We decided to try the meatless Monday idea, Betsy made an old favorite, pasta with spinach and mushrooms. Wine was the 2005 Daniel Crochet Sancerre. OK, I confess this was a mistake buy, said "Crochet Sancerre," and I thought I was buying Lucien. But not a mistake I actually regret, solid Sancerre- ripe green apples, hint of lemon zest and gooseberry. Nice length, balanced acidity, chalk and gunflint on nice finish. B
For Mardi Gras, cassoulet! Not traditonal, but delicious on a snowy day. Duck legs, homemade Champagne sausage, Rancho Gordo yelloweye beans. Wine was the 2006 Clos la Coutale Cahors. Nice easy drinking soft styled wine, black plums, a little earth, short to medium finish. Straightforward and pleasant, maybe could have used something a little meatier for the cassoulet. B/B-
Today NYT did a feature on NZ PN, the accompanying pairings recipe was a "hefty borscht" with short ribs. Betsy made that along with beet greens and mashed potatoes, lacking any NZ PN I went with French, the 1999 Domaine de la Vougeraie " Les Marconnets" Savigny-les-Beaune 1er. I opened well in advance of dinner. A sip on opening seemed tight, thin, and unwelcoming. By dinner time it was showing nice red fruit, with a little spice and beetroot (I often see this as a descriptor, but seldom use myself, but when tasting with borscht it seemed quite apparent- you can decide if that is me over-associating/imagingm, or if the borscht was the clue I needed). Better, not great. Now, post dinner (wine was opened 3 1/2 hours ago) it is showing quite nicely, full sweet black cherry fruit, cinnamon and orange peel, a touch of vanilla. Big, somewhat extracted style, maybe a bit more New World, but nice length and doesn't come across as clumsy or unbalanced. I would have given C+ on opening, B- with dinner, B+ right now. Gives you an idea how consistent my notes are!
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.