After a brief bout with day surgery and the accompanying meds., I can have some wine again . . .
1996 Chat. Lynch Bages:
‘No great wines, only great bottles;’ this had some seepage at the cork and did not live up to the last several bottles of this vintage I have tasted. A bit musty and rather attenuated. Adequate, but nothing more.
Other recent bottles of this have been seriously good.
2005 Pieropan, Soave Calvarino:
Riveting wine; everyone at the table tasted, then stopped and looked at each other; complex and fresh on the nose; complex and deep in the mouth, brilliant acidity and an endless finish. This bottling does not see wood (unlike the La Rocca) and it really shows off its “Soave-ness.”
Served with a swordfish kabob wrapped in pancetta; the saltiness of the bacon matched very well with the minerality of the wine and the texture of the fish gave the strong flavors of the wine a perfect foil. One of the best pairings I’ve had this year.
2007 Overnoy/Houillon, Arbois Pupillin:
12.5% alcohol; quite pale, a sort of burnished rose color; pomegranate, soil, stone, salt and spice notes on the nose, complex and ethereal; light-weight but layered in the mouth, each seeming to carry with it another arrangement of all the elements of the bouquet, bright, clean, and long. As though someone had taken the 2006 version and peeled away the flesh; nonetheless a singular bottle that is an ever-changing pleasure for both Diane and me. With grilled chicken and Caesar salad, fantastic. Few things in this life are as reliably wonderful as bottles of poulsard from this producer.
2002 Brégeon, Muscadet:
12% alcohol; an extended lees aged Muscadet without the creaminess achieved by the Granite de Clisson’s and the like; perfect balance, good depth and complexity, bright and intense without being overly so and bursting with flavor. I heard someone say that discovering good Muscadet made it easier to lose white Burgundy; very apt. A joy to drink and superb with a shrimp, goji berry and fresh asparagus dish that Diane makes.
Best, Jim