The last few days have been a blur of work and dealing with cold temps. But
Betsy still managed to make sure that good dinner was served, even overcoming
her bunny aversion to put a rabbit in a balsamic marinade. Served alongside a
saffron risotto from Mario Batali's cooking show, both were delicious. I opened
the 2000 Francoise & Denis Clair Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Beaune. Bright,
pleasant little Burg, good acidity and clean red fruit. Just a note of herbs on
the nose, nice wine. B+

The next night Betsy served some duck breast with roasted grapes. The 2001
Graillot Crozes-Hermitage had initially grapey flavors, but these soon
transformed into firm black fruit. Some earth and meat aromas, but not
super-expressive. Nice wine, but a few years might let it really shine. B+
(with A- potential)

Saturday we went to celebrate a friend's birthday at her house (well, her
living space- it's bigger than most houses, though it's actually the
refurbished servants' quarters of a dilapidated mansion - just too cool). They
served pork loin with applesauce and red cabbage, and we had a cheap Riesling
duel. My contender was the 2001 Thanisch (Erben-Thanisch) Estate Riesling
(Mosel-Saar-Ruwer). Nice Qba, sweetness and acidity well-balanced, white fruit
and some minerality B/B+. The other was an Alsace, the 2002 Leon Beyer
Riesling. Medium acidity, bone dry, but a bit of a short finish. I thought the
sweeter German did better with the applesauce, but the Alsace was an ok wine,
say a B.

Also served that evening were a couple of reds. The 2001 La Rose du Pin was a
soft easy quaffer, red plum fruit and little more. B- being generous. The 2000
Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Colchagua, Chile) wass a little more
interesting, with black fruit framed by some cedary oak. B

Sunday my organization had their annual meeting, and I was bone-tired by time I
returned home that evening. But I perked up as some great smells started coming
out of the kitchen. "Would you mind grilling a steak?" Betsy said, and I fired
up the Weber. What a meal- ribeye with a chutney over salad, baigan bharta
(eggplant) and nimbu bhat (piquant lemon-cashew rice). Steak meant red wine to
me, but the spices made difficult. So I chose a cheap ( no need to waste an
expensive wine) red with a hint of spice. The 2001 Domaine Lafond Roc-Epine
Cotes-du-Rhône was a nice lighter CdR, red berry flavors and some pepper and
oregano. Nothing to get excited about, but a decent $7 wine. B

My usual disclaimer: I'm a pretty easy grader, basically A is a very good wine,
B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party
where it was only choice

Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

Bloody hell, does Betsy want to visit Wagga Wagga in Australia? I can't
promise her the same wines, but I can certainly promise appreciation of the
food...

I can offer her wagyu beef, naturally fermented olives, freshly shot
bunnies, roo (not roux), trout, and a range of locally grown produce. BTW,
the temperatures even in winter will be 10-20°C.

Of course, you're welcome too, but given your description of menus, Betsy
would be the honoured guest!

Cheers,

Andrew

"Dale Williams" > wrote in message
...
> The last few days have been a blur of work and dealing with cold temps.
But
> Betsy still managed to make sure that good dinner was served, even
overcoming
> her bunny aversion to put a rabbit in a balsamic marinade. Served
alongside a
> saffron risotto from Mario Batali's cooking show, both were delicious. I
opened
> the 2000 Francoise & Denis Clair Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Beaune. Bright,
> pleasant little Burg, good acidity and clean red fruit. Just a note of
herbs on
> the nose, nice wine. B+
>
> The next night Betsy served some duck breast with roasted grapes. The 2001
> Graillot Crozes-Hermitage had initially grapey flavors, but these soon
> transformed into firm black fruit. Some earth and meat aromas, but not
> super-expressive. Nice wine, but a few years might let it really shine. B+
> (with A- potential)
>
> Saturday we went to celebrate a friend's birthday at her house (well, her
> living space- it's bigger than most houses, though it's actually the
> refurbished servants' quarters of a dilapidated mansion - just too cool).
They
> served pork loin with applesauce and red cabbage, and we had a cheap
Riesling
> duel. My contender was the 2001 Thanisch (Erben-Thanisch) Estate Riesling
> (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer). Nice Qba, sweetness and acidity well-balanced, white
fruit
> and some minerality B/B+. The other was an Alsace, the 2002 Leon Beyer
> Riesling. Medium acidity, bone dry, but a bit of a short finish. I thought
the
> sweeter German did better with the applesauce, but the Alsace was an ok
wine,
> say a B.
>
> Also served that evening were a couple of reds. The 2001 La Rose du Pin
was a
> soft easy quaffer, red plum fruit and little more. B- being generous. The
2000
> Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Colchagua, Chile) wass a little
more
> interesting, with black fruit framed by some cedary oak. B
>
> Sunday my organization had their annual meeting, and I was bone-tired by
time I
> returned home that evening. But I perked up as some great smells started
coming
> out of the kitchen. "Would you mind grilling a steak?" Betsy said, and I
fired
> up the Weber. What a meal- ribeye with a chutney over salad, baigan bharta
> (eggplant) and nimbu bhat (piquant lemon-cashew rice). Steak meant red
wine to
> me, but the spices made difficult. So I chose a cheap ( no need to waste
an
> expensive wine) red with a hint of spice. The 2001 Domaine Lafond
Roc-Epine
> Cotes-du-Rhône was a nice lighter CdR, red berry flavors and some pepper
and
> oregano. Nothing to get excited about, but a decent $7 wine. B
>
> My usual disclaimer: I'm a pretty easy grader, basically A is a very good
wine,
> B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a
party
> where it was only choice
>
> Dale
>
> Dale Williams
> Drop "damnspam" to reply

In article >, "Andrew L Drumm"
> writes:

>, does Betsy want to visit Wagga Wagga in Australia?

She probably does. I know one of her major regrets from her Meliora Quartet
days was that they did some concerts in Melbourne, but never left the city.
What's the point in flying halfway around the world just to work?

I'll work on getting her back to Oz.
Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply