We decided to try the meatless Monday idea, Betsy made an old
favorite, pasta with spinach and mushrooms. Wine was the 2005 Daniel
Crochet Sancerre. OK, I confess this was a mistake buy, said "Crochet
Sancerre," and I thought I was buying Lucien. But not a mistake I
actually regret, solid Sancerre- ripe green apples, hint of lemon zest
and gooseberry. Nice length, balanced acidity, chalk and gunflint on
nice finish. B

For Mardi Gras, cassoulet! Not traditonal, but delicious on a snowy
day. Duck legs, homemade Champagne sausage, Rancho Gordo yelloweye
beans. Wine was the 2006 Clos la Coutale Cahors. Nice easy drinking
soft styled wine, black plums, a little earth, short to medium finish.
Straightforward and pleasant, maybe could have used something a little
meatier for the cassoulet. B/B-

Today NYT did a feature on NZ PN, the accompanying pairings recipe was
a "hefty borscht" with short ribs. Betsy made that along with beet
greens and mashed potatoes, lacking any NZ PN I went with French, the
1999 Domaine de la Vougeraie " Les Marconnets" Savigny-les-Beaune
1er. I opened well in advance of dinner. A sip on opening seemed
tight, thin, and unwelcoming. By dinner time it was showing nice red
fruit, with a little spice and beetroot (I often see this as a
descriptor, but seldom use myself, but when tasting with borscht it
seemed quite apparent- you can decide if that is me over-associating/
imagingm, or if the borscht was the clue I needed). Better, not great.
Now, post dinner (wine was opened 3 1/2 hours ago) it is showing quite
nicely, full sweet black cherry fruit, cinnamon and orange peel, a
touch of vanilla. Big, somewhat extracted style, maybe a bit more New
World, but nice length and doesn't come across as clumsy or
unbalanced. I would have given C+ on opening, B- with dinner, B+ right
now. Gives you an idea how consistent my notes are!

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.**