Betsy made lamb chops in a sauce with peppers, tomatoes, and olives. Recipe is from Calabria, but I had no Calabrese wines. So I went north, and opened the 2005 Brigaldara Valpolicella Classico. I've generally liked Brigaldara's Amarone and Recioto, and I like this low end bottling too. Warm red fruit, fairly substantial but ripe tannins, ok acidity. Some earth and mushroom come out with time, and are more pronounced on day 2. Not long or complex, but a satisfying $10 bottle. B
Tuesday was a Pierre Franey pasta with clam sauce recipe. The sauce has cream, and maybe Muscadet wouldn't be first thought, but I was eager to try the 2006 Pepiere (Ollivier)"Clos des Briords " Muscadet. We had a little pre-dinner accident (even the Schott Zwiesel titanium glasses don't stand up to having heavy dishes dropped on them) but after cleanup we mourned the lost 3 oz and poured more. This is actually pretty accessible now, though there's a sense of coiled potential underneath. Tart citrus fruit, a real "rocks in your mouth" minerality. Intense, long, delineated, delicious. Buy more, put away. A-
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.