Saturday, Betsy took a couple of NZ racks of spring lamb from freeezer, thawed,
then roasted with dijon mustard. Very tasty, accompanied by poached fennel,
salad, and the 2001 Finca Sandoval (Manchuela), a Syrah. Spanish syrah? Yep,
with some mouvedre thrown in (7%). Really quite nice- prominent oak, sweet dark
berry fruit, ripe tannins. A distinct earthiness (the mouvedre?). A bit like a
more modern-styled Hermitage. This wine really grew on me, and showed very well
on following night, too. A-

Sunday Betsy and some friends put on a benefit concert for the organization I
head. Fantastic concert, with Bach and Brahms vocal pieces, solo Chopin , a
Schuman piece for French horn and piano, and a Rossini duet for 'cello and
bass. Afterwards Joe the bass-player and Andrea the mezzo joined some other
friends for dinner at our place. A nice day meant my first time grilling in a
while, and while I got steak ready we muched on smoked salmon and tried:

2001 Le Louvetier (Pessac-Leognan).
Somewhat grassy, a little oak. Melon and apple fruit. Dull for a 2001 Bdx
blanc. B/B-

2001 Strub Niersteiner Orbel Riesling Kabinett
White fruit with a grapefruity/lemony edge. Sweet fruit, good balancing
acidity. Not asleep at all. B/B+

2001 Bründlmayer Zöbinger Heiligenstein Riesling (Kamptal)
Intensely mineral, like having wet stones in ones mouth. Slate and citrus, long
finish. Fantastic wine for the price (less than $20, I'm pretty sure). A-

After the steaks were grilled, Betsy topped with a basil-anchovy butter, and we
served with potatoes, salad, and green beans, plus:

1999 La Licenziana (?) "Vicenziana" Barbaresco
Light and easy Nebbiolo, some tar and flowers over the pretty red fruit. B

1994 Beauséjour-Duffau
Had some hestitation re this - thought I remembered this as tannic (and a
recent 1994 tasting showed lots of tannin across the board), but the tannins,
though apparent, seemed to be integrating. Earth, flowers, and framboise on the
nose, deep almost kirsch-like fruit on palate. Big wonderful lush St.-Émilion,
dense fruit and long minerally finish. A-/A

1999 Kendall-Jackson "Great Estates" Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Dark fruit, chocolatey, lots of toasty oak and some tannins. I approached this
with a bit of an attitude, KJ isn't my fave producer, but this was actually
pretty good in a typical CalCab style. B+

1996 Kurt Darting Dürkheimer Nonnengarten Rieslaner Auslese.
Sweetness finds its counterpart in zippy acidity. Apricot and orange marmalade,
honey over pineapple. Clean, bright, a hit with geeks and non-geeks alike. A-

Tonight Betsy made chicken with tarragon and mushrooms, and I opened a 1995 Dr.
Fischer Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett. This was a cheapie from a strange
local store (they have things like '93 Quincys and '98 Zeller Schwarze Katz ,
but then some decently priced '96 Left-Bank Bdx and Baroli). Storage has seemed
ok (I've been experimenting with occasional bottles), but I guess this bottle
was just too old. Some sweetness left, but fruit is mostly oxidized. Definitely
OTH, too bad. C-


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.
Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

You may also like to try the 2000 Marques de Grinon Dominio de Valdepusa
Syrah (13 GBP). Very impressive & one of the most enjoyable wines I tasted
last year

"Dale Williams" > wrote in message
...
> Saturday, Betsy took a couple of NZ racks of spring lamb from freeezer,
thawed,
> then roasted with dijon mustard. Very tasty, accompanied by poached
fennel,
> salad, and the 2001 Finca Sandoval (Manchuela), a Syrah. Spanish syrah?
Yep,
> with some mouvedre thrown in (7%). Really quite nice- prominent oak, sweet
dark
> berry fruit, ripe tannins. A distinct earthiness (the mouvedre?). A bit
like a
> more modern-styled Hermitage. This wine really grew on me, and showed very
well
> on following night, too. A-
>