Tuesday Betsy made pork chops in a red wine sauce, accompanied by
leftover enchilada rojos. Wine for the sauce and the dinner was the
2004 Eric Texier Cotes du Rhone. Very much a lighter styled CdR, no
confusion with a CdP here. Ended up just perfect for our needs- good
acidity, nice juicy red fruit, no discernible tannins, low alcohol.
Just a hint of herbs. Nothing to draw your attention, but perfectly
fine to accompany dinner. B

Wednesday she made a couple duck legs (and used the leftover red wine
sauce), a pasta sauced with leftover ricotta/spinach from Monday's
ravioli, and a salad with sauteed mushrooms. I opened the 2005 Genot-
Boulanger "Les Saumonts" Mercurey 1er. A big whiff of VA at first, I
worried but it seemed to mostly blow off, leaving only a slightly
lifted nose. Good overall acidity, fruit seems a little shy for a
2005. Still, I love Burgundy with duck, I love Burgundy with
mushrooms, and this fits the bill. Cherry fruit with a little black
raspberry, some damp earth notes. Light tannins, bright acidity. A
revisit later in the evening is showing more giving fruit, tinted a
bit darker. Not great, but certainly decent QPR at $20, I think 2-3
years might do this some good. B/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.