WTN: Cote Chalonnaise, Cotes du Rhone

Tuesday Betsy made pork chops in a red wine sauce (actually a Robin foodletter recipe), accompanied by leftover enchilada rojos. Wine for the sauce and the dinner was the 2004 Eric Texier Cotes du Rhone. Very much a lighter styled CdR, no confusion with a CdP here. Ended up just perfect for our needs- good acidity, nice juicy red fruit, no discernible tannins, low alcohol. Just a hint of herbs. Nothing to draw your attention, but perfectly fine to accompany dinner. B

Wednesday she made a couple duck legs (and used the leftover red wine sauce), a pasta sauced with leftover ricotta/spinach from Monday's ravioli, and a salad with sauteed mushrooms. I opened the 2005 Genot-Boulanger "Les Saumonts" Mercurey 1er. A big whiff of VA at first, I worried but it seemed to mostly blow off, leaving only a slightly lifted nose. Good overall acidity, fruit seems a little shy for a 2005. Still, I love Burgundy with duck, I love Burgundy with mushrooms, and this fits the bill. Cherry fruit with a little black raspberry, some damp earth notes. Light tannins, bright acidity. A revisit later in the evening is showing more giving fruit, tinted a bit darker. Not great, but certainly decent QPR at $20, I think 2-3 years might do this some good. B/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.

Thanks for the notes. Oddly enough, I popped open the 2004 Texier CdR just a few nights ago. My notes are more verbose than yours, but I think along similar lines: "Nice, lifted nose of red berries, flowers and herbs; almost seems more Loire-like than Rhonish. On the palate, there is sharply acidic red berry fruit accented by herbs, minerals and earth. Very tart and lots of structure and coarse texture provided not only by the acidity but by some tannins. I like it and it goes great with food, in this case, with chilaquiles. Two nights later, it's still very enjoyable and an excellent match with penne puttanesca."

Anyway, I liked it very much and would be inclined to give my remaining bottles some more age, except for the presence of a fake cork. Certainly made to go with food.

Yeah, I can see the Loire comparison. Good notes!