We played what will probably prove to be the last game of bocce this
weekend and then say down to a sort of Mediterranean melange of French
and Italian antipasti – tapenade with garlic and the, a couple of
different sausages, all sorts of olives, lovely rare beef slices with
green olive sauce, and we reprised for the most part the Rhone wines
we seem to have been focussing on for the last couple of weeks.

Whites with bocce:

2008 Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc – after a philosophical discussion
about just how hairy gooseberries might be, we reached an accord that
this did have an element of that in the nose, and that the cats had
been absent the day it was bottled. We also concluded that while this
sort of SB is certainly clean and crisp, it is never profound in the
way that some Loires can be, so we should move along to something
else.

2007 Quenard Chignin ‘Anne de la Biguerne’ (Savoie) – we se very few
wines from the Savoy and I had to look this one up. Made from
Roussanne, it had a wonderful nose of floral and lightly fruity nature
along with a stony minerality. Very interesting.

Reds with grub – these were not blind either, except for the Marcoux:

1997 Domaine de Remizieres Crozes Hermitage Cuvee Christophe – fruit
and some blood in this nose, followed by a balanced supple wine with
lots of dark fruit and acidity. Drink now.

1998 Domaine de Remizieres Crozes Hermitage Cuvee Christophe – better
fruit in the nose and some black pepper, darker colour, long sweet
finish. Some liked this and some preferred the relative elegance and
flavour definition of the 97.

2001 Jaboulet Les Jalets Crozes Hermitages – the Jalets is the easy
drinking bistro weight wine while the Thalabert is the one for the
long haul. This wine seemed odd in that the nose was markedly
butterscotch and plums, the colour light, and the sweetness on palate
was excessive though the finish was quite dry.

2003 Font de Michelle CNduP – interesting nose with nutmeg and
cherries, good weight in mouth, slightly chalky feel, very nice.

1998 Dom. de Marcoux CNduP – slightly hot nose that reminded us of
varnish and pine until it finally abated and sowed the underlying
raspberry. Sweet entry, dry finish but with a slight reprise of the
earlier sweetness right at the end.

1998 Dom. de la Roquette CNduP – a nice classic win with dark fruit
and spice, full bodied and smooth with nice length.

1994 Vieux Telegraphe CNduP – I decided to pull something with some
age and was glad I did. Absolutely classic Chateauneuf in every
respect. Slightly gamey or bretty nose, with garrigue and herbal
notes, still evident soft tannins, big smooth and ready to drink now,
a perfect exemplar of this sort of wine in a way the Beaucastels we
recently tasted can never be.

1989 Ch. Bastor Lamontagne – this Sauternes is a minor wine of no
great distinction, kept for too long in my cellar, but on this day
very presentable. Dark amber colour, caramel in the nose, sweet and
smooth and fairly well balanced, it went down very well on this
occasion.

>
> 2007 Quenard Chignin ‘Anne de la Biguerne’ (Savoie) – we se very few
> wines from the Savoy and I had to look this one up. Made from
> Roussanne, it had a wonderful nose of floral and lightly fruity nature
> along with a stony minerality. *Very interesting.


Oops - this is made from Jacquère, not Roussanne.