WTN: 3 French wines, 1 Spanish
 

Sunday I spent morning at office, then afternoon alternating between
raking and painting- ah, the joys of home ownership! When I escaped
from the alcohol-based primer fumes, I felt like some wine. While
dinner was cooking, I opened a 375 of the 2004 Pierre Matrot
Meursault. Crisp and citrusy, a little oak in background. Good length,
concentration. I thought this was pretty decent Chardonnay, but not
very Meursault-esque. All about lemon and slightly underripe pear
fruit, not the fatness I associate with Meursault. Ok -nay, good-
Burg, but I like the good to excellent 2004 Meursault Bourgogne AC at
least as much as this Meursault. B

Dinner was a pork and bean stew with orange zest , served with brown
rice and broccoli. The recipe was from NYT :
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/di...tml?ref=dining
as a pairing for Portugese wine. If I had known, I would have told
Betsy to use the Quinta de Cabriz, but she had grabbed a bottle of the
2005 Borsao (Campo De Borja, this is the one with dark label with
beige/yellow accents) as cooking wine. We served the remaining couple
of glasses with dinner. A winner again, at $7. Medium-bodied, cherry
and red plum fruit, a hint of tobacco and earth. Not a lot of length,
but tasty for price. B

Monday Betsy made another recent NYT recipe, a broccoli rabe strata :
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...C1A9619C8B 63
I was conflicted over pairings, the eggs and cream tilted me toward
white. I opened the 2006 JP Brun (Terres Dorees) Beaujolais Blanc.
Seemed a bit thinner than I expected given the producer and rep of the
vintage. Clean appley Chardonnay fruit, no oak, but not the depth or
finish I have found in earlier vintages. I think 2006 is a fairly ripe
big vintage, so maybe I misjudged this, but unlike most vintages of
Brun white Beaujolais I don't order more after tasting. B-

Today Betsy made a rack of lamb with a mustard/herb crust, accompanied
by green beans and manakish (flatbread with za'atar, Betsy had gone
with a friend to a Syrian market Monday). I concentrated on the lamb,
and went with Bordeaux. The wine was the 1997 Ch. Lagrange (St.
Julien). I recently split a case of this with a friend for $195. I'm
very happy with the deal. Is this great Bordeaux? No, not by a long
stretch. But at $16 a bottle this is a steal, lovely midweight claret.
Red plum and blackcurrant fruit, resolved tannins, hints of vanilla,
cigarbox, and damp earth. Doesn't have the length or concentration of
a great Bordeaux, but this is more than a mere "luncheon claret. " I'd
call it a solid journeyman of a Bordeaux, a nice wine at a nice
price. This would probably sink into oblivion in a lineup with more
"serious" Bordeaux, but I'm happy to have 5 more for Tuesday dinners
with my wife (actually, maybe I should contemplate telling Marc it
never came in- he hasn't paid me for his six yet- nah, no deal is
worth being an #$%hole). 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

WTN: 3 French wines, 1 Spanish
 

DaleW wrote:
> Ok -nay, good-
> Burg, but I like the good to excellent 2004 Meursault Bourgogne AC at
> least as much as this Meursault. B

Is the name of the producer Meursault, Dale, or is this a typo? I
wouldn't think that EU law would allow a producer to take the name of a
region that the wine wasn't entitled to, but what do I know?

>
> Dinner was a pork and bean stew with orange zest , served with brown
> rice and broccoli. The recipe was from NYT :
> http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/di...tml?ref=dining
> as a pairing for Portugese wine. If I had known, I would have told
> Betsy to use the Quinta de Cabriz, but she had grabbed a bottle of the
> 2005 Borsao (Campo De Borja, this is the one with dark label with
> beige/yellow accents) as cooking wine. We served the remaining couple
> of glasses with dinner. A winner again, at $7. Medium-bodied, cherry
> and red plum fruit, a hint of tobacco and earth. Not a lot of length,
> but tasty for price. B

In my Sam's spree, I picked up two bottles of the '04 Borsao, still on
their shelves along with the Tres Picos, but for $10.44 :(

> This would probably sink into oblivion in a lineup with more
> "serious" Bordeaux, but I'm happy to have 5 more for Tuesday dinners
> with my wife (actually, maybe I should contemplate telling Marc it
> never came in- he hasn't paid me for his six yet- nah, no deal is
> worth being an #$%hole). B++

Lo, how those '97 prices have fallen! As if you needed another
incentive to cough up Marc's share of the case, this wine doesn't sound
quite attractive enough to warrant a whole case purchase anyway (at
least, if you don't factor in the price).

Thanks for the interesting notes,
Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

3 French wines, 1 Spanish
 

The wine was the 1997 Ch. Lagrange (St.
> Julien). I recently split a case of this with a friend for $195. I'm
> very happy with the deal. Is this great Bordeaux? No, not by a long
> stretch. But at $16 a bottle this is a steal, lovely midweight claret.

