Monday Betsy made a recipe of salmon with lentils and bacon from the
Zuni Cafe cookbook. The cookbook suggested Sangiovese, I said the hell
with that and opened the 2002 Catherine and Claude Mar=E9chal "Cuv=E9e
Gravel" Bourgogne. Nice medium-weight Bourgogne, some earth with clean
red plum and cherry fruit. Some ripe tannins and good acids give it
enough body to stand up to the rather rich dish.

The following night Betsy was working and I made some pork chops for
dinner. Finished the remainder of the Marechal Bourgogne. I liked even
better on day 2, the earth/damp forest floor elements had picked up
intensity, but the fruit balanced it well. A very nice Bourgogne, B++


I had needed some white wine to cook my chops with, and had opened the
2004 Haut Rian (Bordeaux). I can't say I'm a big white Bordeaux drinker
- the ones I like are too expensive, the lesser-priced ones often lack
character compared to similarly priced NZ or Loire SB. But for under
$10 this was a nice deal - clean citrus (lemon) fruit with just a hint
of grass and straw, nice finish with clean fresh acidity. No new oak
like a wannabe Graves, not an attempt to mimic a fruit-forward
Marlborough, just it's own cool self. Seemingly more Sauvignon than
Semillon, this is a nice clean
food-friendly wine. 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. =20