With rack of lamb, sauteed mushrooms, lentils, and salad, the 2006
Ch. Teyssier (St Emilion). Flagrantly modern, big black plum fruit
with some spice and vanilla. Decent length, a little bit of pencil
lead to indicate Bordeaux rather than Cali Merlot. Is it my preferred
style of St Emilion? No, but you can't buy Figeac or Magdelaine for
$15 all in, and at price it's a decent buy. B-

With roast chicken, leftover mushroom, blackeyed pea and turnip
greens, the 2008 Terres Dorees (JP Brun) Cote de Brouilly). Lesson
#712 in how unreliable my snapshot notes might be. I thought this
pleasant but no more upon opening. Medium bodied, red strawberry and
cherry fruit, perfectly acceptable but no more. I love Brun but I had
found the 2006 CdB similar, and thought to myself no need to rebuy
this, plenty of better Beaujolais out there. Except....on retasting an
hour or two later, I truly loved this wine. Deeper red fruit, notes of
graphite and espresso, bright acidity, long mineral finish. Lovely
midweight Gamay, long, lovely. B- to start, A-/B+ at 9 PM. Who me
consistent?

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.**

On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:06:48 -0800, DaleW wrote:

> Magdelaine

I vaguely remember purchasing a reasonable wine named Magdelaine which
was made in Bulgaria when I was summering in the Engadine many years ago.
It was very full bodied, fruit forward, unpretentious and went admirably
with a number of dishes that we prepared in our rented Wohnung.

Does this ring any bells with anyone here?

Godzilla

On Feb 25, 2:37*pm, Godzilla Lizard > wrote:
> On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:06:48 -0800, DaleW wrote:
> > Magdelaine
>
> I vaguely remember purchasing a reasonable wine named Magdelaine which
> was made in Bulgaria when I was summering in the Engadine many years ago.
> It was very full bodied, fruit forward, unpretentious and went admirably
> with a number of dishes that we prepared in our rented Wohnung.
>
> Does this ring any bells with anyone here?
>
> Godzilla

New one on me. But my knowledge of Bulgarian wine is nil (maybe Patok
can answer?)
The Magdelaine I refer to is a classic St Emilion.
There's also an appellation in Northern Italy (Alto Adige I believe)
called St Magdelener.

DaleW wrote:
> On Feb 25, 2:37 pm, Godzilla Lizard > wrote:
>> On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:06:48 -0800, DaleW wrote:
>>> Magdelaine
>> I vaguely remember purchasing a reasonable wine named Magdelaine which
>> was made in Bulgaria when I was summering in the Engadine many years ago.
>> It was very full bodied, fruit forward, unpretentious and went admirably
>> with a number of dishes that we prepared in our rented Wohnung.
>>
>> Does this ring any bells with anyone here?

No, this was most likely a negociant created blend, for the moment
and for the market, and most likely doesn't exist anymore. The Bulgarian
wine industry underwent a painful transition in the past ten years,
which will be, one hopes, for the good. It was all very well explained
in that magazine article which I mentioned in the other thread. When it
comes online in March, I'll most certainly post a link.


> New one on me. But my knowledge of Bulgarian wine is nil (maybe Patok
> can answer?)

You have a chance to acquire some knowledge, if you're really
curious. I seem to remember that NY was one of the states where it was
possible to ship wine; unfortunately, here in MD I can't take advantage.
There are two online stores that sell BG wine in the States:

http://www.sofiausa.com/Merchant2/me...Cod e=EBGWINE

and

http://www.wineimport.com/

If you (or anybody that can receive shipments) decides to try, some
observations:

Chateau Euxinograde is the only old and traditional winery still in
operation (from before Communism, it was the King's private cellar in
his chateau on the Black Sea coast). They are supposed to be the best
white wines of Bulgaria, but I haven't tasted any recently (being
primarily a red wine person), so have no idea what their current quality
might be. The cognac-like thing they produce, called Euxignac, is
fantastic, and worth a try, if you can find it (it's very rare; I was
not able to find any on my recent visit).

Since the distilled products of Karnobat are well-known impostors
(claiming to be aged in casks blah-blah, while as a matter of fact are
alcohol mixed with concentrated extracts), I wouldn't trust their wines
either.

It is still a fact though, that most of the wines for the domestic
market are not exported, and from the ones I tried, I can see only a
couple being offered in these two stores. They are the Vini Merlot and
Cabernet, and while the Cab is a decent, if not spectacular, quaffing
wine, the Merlot is best avoided (not only too fruity, but actually a
little sweet). The best course for any adventurous a.f.w.-er who decides
to order something, is maybe post here or to my e-mail what they think
of ordering, so I may provide feedback, if I know anything about the
choices.

Something else - both sites sell Rakia (grappa, eau de vie) and call it
'brandy' which it technically is, but not in the sense that it's
cognac-like. The congac-like drinks on the sofiausa site are Preslav,
Pliska, Pomorie and Sunny Beach. Everything else is grappa/eau de vie;
Mastika is anise based, like ouzo.

--
You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone.

On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:44:17 -0800, DaleW wrote:

> On Feb 25, 2:37Â*pm, Godzilla Lizard > wrote:
>> On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:06:48 -0800, DaleW wrote:
>> > Magdelaine
>>
>> I vaguely remember purchasing a reasonable wine named Magdelaine which
>> was made in Bulgaria when I was summering in the Engadine many years
>> ago. It was very full bodied, fruit forward, unpretentious and went
>> admirably with a number of dishes that we prepared in our rented
>> Wohnung.
>>
>> Does this ring any bells with anyone here?
>>
>> Godzilla
>
> New one on me. But my knowledge of Bulgarian wine is nil (maybe Patok
> can answer?)
> The Magdelaine I refer to is a classic St Emilion. There's also an
> appellation in Northern Italy (Alto Adige I believe) called St
> Magdelener.

That St. Magdelener is a distinct possibility of what we were drinking in
St. Moritz as well as some other Bulgarian wines that were available at
that time. Twenty five years has a way of blurring and combining a couple
of undocumented memory images until they morph into one. ;-)

Thanks for the input

Godzilla