Tonight Betsy made a D'Artagnan cookbook recipe of magret breast with
cracklings and a sauce made of asparagus tips, walnut oil, vinegar, and
mustard. Served over greens and topped with blackberries.When she had
said duck breast I had retrieved what may be my last bottle of 1997
Burgundy, the 1997 Michel Lafarge Volnay. The choice was a bit of a
mistake- the sauce was rather assertive (not clashing because of the
asparagus, just extremely full-flavored) and the blackberries called
for something weightier too. Next time a bigger New World PN, or maybe
a Syrah.

The wine seems quite mature, warm red fruit surrounded by light notes
of earth, mushrooms, and peat moss. The fruit is attractive, but not
quite up to the challenge of the sauce and the berries. I enjoy more
after the meal than during. Now it's a pleasant round Pinot (can't say
it's identifiably Volnay). There's some depth to the fruit, but the
relatively low acid and the secondary notes make it seem like it's aged
as much as is prudent.I'm going to check whether this is indeed my last
'97 Burg, and drink up anything left (I'm basing that on several '97s,
and realize it's a big generalization, but I KNOW I don't own any GCs
or top aging 1ers from '97, so seems reasonable). This gets a B
overall (the match was a C, but the dish was good enough to ask Betsy
to put it into the duck rotation).

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