault Bourgogne AC at
least as much as this Meursault. B

Dinner was a pork and bean stew with orange zest , served with brown
rice and broccoli. The recipe was from NYT :
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/di...tml?ref=dining
as a pairing for Portugese wine. If I had known, I would have told
Betsy to use the Quinta de Cabriz, but she had grabbed a bottle of the
2005 Borsao (Campo De Borja, this is the one with dark label with
beige/yellow accents) as cooking wine. We served the remaining couple
of glasses with dinner. A winner again, at $7. Medium-bodied, cherry
and red plum fruit, a hint of tobacco and earth. Not a lot of length,
but tasty for price. B

Monday Betsy made another recent NYT recipe, a broccoli rabe strata :
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...C1A9619C8B 63
I was conflicted over pairings, the eggs and cream tilted me toward
white. I opened the 2006 JP Brun (Terres Dorees) Beaujolais Blanc.
Seemed a bit thinner than I expected given the producer and rep of the
vintage. Clean appley Chardonnay fruit, no oak, but not the depth or
finish I have found in earlier vintages. I think 2006 is a fairly ripe
big vintage, so maybe I misjudged this, but unlike most vintages of
Brun white Beaujolais I don't order more after tasting. B-

Today Betsy made a rack of lamb with a mustard/herb crust, accompanied
by green beans and manakish (flatbread with za'atar, Betsy had gone
with a friend to a Syrian market Monday). I concentrated on the lamb,
and went with Bordeaux. The wine was the 1997 Ch. Lagrange (St.
Julien). I recently split a case of this with a friend for $195. I'm
very happy with the deal. Is this great Bordeaux? No, not by a long
stretch. But at $16 a bottle this is a steal, lovely midweight claret.
Red plum and blackcurrant fruit, resolved tannins, hints of vanilla,
cigarbox, and damp earth. Doesn't have the length or concentration of
a great Bordeaux, but this is more than a mere "luncheon claret. " I'd
call it a solid journeyman of a Bordeaux, a nice wine at a nice
price. This would probably sink into oblivion in a lineup with more
"serious" Bordeaux, but I'm happy to have 5 more for Tuesday dinners
with my wife (actually, maybe I should contemplate telling Marc it
never came in- he hasn't paid me for his six yet- nah, no deal is
worth being an #$%hole). B++

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency

DaleW wrote:
Ok -nay, good-
Burg, but I like the good to excellent 2004 Meursault Bourgogne AC at
least as much as this Meursault. B

Is the name of the producer Meursault, Dale, or is this a typo? I
wouldn't think that EU law would allow a producer to take the name of a
region that the wine wasn't entitled to, but what do I know?


Dinner was a pork and bean stew with orange zest , served with brown
rice and broccoli. The recipe was from NYT :
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/di...tml?ref=dining
as a pairing for Portugese wine. If I had known, I would have told
Betsy to use the Quinta de Cabriz, but she had grabbed a bottle of the
2005 Borsao (Campo De Borja, this is the one with dark label with
beige/yellow accents) as cooking wine. We served the remaining couple
of glasses with dinner. A winner again, at $7. Medium-bodied, cherry
and red plum fruit, a hint of tobacco and earth. Not a lot of length,
but tasty for price. B

In my Sam's spree, I picked up two bottles of the '04 Borsao, still on
their shelves along with the Tres Picos, but for $10.44

This would probably sink into oblivion in a lineup with more
"serious" Bordeaux, but I'm happy to have 5 more for Tuesday dinners
with my wife (actually, maybe I should contemplate telling Marc it
never came in- he hasn't paid me for his six yet- nah, no deal is
worth being an #$%hole). B++

Lo, how those '97 prices have fallen! As if you needed another
incentive to cough up Marc's share of the case, this wine doesn't sound
quite attractive enough to warrant a whole case purchase anyway (at
least, if you don't factor in the price).

Thanks for the interesting notes,
Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

The wine was the 1997 Ch. Lagrange (St.
Julien). I recently split a case of this with a friend for $195. I'm
very happy with the deal. Is this great Bordeaux? No, not by a long
stretch. But at $16 a bottle this is a steal, lovely midweight claret.

1997 Claret, an underated vintage for drinking now. Readily available and
not that expensive....(for Claret that is!!)

JohnT

On Nov 27, 11:59�pm, Mark Lipton wrote:
DaleW wrote:
Ok -nay, good-
Burg, but I like the good to excellent 2004 Meursault Bourgogne AC at
least as much as this Meursault. B

Is the name of the producer Meursault, Dale, or is this a typo? �I
wouldn't think that EU law would allow a producer to take the name of a
region that the wine wasn't entitled to, but what do I know?



