Went Sunday to a fundraiser at a local church, where our friend Alex puts on a
monthly "Table d'Hote" meal. This month there was a Russian theme- the starter
was dill-marinated salmon with a mustard sauce, followed by borscht (Alex's
version is a beef and veggie stew) with crème fraîche,* and a Russian spice
cake to follow. I carried 2 wines:

2002 Robert Chevillon Bourgogne Passetoutgrains
Sharp acidity, tart bitter cherry flavors in a light-bodied package. Did well
with the borscht. Next day it matched even better with a meat ragu sauce over
pappardelle, the shrillness of the acidity had calmed a bit. I thought good QPR
for $9. B

1999 Jean-Noel Gagnard "Les Masures" Chassagne-Montrachet.
Good white fruit, plenty of zippy acidity, pretty good dose of oak but the
richness of the fruit and the acidity balanced it out. Day 2 for this brought a
more floral note, with plenty of rich sweet pear fruit and integrated toasty
oak. B+/A-

When Betsy made the ragu, she used a cup of 2002 RH Phillips Toasted Head
Chardonnay. Which left one glass in the 375, I tasted the next day. Not really
THAT oaky, but a rather simple fruity chard. Haven't tried the 2002 RH Phillips
regular chard, but my guess based on previous vintages is it's similar for
about half the price. B-

Earlier in the week, with some good but overpriced tapas as Azafran in Tribeca,
a glass of the 2003 Terras Gauda Albariño (Rías Baixas). I've been disappointed
by some reecent Albariños, but not this one. Floral nose, fresh peach and apple
fruit with a ginger spiciness. Fun wine. B+

Thursday we were all home for for dinner, giving Betsy a chance to light
Chanukah candles. Not exactly a traditional meal, panko-encrusted lemon sole
with a mustard-hollandaise-ish sauce, green beans, and rice with furikake. I
opened the 2002 Drouhin Montagny 1er Cru. Light oak, light to medium-bodied
wine, pleasant apple-chard fruit but a bit dilute. I had another half-glass as
I came in at 2 AM that evening, really a rather hollow wine- disappointing for
the vintage. B-/C+

I got a couple hours sleep before getting up to drive Betsy to the
airport.Worked, came home, had some leftovers, and waited for some friends who
were flying in from the West. While I waited, I read a mystery and sipped the
2002 Geantet-Pansiot "Champs Perdix" Marsannay. Bigger denser wine than one
would expect from Marsannay, a ripe fruity-forward pinot with clear raspberry
fruit, some toasty oak with light vanilla notes, and a good finish. Other than
a loam/earth note on the nose, as much RRV PN as Marsannay. But a very good
wellmade wine in a fairly modern style. B++


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.
Dale

Dale Williams
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