TN: My first Petite Arvine, Barde Haut, Camensac
 

Betsy used a bit of red wine with lamb drippings to make a bit of
gravy, I tried the 2005 Camensac (Haut-Medoc) (375) both Wed and Th.
Didn't really care for it either night. This reminds me more of a
(mediocre) New World CS than a classified growth Bdx from a great
vintage. If fruit is your
be-all and end-all in wine, you might be ok. But little here if you
value structure, complexity, or depth. OK, to be honest, there is some
tannic structure, maybe it will develop in time, but this is too sweet
and too short for me to get more. Too bad, I've liked older vintages. C
+

With shrimp and leeks over orzo, the 2007 Cave Caloz "La Mouziere"
Petite Arvine (Valais AC/Les Coteaux de Sierre). A birthday gift
(along with a book by the importer, Neal Rosenthal). On opening, I
thought the nose reminded me of a Chardonnay, with ripe apple and pear
fruit and a touch of flint. But after tasting and re-sniffing, I have
no clue where that came from! This is a fairly full bodied, higher
acid, dry wine that reminds me a bit of an Alsace Riesling. But
there's an herby/nutty note that reminds me more of an Italian white,
a la Falanghina. An interesting wine, I enjoy over a couple nights,
but a local $50 price tag means I wouldn't buy for myself. B

Friday we had Betsy's 10 year old nephew over for a while, and did a
rare indulgence of dinner in front of the TV (Gabe is a total baseball
freak, watched the AL Rays/Sox game). We had leftovers (lamb, pasta
with shrimp, pumpkin gratin, asparagus, bok choy). I had leftover
Petite Arvine with the shrimp, with the lamb the 1998 Barde Haut (St
Emilion). A very nice modern styled Bordeaux that is drinking right at
peak for my tastes now- chocolate, toast, and flowers over a very
solid base of blackcurrant and blackberry fruit. Ripe and lush, some
tannins but they're quite supple, good length. This is quite lively
and maybe could age more, but it's quite low acid and I generally
think better safe than sorry with the fat ones. Holds up quite well
till tonight, though, I'm often wrong. B+/A-

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.