WTN: 2005 Domaine Gabriel Billard Bourgogne Burgundy France.

WTN: 2005 Domaine Gabriel Billard Bourgogne Pinot Noir Cote-de-Beaune Burgundy France. 12.5% alcohol. $16.99 at Chambers Street Wine. Imported by Fruit of the Vines, New York City.

Some wines are baffling to me, perfectly sound and consistent with a style and area I normally enjoy but I just don't care for them. This Bourgogne from a very good year is an example. Janet said "There's nothing wrong with this wine. ... I just don't like it. ... It tastes like beer."

I've puzzled over why I didn't like this wine, but a leak in our koi pond and an "insanely difficult" chess puzzle promise more rewards. Not a wine for us. 0*.

CWS's take is probably more useful: "A lovely wine showing soft, cherryish fruit with a little brown spice and citrus notes, well-balanced and delicious served cool. A great value in subtle, medium-bodied Pinot Noir..."

Technically I can't disagree with anything in that note except the word "delicious".

In cases like this there are always the caveats of a potentially off-bottle that are difficult to resolve, but "tastes like beer" doesn't sound like a sound bottle, does it?

In Janet's world it is -- I've never been able to make the connection myself.

She's very sensitive to TCA, heat damage, and most other flaws. She said "there's nothing wrong with this wine".

Darned if I know what the beer reference means but she uses it for Pinot Noir that she doesn't like. She uses "olive oil" to describe a Cabernet Sauvignon she doesn't like.

A mystery to me!

Darned if I know what the beer reference means but she uses it for Pinot Noir that she doesn't like. She uses "olive oil" to describe a Cabernet Sauvignon she doesn't like.

Well, at least if it makes sense to her.

I suppose of course it depends on the kind of beer she is talking about. The one beer descriptor I can think of that I find in wine is the sweet yeasty flavor of wheat beer, which can be prominent in young German riesling.

I asked Janet about the beer taste -- she describes it as a hops flavor, and slightly yeasty.

Useful information for me in understanding her tastes. Here are a few wines she's described that way:

NV Beringer Gamay Beaujolais
1996 Domaine Alliet Chinon Vieilles Vignes Cabernet Franc
1995 Falesco Vitiano Vino da Tavola
1993 Agricola La Palazzola Rubino della Palazzola
1996 Philippe Alliet Chinon

...

I see there are over 60 similar judgments in my diary over the past ten years.

Thanks for asking -- I learned something new about Janet. And, as she says, "Maybe it's just me."

Regards, Bob