TN 05 Vissoux Beaujolais, 05 Souhaut Syrah
 

Last night Betsy made a starter course of chard/ricotto gnocchi in
sage butter (she's made an almost identical recipe before, which they
called "malfatti", but Marcella just calls gnocchi). Went well with
leftover Macon. Before dinner, I had opened the 2005 Pierre-Marie
Chermette (Domaine du Vissoux) "Cuvée Traditionelle" Beaujolais VV.
It was rather mute at that time, with fair amount of tannins for a
Beaujolais sticking out. But after we finished appetizer, Betsy served
the chicken (with herbs, potatoes,and pancetta, a Biba C. recipe). We
switched to red, and quite a pretty Beaujolais greeted us. Some soft
tannis in background, but overall a lighter wine. Pretty black cherry
fruit with a little hint of grenadine, sweet and smoky. Delicate but
with real verve. MArk was right to put this on his under$20 list,
excellent for the money! B+

Over the course of several nights, the 2005 Herve Souhaut Syrah (VdP
l'Ardeche). I'm not sure I gave this a fair test, I opened one night
when a red loving friend dropped by, and kept sampling post-dinner as
my dessert for several evenings. First night the acidity was so
prickly it was startling. There were some interesting flavors-
blackberries, black raspberries, a bit of bacon fat. But the acidity
was sharp and overriding. Best night was probably #2, when the acidity
went down a notch (though way higher than most reds) and the flavors
came through, the meat and black olive reminding me a little of a
lesser Northern Rhone. By third night some oxidative notes were
showing. I can't say I got a lot of pleasure from this,too acidic for
even me, I'll give a B- at its best. But I have a sneaking suspicion
that with the right timing (a few hour decant) and the right food
(maybe a stew with meat, tomatoes, olives) I might have found this
delightful. But only bottle, so I'll never know.

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

TN 05 Vissoux Beaujolais, 05 Souhaut Syrah
 

DaleW wrote:
> Last night Betsy made a starter course of chard/ricotto gnocchi in
> sage butter (she's made an almost identical recipe before, which they
> called "malfatti", but Marcella just calls gnocchi). Went well with
> leftover Macon. Before dinner, I had opened the 2005 Pierre-Marie
> Chermette (Domaine du Vissoux) "Cuvée Traditionelle" Beaujolais VV.
> It was rather mute at that time, with fair amount of tannins for a
> Beaujolais sticking out. But after we finished appetizer, Betsy served
> the chicken (with herbs, potatoes,and pancetta, a Biba C. recipe). We
> switched to red, and quite a pretty Beaujolais greeted us. Some soft
> tannis in background, but overall a lighter wine. Pretty black cherry
> fruit with a little hint of grenadine, sweet and smoky. Delicate but
> with real verve. MArk was right to put this on his under$20 list,
> excellent for the money! B+

Interesting to read your impressions of it, Dale. I'm surprised that
you found it as tannic as you did, because one of its greatest appeals
to us was that, unlike so many '05 Bojos, it was quite open and
approachable. In fact, it's probably been my favorite '05 for near-term
drinking, even more so than the Brun and Tete that I included in that list.

Mark Lipton


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

TN 05 Vissoux Beaujolais, 05 Souhaut Syrah
 

On Jul 28, 11:57�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > Last night Betsy made a starter course of chard/ricotto gnocchi in
> > sage butter (she's made an almost identical recipe before, which they
> > called "malfatti", but Marcella just calls gnocchi). Went well with
> > leftover Macon. Before dinner, I had opened the 2005 Pierre-Marie
> > Chermette (Domaine du Vissoux) "Cuvée Traditionelle" *Beaujolais *VV.
> > It was rather mute at that time, with fair amount of tannins for a
> > Beaujolais sticking out. But after we finished appetizer, Betsy served
> > the chicken (with herbs, potatoes,and pancetta, a Biba C. recipe). We
> > switched to red, and quite *a pretty Beaujolais greeted us. Some soft
> > tannis in background, but overall a lighter wine. Pretty black cherry
> > fruit with a little hint of grenadine, sweet and smoky. Delicate but
> > with real verve. MArk was right to put this on his under$20 list,
> > excellent for the money! B+
>
> Interesting to read your impressions of it, Dale. *I'm surprised that
> you found it as tannic as you did, because one of its greatest appeals
> to us was that, unlike so many '05 Bojos, it was quite open and
> approachable. *In fact, it's probably been my favorite '05 for near-term
> drinking, even more so than the Brun and Tete that I included in that list.
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

I just think its a child of 2005. Most Beaujolais in most vintages I
find basically no noticable tannins. Some 2005s are tannic enough to
basically demand cellaring. This isn't one of those, but the tannins
were quite noticable to me (especially just on opening). But after 30
minutes quite approachable. I don't remember noticing tannins on the
'05 Brun L'Ancien, but I certainly did on the Brun crus.