1997 Claret, an underated vintage for drinking now. Readily available and
not that expensive....(for Claret that is!!)

JohnT

WTN: 3 French wines, 1 Spanish
 

On Nov 27, 11:59�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > Ok -nay, good-
> > Burg, but I like the good to excellent 2004 Meursault Bourgogne AC at
> > least as much as this Meursault. B
>
> Is the name of the producer Meursault, Dale, or is this a typo? �I
> wouldn't think that EU law would allow a producer to take the name of a
> region that the wine wasn't entitled to, but what do I know?
>
>
>
> > Dinner was a pork and bean stew with orange zest , served with brown
> > rice and broccoli. The recipe was from NYT :
> >http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/di...tml?ref=dining
> > as a pairing for Portugese wine. If I had known, I would have told
> > Betsy to use the Quinta de Cabriz, but she had grabbed a bottle of the
> > 2005 Borsao (Campo De Borja, this is the one with dark label with
> > beige/yellow accents) as cooking wine. We served the remaining couple
> > of glasses with dinner. A winner again, at $7. Medium-bodied, cherry
> > and red plum fruit, a hint of tobacco and earth. Not a lot of length,
> > but tasty for price. B
>
> In my Sam's spree, I picked up two bottles of the '04 Borsao, still on
> their shelves along with the Tres Picos, but for $10.44 :(
>
> > This would probably sink into oblivion in a lineup with more
> > "serious" Bordeaux, but I'm happy to have 5 more for Tuesday dinners
> > with my wife (actually, maybe I should contemplate telling Marc it
> > never came in- he hasn't paid me for his six yet- nah, no deal is
> > worth being an #$%hole). B++
>
> Lo, how those '97 prices have fallen! �As if you needed another
> incentive to cough up Marc's share of the case, this wine doesn't sound
> quite attractive enough to warrant a whole case purchase anyway (at
> least, if you don't factor in the price).
>
> Thanks for the interesting notes,
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

A typo indeed- I meant the Matrot Bourgogne AC.
I am delivering Marc's Fri at our pinot-fest, but I would have been
happy to have a full case. Not one for the ages, but certainly not
fading, I'd drink over 3-4 years. I love having reasonably priced
Bordeaux to have with my meat (last mature purchase I made like this
was '96 Talbot at $12/375, I split a case of 24, and wish again I'd
kept whole case). The problem is of course these deals are usually on
prearrivals, gone by the time one tastes.

3 French wines, 1 Spanish
 

On Nov 28, 3:40�am, "John T" > wrote:
> �The wine was the 1997 Ch. Lagrange (St.
>
> > Julien). I recently split a case of this with a friend for $195. I'm
> > very happy with the deal. Is this great Bordeaux? No, not by �a long
> > stretch. But at $16 a bottle this is a steal, lovely midweight claret.
>
> 1997 Claret, an underated vintage for drinking now. Readily available and
> not that expensive....(for Claret that is!!)
>
> JohnT

Not expensive NOW, as prices have dropped as most other vintages have
risen. But on release prices were equal or above '95 & '96. I think
selected wines from '97 indeed offer good value for drinking now,.

WTN: 3 French wines, 1 Spanish
 

"DaleW" > wrote in message
...
On Nov 27, 11:59?pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > Ok -nay, good-
> > Burg, but I like the good to excellent 2004 Meursault Bourgogne AC at
> > least as much as this Meursault. B
>
> Is the name of the producer Meursault, Dale, or is this a typo? ?I
> wouldn't think that EU law would allow a producer to take the name of a
> region that the wine wasn't entitled to, but what do I know?
>
>
>
> > Dinner was a pork and bean stew with orange zest , served with brown
> > rice and broccoli. The recipe was from NYT :
> >http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/di...tml?ref=dining
> > as a pairing for Portugese wine. If I had known, I would have told
> > Betsy to use the Quinta de Cabriz, but she had grabbed a bottle of the
> > 2005 Borsao (Campo De Borja, this is the one with dark label with
> > beige/yellow accents) as cooking wine. We served the remaining couple
> > of glasses with dinner. A winner again, at $7. Medium-bodied, cherry
> > and red plum fruit, a hint of tobacco and earth. Not a lot of length,
> > but tasty for price. B
>
> In my Sam's spree, I picked up two bottles of the '04 Borsao, still on
> their shelves along with the Tres Picos, but for $10.44 :(
>
> > This would probably sink into oblivion in a lineup with more
> > "serious" Bordeaux, but I'm happy to have 5 more for Tuesday dinners
> > with my wife (actually, maybe I should contemplate telling Marc it
> > never came in- he hasn't paid me for his six yet- nah, no deal is
> > worth being an #$%hole). B++
>
> Lo, how those '97 prices have fallen! ?As if you needed another
> incentive to cough up Marc's share of the case, this wine doesn't sound
> quite attractive enough to warrant a whole case purchase anyway (at
> least, if you don't factor in the price).
>
> Thanks for the interesting notes,
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: ?http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

A typo indeed- I meant the Matrot Bourgogne AC.
I am delivering Marc's Fri at our pinot-fest, but I would have been
happy to have a full case. Not one for the ages, but certainly not
fading, I'd drink over 3-4 years. I love having reasonably priced
Bordeaux to have with my meat (last mature purchase I made like this
was '96 Talbot at $12/375, I split a case of 24, and wish again I'd
kept whole case). The problem is of course these deals are usually on
prearrivals, gone by the time one tastes.
--------------------------------------------------------
But the '97 Talbot that cost me too much, was just "picnic wine." And the
bottles of '97 PLBaron weren't much better at more than double the price:-(
Graham