Last night I came home to discover a dozen cases on front porch, the
delivery of Betsy's CDs. I would have loved to take her for a special
dinner to celebrate, but she had to play "Grendel." She had made a
pasta sauce with clams and garlic scapes, I opened the 2004 Oliver
Savary Chablis Vielles Vignes (I hate those stupid hard wax capsules).
Nose of chalk, apple blossoms, and lemon zest. Rich lemony fruit on the
palate, long minerally finish. Just a little rounder than my ideal in
Chablis, but still a very tasty bottle. B+

I felt like some cheese later in the evening, and with it a glass of
the 2004 Clos Roche Blanche "Pif" Touraine. I believe this is a
combination of Cot, Cab Franc, and Gamay. Light body but good
concentration. Ripe red fruit underlaid by a lively acidity, a tangy
mineral core. I actually usually use "grapey" as a negative descriptor,
but this reminds me delightfully of perfectly ripe red globe grapes.
B/B+, but at $9 this is a solid A QPR.

I had to go to city today and took Betsy to lunch at Craftbar. She had
salt cod croquettes with aioli, followed by skate with sauteed spinach.
I got her the 2005 Brundlmayer "Terrassen " Grüner Veltliner
(Kamptal). Lighter style of GV, and maybe lacking just a bit of oomph.
Not really dilute, but without real depth. Still, a pleasant enough and
typical wine. B-

I had the fried sage leaves stuffed with sausage, and a panini of
duck prosciutto with tallegio and hen of the woods. My glass was the
2004 Belle Pente "Yamhill-Carlton" Pinot Noir. A rather refined lighter
PN, yet with a sense of structure. Black and red cherry fruit, some
forest floor and mineral highlights, a little spice on the finish. Any
new oak is hiding behind the fruit and spice notes. Very nice for what
I think is Belle Pente's entry level 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.

DaleW wrote:
> ...
> I had the fried sage leaves stuffed with sausage, and a panini of
> duck prosciutto with tallegio and hen of the woods. My glass was the
> 2004 Belle Pente "Yamhill-Carlton" Pinot Noir. A rather refined lighter
> PN, yet with a sense of structure. Black and red cherry fruit, some
> forest floor and mineral highlights, a little spice on the finish. Any
> new oak is hiding behind the fruit and spice notes. Very nice for what
> I think is Belle Pente's entry level wine. B+
>

More or less entry level. I saw Belle Pente "Yamhill-Carlton" and
"Willamette Valley" in a shop this afternoon -- the "WV" cost a little
less, for whatever that is worth. Haven't tasted any of their wines and
I had already spent my allowance. So, maybe next time.

Andy