Over the last week I have had a few wines worth mentioning.
At a tasting at the university I poured the DeBoeuf '09 Macon-Villages. It was a hit as we went through a case and a half (all that I brought). Paired well with pate and pan seared scallops.
Also served the '09 DeBoeuf '09 Domaine de la Chaponne, Morgon. Juicy and tasty. It will improve, but nice now. The Macon-Villages is a solid 89 point wine for about $10, and none of the Cru Beaujolais cost over $15. We also served the '07 LaTour Bourgogne, Pinot Noir, and it was popular with a lot of people. It has come into it's own and showing well now. We had no wine left at the end of three cases of wine!
This weekend we went to a few dinner parties. To the first, I carried a Chateau Perron '05 Lalande de Pomerol($25) and an '05 Les Fiefs de Lagrange ($35), St-Julien. After a two hour decant they were both on point and delicious. The Merlot was perfect with an elk salad (yes, elk), after a lovely lobster bisque that I serve with an '08 William Lebvre Champs Royeaux Chablis, this too performed as expected. The main course was a perfectly cooked tenderloin that really worked nicely with the 2nd wine from Chateau Lagrange. Nice how this second wine system works, in that you can drink these tasty previews 3-5 years before the "grand-vin". I picked this based on cellar-tracker notes, and I was not disappointed.
The next night more parties and dinner. I chose the '04 Clerc-Milon, Pauillac ($35)and again, with a 2 hour decant, this was delicious. I also used cellartracker.com to confirm this pick and again it worked just fine.
Last night it was a bone-in pork chop and I picked a Sauvion '07 Chinon ($14). Showing a lot of "green bean" on the nose that moderates somewhat with 30 minutes of air. I still find is interesting and characteristic. Good wine, that should only improve. Solid.
Tonight, with grilled chicken breast we opened a DuBoeuf '09 Domaine des Rosiers, Moulin-a-Vent, still showing a lot of baby-fat and would be better in 6-12 months. The '09 vintage was kind to Beaujolais. I can only imagine what the esoteric guy are doing with these grapes. DuBoeuf is often made fun of, but he is a champion for his region and his wines are usually good to very good.
We had a special treat before the main course. Marie made a butternut squash soup, topped with parsley, that we served with a Marques de Murrieta '03 Capellania, Rioja(Sample), this unusual wine is a single vineyard, 100% Viura (Macabeo) and see 18 months in 100% new American and French oak. Makes for a unique wine that requires food. It was nice with the soup. You would need to be careful how you served this, but it could be compelling. Lots of oak, but still interesting, almost sherry like. An iconic wine.
So that's been my week, and it was fun. Wine class Christmas party this Sunday and I should have good wine to tell about after that.