Monday Betsy was away till right before dinner, but craftily had stashed a pork
shoulder and caramelized onions with some cider in a dutch oven, and left the
oven on. We all arrived home at same time, I did some braised arugala and some
green beans with anchovy and garlic, and within 20 minutes we were eating. I
opened the 2003 Kartäuser Grüner Veltliner (Wachau). A little pea, a little
white pepper, this was definitely GV. But a little on the dilute side, and a
bit softer as far as acidity than my preference (I attribute the former to the
producer, previously unknown to me, and the latter to the vintage). Decent QPR
at $11, but not something to seek out. B/B-

Tonight was another timing challenge, this time for getting finished. I picked
up David after a school event and got him home 25 minutes before his math tutor
was coming, Betsy was ready to put dinner on table. Cod in a lemon/white
wine/herb sauce, I grabbed the one bottle that was upstairs (in the fridge),
the 2000 Ch. d'Epiré "Cuvée Speciale Savennières (is there a cuvée regular?
Every Epiré I've ever seen was special). Too cold to really judge with dinner,
but after the wolfed-down meal Bets and I retired to living room to commune
with each other, wine, and dog while David and tutor used dining table. As it
warmed, some good Chenin character- wax, flowers, apples, chalk, and apricot-
emerged. Softer acidity than any Savennières I've encountered before, and
everything seem a little subdued; yet for a wine from an unheralded producer in
an unheralded vintage not a bad showing. 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
Dale

Dale Williams
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