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DaleW 14-01-2008 03:40 AM

TN: France, Italy, Germany, Chile
 
We had some friends over to dinner last night, and had a wonderful
time. I was in charge of appetizers, and did:
Boquerones rolled around a chevre/shallot mix
Pancetta crisp with chevre and pear
Chorizo cooked in sherry and rosemary

With the double goat cheese whammy, decided on Loire SB as greeting
wine. The 2006 Mardon Quincy Tres Vieille Vignes was up to the task,
with bright citrus and tropical fruit, an explosion of gooseberry, and
a little grass. Not much in the way of minerality compared to a good
Sancerre, but a nice friendly puppy dog of a wine, and a big hit with
guests. B

First sitdown course was shrimp/garlic timables, with the 2001 Henri
Boillot Meursault. At first I thought this was already a victim of pre-
ox, color seemed advanced and thought I got some oxidative notes on
nose. But whatever it was quickly blew off, leaving a decent white
Burg, some baby fat but with good acidity, straightforward pear fruit,
a little toasted hazelnut. Maybe the color isn't so advanced, just
seemed dark after the SB. Nice, not special. It does hold up
overnight. B

Main course was a leg of lamb, accompanied by a winter vegetable
tian (parsnips, turnips, yellow and red beets, squash with a mushroom
sauce- even better to taste than to look at) and a salad of fennel &
pear. Three wines:

1982 Ch. Rouget (Pomerol)
I also feared this one dead for a moment, but bottle funk blew off in
decanter. Pleasant mature and maybe slipping Pomerol, fruit is a bit
advanced, but quite pleasant secondary/tertiary notes of cedar, earth,
and fallen leaves. Someone gets chocolate, but not me. Time to drink
up, but this lasts well over 3 hours, though a final pour during
dishwashing is past it. Overall, B+

1996 JM Gerin "Les Grandes Places" Cote-Rotie
This seems younger than the bottle my friend Oswaldo described
recently. Tannins are resolving, but blackberry fruit is fairly
vibrant. Not a lot of length, but nice notes of pepper and spice. A
bit less burly than I'd expect from an 11 year old Cote-Rotie. B+/B

1999 Lisini Brunello di Montalcino
This seems to be modern without being over the top with ripeness and
oak. Black and red cherry fruit, a hint of vanilla, excellent length,
firm but not hard tannins. B+, with potential for better.

Then a cheese plate of Keen's cheddar, reblochon, and muenster, plus
little mini-cheesecakes with orange and chocolate.

2006 Errazuriz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc
Sweet although not very heavy, tropical pineappley fruit, some honey.
Desperately needs acidity to give it backbone and zip. Others liked it
more than I. C+/B-

2002 JJ Christoffel Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese **
Welcome acidity after the Errazuriz. Some botrytis, warm apple fruit,
that acidic backbone. Good length. Nice wine, if not exciting.This was
one of the $15 PC blowouts, good value at that price, but I had also
bought some at $35 at release, and value is borderline at that point. B
+/B

I also had little sips of some wines used in cooking:
NV Barbadillo Oloroso
I had poached the sausage in this and white wine. I'm not a sherry
drinker, but I found this rather nice, a dry sherry with oomph and
interest.
2005 Haut Colombier (Premiere Cotes de Blaye)
Used for deglazing lamb pan for sauce. Lighter style of Bdx, modest
fruit, noticable tannins. OK for level I guess.
2005 VRAC Macon
Used for sausage and on timbale crust. Straightforward, simple,
screwcapped, and $5.

Nice night with nice people.

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.

*

cwdjrxyz 14-01-2008 06:17 AM

TN: France, Italy, Germany, Chile
 
On Jan 13, 8:40 pm, DaleW > wrote:

> 1999 Lisini Brunello di Montalcino
> This seems to be modern without being over the top with ripeness and
> oak. Black and red cherry fruit, a hint of vanilla, excellent length,
> firm but not hard tannins. B+, with potential for better.


The only Lisini Brunello that I have had is the 1975 regular and the
1975 riserva. The regular has now seen better days, but it was nice a
few years ago. The riserva is still holding well. Beside having a
longer life than the regular, it is a much fuller and more complex
wine. Lisini was a small house back in the 70s, and I believe it was
run by a lady. It was not seen too much in the US back then, likely
because of the fairly low production. I am glad to hear, from your
notes, it still is being made well. Back in the 70s, some Brunellos
were better in the regular than in the riserva grade. Some of the
lighter ones did not seem to be up to extra time in cask to age
required before release for the riserva.


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