It was a nice warm day Monday, and we had invited our close friends Joe
& Rachel for dinner. Betsy had prepared 2 ducks with a chicken liver,
candied orange, and pear stuffing. Sides were green beans with tomatoes
and basil (this and the duck were from recent Italian issue of Bon
Appetit), a leftover parsley salad with celeriac & fennel, and baked
rice. Now, usually I like Burgundy and mature Nebbiolo with duck, but I
thought the bold flavors of the stuffing might need something less
delicate. A poster on another forum has consistently suggested that I
should try Amarone as a duck match; this seemed like a good time. As my
friend Joe prefers assertive red wines, I made the other wine a bold
one also, a California Syrah.

2003 Clos Mimi Petite Rousse (Paso Robles)- Big and open from get go. A
little hot (label says 16%!), but nice warm ripe fruit- raspberries and
red plums. Some tannins, but under the intense march of the fruit
they're not especially noticable. Some time brings out some oak aromas
and a nice Rhone-ish olive note. This is a clear New World in-your-face
Syrah - huge, fruit-forward and brash. But very well-made and quite
tasty (just watch how much you taste at 16%). Good QPR for the style at
$16. B/B+

2000 Tezza "Monte delle Fontana" Amarone della Valpolicella - this was
a 375 ml I had brought back from Wine Expo, the excellent
Italian-centric store in Santa Monica. Warm and ripe, blackberry and
raisin fruit with the slightest hint of prunes. Aromatic nose, long
finish. There was a note dancing around in the back that I was having
trouble putting a name to - I finally realized it reminded me of the
sorghum molasses my Alabama grandparents used to have on breakfast
table. Amarone is not something I drink a lot of , but I usually enjoy
when I do, this was no exception. On the Amarone scale this wasn't
especially expensive - I think about $20/375. Very nice, very tasty.
A-/B+

Indeed I think that a Burgundy would have been overwhelmed by the
sweetness of the stuffing - the Amarone did quite well (and the Syrah
ok). The candied orange was a bit too sweet for me, but I loved the
chicken livers in the stuffing, and the duck itself was magnificent. We
retired inside for the others to have cheesecake (due to time
constraints, Betsy served warm, to surprised approval) as I went with
some cheese (Manchego and Stilton). The last of the Amarone did quite
well with the Stilton. Nice night.

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