In article > ,
Mark Lipton > wrote:

> Well, actually his brother is Coudert's BIL, so sue me. Anyway, he was
> over from France so we had him over for dinner as we owed him for many
> favors lavished upon us through his good agency.
>
> With a salad of heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and basil:
>
> 2001 Cazin Cour-Cheverny Vendanges Manuelles
> Iodine, grapefruit, honey and a nice bracing acidity. I like it, but my
> wife Jean initally hates it because of her aversion to aged white wines,
> but comes around as it sees some air. It's a known quantity to our
> guest Christophe, so he just sucks it down while complaining about his job.
>
> With herb-rubbed grilled leg of lamb (thanks for the recipe, Joe!):
>
> 2003 Williams-Selyem Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
> Christophe belatedly tells us of his fondness for Burgundy, so we pull
> out this to further his education re CA Pinots. It's a wine of medium
> body, silky texture, smoky, earthy, just a hint of oakiness and filled
> with bright red fruit. No one will ever confuse this for Burgundy,
> especially with 14.1% ABV (not at all noticeable until we try to stand,
> though) but it's a very pretty example of a CA Pinot Noir that doesn't
> try to be Syrah.
>
> 1990 Dunn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
> Since we recalled that Christophe had spent his 7 years in the US
> frantically collecting CalCabs, we decided to open up this bottle from
> the cellar. Christophe initially asked "Has this got Merlot in it?"
> Once the raucous laughter had subsided, he decided that it actually
> resembled a St. Julien, a subject he knows more about than I do, having
> drunk many '37s and '45s in his youth. What I do note is that the
> tannins are fully resolved, that it's still quite primary with good
> cassis fruit and only a slight mineral element to complicate things. My
> last mouthful is the best, at which point the wine had picked up some
> leather, earth and tobacco notes. Even I began to see some Medoc-like
> character to the wine.
>
> Since he brought a bottle of his brother's 2005 Fleurie and Coudert's
> 2004 Fleurie, Christophe's welcome in our house for perpetuity has been
> assured. All in all, a great evening with a good friend, with
> conversation ranging from chemistry to politics to France to wine and
> food and back again.
>
> Mark Lipton

Mark, Dunn bottlings are one of my absolute favorite Cabernets. I have
not had the '90 and mine are all from '96 on a mix of Napa Valley and
Howell Mountain. They are truly one of the best producers of fine
cabernets in all of California. It was too bad that they weren't
included in the re-tasting of the '76 competition.