Dinner was a pork and bean stew with orange zest , served with brown
rice and broccoli. The recipe was from NYT :
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/di...tml?ref=dining
as a pairing for Portugese wine. If I had known, I would have told
Betsy to use the Quinta de Cabriz, but she had grabbed a bottle of the
2005 Borsao (Campo De Borja, this is the one with dark label with
beige/yellow accents) as cooking wine. We served the remaining couple
of glasses with dinner. A winner again, at $7. Medium-bodied, cherry
and red plum fruit, a hint of tobacco and earth. Not a lot of length,
but tasty for price. B

In my Sam's spree, I picked up two bottles of the '04 Borsao, still on
their shelves along with the Tres Picos, but for $10.44

This would probably sink into oblivion in a lineup with more
"serious" Bordeaux, but I'm happy to have 5 more for Tuesday dinners
with my wife (actually, maybe I should contemplate telling Marc it
never came in- he hasn't paid me for his six yet- nah, no deal is
worth being an #$%hole). B++

Lo, how those '97 prices have fallen! �As if you needed another
incentive to cough up Marc's share of the case, this wine doesn't sound
quite attractive enough to warrant a whole case purchase anyway (at
least, if you don't factor in the price).

Thanks for the interesting notes,
Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

A typo indeed- I meant the Matrot Bourgogne AC.
I am delivering Marc's Fri at our pinot-fest, but I would have been
happy to have a full case. Not one for the ages, but certainly not
fading, I'd drink over 3-4 years. I love having reasonably priced
Bordeaux to have with my meat (last mature purchase I made like this
was '96 Talbot at $12/375, I split a case of 24, and wish again I'd
kept whole case). The problem is of course these deals are usually on
prearrivals, gone by the time one tastes.

On Nov 28, 3:40�am, "John T" wrote:
�The wine was the 1997 Ch. Lagrange (St.

Julien). I recently split a case of this with a friend for $195. I'm
very happy with the deal. Is this great Bordeaux? No, not by �a long
stretch. But at $16 a bottle this is a steal, lovely midweight claret.

1997 Claret, an underated vintage for drinking now. Readily available and
not that expensive....(for Claret that is!!)

JohnT

Not expensive NOW, as prices have dropped as most other vintages have
risen. But on release prices were equal or above '95 & '96. I think
selected wines from '97 indeed offer good value for drinking now,.

"DaleW" wrote in message
...
On Nov 27, 11:59?pm, Mark Lipton wrote:
DaleW wrote:
Ok -nay, good-
Burg, but I like the good to excellent 2004 Meursault Bourgogne AC at
least as much as this Meursault. B

Is the name of the producer Meursault, Dale, or is this a typo? ?I
wouldn't think that EU law would allow a producer to take the name of a
region that the wine wasn't entitled to, but what do I know?



Dinner was a pork and bean stew with orange zest , served with brown
rice and broccoli. The recipe was from NYT :
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/di...tml?ref=dining
as a pairing for Portugese wine. If I had known, I would have told
Betsy to use the Quinta de Cabriz, but she had grabbed a bottle of the
2005 Borsao (Campo De Borja, this is the one with dark label with
beige/yellow accents) as cooking wine. We served the remaining couple
of glasses with dinner. A winner again, at $7. Medium-bodied, cherry
and red plum fruit, a hint of tobacco and earth. Not a lot of length,
but tasty for price. B

In my Sam's spree, I picked up two bottles of the '04 Borsao, still on
their shelves along with the Tres Picos, but for $10.44

This would probably sink into oblivion in a lineup with more
"serious" Bordeaux, but I'm happy to have 5 more for Tuesday dinners
with my wife (actually, maybe I should contemplate telling Marc it
never came in- he hasn't paid me for his six yet- nah, no deal is
worth being an #$%hole). B++

Lo, how those '97 prices have fallen! ?As if you needed another
incentive to cough up Marc's share of the case, this wine doesn't sound
quite attractive enough to warrant a whole case purchase anyway (at
least, if you don't factor in the price).

Thanks for the interesting notes,
Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: ?http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

A typo indeed- I meant the Matrot Bourgogne AC.
I am delivering Marc's Fri at our pinot-fest, but I would have been
happy to have a full case. Not one for the ages, but certainly not
fading, I'd drink over 3-4 years. I love having reasonably priced
Bordeaux to have with my meat (last mature purchase I made like this
was '96 Talbot at $12/375, I split a case of 24, and wish again I'd
kept whole case). The problem is of course these deals are usually on
prearrivals, gone by the time one tastes.
--------------------------------------------------------
But the '97 Talbot that cost me too much, was just "picnic wine." And the
bottles of '97 PLBaron weren't much better at more than double the price:-(
Graham