WTN: Champagne, Saar, Chablis, and Lalande de Pomerol

So some musician friends of Betsy's were in NYC for  a few days, Betsy invited them up  for dinner (and to crash in our living room) last night. Polly and Roy are pesce-vegetarians, and I went to work thinking we were having seafood risotto, an easy match. But I discovered later she had changed her plans, and main course was a butternut squash risotto, with a few Indian spices added. Now that's not so easy, and I headed to cellar confused..

As they arrived, Betsy started frying some shrimp wontons, and I served the NV Egly-Ouriet "Tradition Grand Cru" Brut Champagne (July 2008 disgorgement). Full-framed for NV, yeasty with apple fruit with brown sugar, good acidity, sourdough bread with a touch of nuttiness. Good, young, satisfying. B+

It turns out the butternut lasagna was more wine friendly than I had imagined, so nothing really clashed, but still not something I'd serve at a wine-centric dinner. I tried both off-dry and dry whites, as well as a ripe red simply because that's what I remembered our guests as preferring:

2005 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spatlese (AP 13)
I had some fears this would be shut down, but it was actually showing quite well. A bit bigger/fruitier than classic Saar, as you might expect from 05, but still with an electric backbone of acidity. 8% ABV, very long finish, beautiful. A-

2007  Mothe "Bougros" Chablis Grand Cru
I had found the Chablis from this producer to be clean and typical, so decided to try the GC.  This showed apple and pear fruit, some oak/toast notes, a little hazelnut. Medium acidity, decent mouthfeel. A perfectly acceptable village Chassagne! OK deal at $30, as long as you're not looking for Chablis-ness . B as a Chardonnay (C as a Chablis).

2004 Ch. La Fleur du Bouard (Lalande de Pomerol)
As expected, not so great with food, but ok on its own. Black plums and berries, oak, cocoa, very modern. Good length, some tannins, but I think this style is best young and might as well drink now. B

Tonight we went to a comparatively upscale Indian place in Irvington. Good appetizer assortment (spinach/fenugreek/paneer patties, samosas, okra fritters, more) and poori, but rather pedestrian lamb korma and saag paneer (and runny raita). Boring wine list, I had a glass of the Willamette Valley Winery Riesling that seem short and flabby, but might not be the wine's fault, from the oxidative notes I'm guessing bottle had been open couple days.

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.  

2004 Ch. La Fleur du Bouard (Lalande de Pomerol)
As expected, not so great with food, but ok on its own. Black plums and berries, oak, cocoa, very modern. Good length, some tannins, but I think this style is best young and might as well drink now. B

I would agree with you on this wine. Served it in a wine class a few years ago, and based on the pedigree, it was disappointing. But again we may have severed it too soon, though I did give it a 2 hour decant, I guess it's not as easy to make an exciting wine as some people think. Terrior, the winemaker's hand, the vintage, and a little luck seem to play a part. Perhaps a longer decant might have helped. But this is right bank and should be more accessible?

[David M. Bueker]

La Fleur du Bouard (Dale I am quite surprised you own it) seems a step above many of the right bank satellite wanna-be wines (others include Clos les Lunelles, D'Aiguilhe, etc), but I found it very tight/ungiving in 2004, even on release. I have a sense that the more extractive techniques used for some of htese wines might not have been the best idea in a year like '04. The 2000 Fleur du Bouard is evolving beautifully, and seems to be turning into actual Bordeaux with bottle age. The 2001 is also very good, but then both 2000 and 2001 are more approachable years than 2004.

La Fleur du Bouard (Dale I am quite surprised you own it)

Actually, I bought every vintage of LBdB until 2005, when it went over $30 locally. I'm not rigid, while my RB preferences might tilt towards Figeacs, Canon, Magdelaine, VCC etc I don't mind the occasional Pavie Macquin or Roc de Cambes. But I'm less likely to spend serious money on the modern styled wines, as I find the more modern ones for my tastes to be more limited foodwise, and less likely to age well. I still have the 2000 LFdB, drank the 98 and 99 mostly with pleasure. I liked the 2001 a bit more than the 2004. The 2003 was decent considering my overall feelings re vintage, but I only bought one bottle. The 02 was the only LFdB I found offered neither pleasure nor potential.