WTN: 2000 Fronsac, 2004 Macon-charnay

In Wednesday's NYT the tasting panel tasted a variety of under $10 wines (top finishers included '05 Berger GruVe, Mondavi Pr Sel. Pinot, '04 Delaye St Veran, Cusumano Angimbe, Perrin CdR, Allegrini Valpo). There's always a matching recipe, obviously nothing will work with all of those. But Florence Fabricant used a recipe for lobster and tomatoes over pasta, saying the dish would be the star and the reasonable wines the backdrop. Betsy decided to try last night, and we had this with an asparagus salad and the 2004 Jean Manciat "Franclieu" Macon-Charnay (I owned none of the featured wines, and since I touted this to Bob Ross thought I'd give another try). Pure apple fruit framed by a chalky minerality and clean clear acidity. This is not aiming to be anything but what it is, a pretty, straightforward, and refreshing Macon. Tasty, typical, and thrifty, the 3 Ts add up to a B+ with an A for value ($13).

I needed to address my Bdx jones, so after dinner opened the 2000 Les Trois Croix (Fronsac). A couple of years has been very good to this modern Right Banker. The oak and tannins have both integrated nicely, and the red plum Merlot fruit is still vibrant. A kind of ferric minerality to the finish. This ain't Cheval Blanc, but for the price ($15ish) a nice example of satellite Bordeaux. My plan is to start back working on my B2K satellites and Medoc AC wines. This one gets a B+, too

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.

[James Roscoe]

What did the Fronsac cost? I wonder what it is going for today? A lot of those 2000's are still hanging around on shelfs from those "lesser" chateau and from "lesser" regions. I wonder if some poking around might produce some bargains, especially given that their have been two more "vintages of the century" since 2000 was declared the first "vintage of the century"?

Thanks for the notes Dale. They are great as always.

In Wednesday's NYT the tasting panel tasted a variety of under $10 wines (top finishers included '05 Berger GruVe, Mondavi Pr Sel. Pinot, '04 Delaye St Veran, Cusumano Angimbe, Perrin CdR, Allegrini Valpo). There's always a matching recipe, obviously nothing will work with all of those. But Florence Fabricant used a recipe for lobster and tomatoes over pasta, saying the dish would be the star and the reasonable wines the backdrop. Betsy decided to try last night, and we had this with an asparagus salad and the 2004 Jean Manciat "Franclieu" Macon-Charnay (I owned none of the featured wines, and since I touted this to Bob Ross thought I'd give another try). Pure apple fruit framed by a chalky minerality and clean clear acidity. This is not aiming to be anything but what it is, a pretty, straightforward, and refreshing Macon. Tasty, typical, and thrifty, the 3 Ts add up to a B+ with an A for value ($13).

The '05 is pretty nice too, although the '04 might be just a wee bit better.

James, I paid $15, and it looks like it's $20-25 today. My worry of course is storage in the meantime. George, nice to know the 2005 is around when I run out of 2004.

[James Roscoe]

White Burgundy is about the only chardonnay I really will drink period. I just don't find the rest of it worth the effort of putting in my glass. Why do you think that is? I can't quite figure it out. At any rate it's a bargain compared to the pinot Burgundy.