WTN: Volnay, Beajolais, Graves, Tuscany, Abruzzo

Duck confit with lentils salad, with the 2002 Chandon de Briailles Caillerets Volnay 1er
I thought I started buying CdB in 2005, but discovered a couple of bottles in a mixed case. And glad i did- Red plums, woodsmoke, a little cocoa notes. Balanced acids, mostly resolved tannin, this has plenty of life left but drinking quite well now. With more air it gets floral, stays peppy. A-

My take on Japanese braised pork, on udon and steamed vegetables with a chicken/dashi broth
Wine was 2016 Coudert/Clos de la Roilette Griffe du Marquis Fleurie. Lots of notes on CT about how open this is, but not my bottle. Clamped down tight, but glimpses of an attractive wine underneath. NR

Betsy’s home! I picked up her, her mom, and her sister from redeye.They slept while I worked, so just picked up pizza (pepperoni/artichoke/mushroom and eggplant rollatini) for dinner. The
2019 Montesecondo (this is the regular rosso, not the Chianti). Slight hint of spritz, bright raspberries and cherries, light and fun. Don’t come here looking for complexity, just enjoy. B

Friday was sesame/soy salmon and broccoli, rice, and the 2013 Grange Cochard Morgon Vieilles Vignes.Another somewhat closed Beaujolais, though not as tight as the Griffe. Black plum, coffee, a little cigarsmoke.Fairly brawny, ripe. B

Lobster risotto and salad.with the 2015 Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. Brighter and more citrusy than a recent 2016 (also delicious), grapefruit and lime blossom with a crisp mineral finish. A-

Sunday we started with oysters and leftover Valentini. Then we had lamb shoulder braised in red wine/mustard/rosemary, mashed potatoes (truffle butter), Brussels sprouts, and the
2000 Domaine de Chevalier. A friend had recently acquired the DDC, and I had conned him into trading me a ‘00 for a ‘05 DDC. We each tasted our wine on a Zoom call. I clearly won out by foisting that oaky international wine on him. The 2000 DDC was maybe a bit more plush/madeup than the classic DDCs of yore, but a solid core of dark fruit, some complexity with ferric notes and some cigarbox, with decent acid for 2000 and a good tangy finish. Quite fun, and better than I expected based on other early aughts bottlngs. B+. Best part was catching up with old friends.


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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.

[Jenise]

Mmmm...braised lamb shoulder. I recall, as a child, us braising whole lamb shoulder roasts but they long ago disappeared from the west coast. It's chops or nothing, and lamb shoulder chops are just about my favorite cut of lamb so I'm good with that but I miss the whole roasts I remember. Did you have a whole one by any chance?

Re the DDC. A guy on another board is a stalwart champion of this wine, it's literally all he drinks and he tediously and inappropriately interjects "I prefer Domaine de Chevalier rouge" into conversations about other grapes from other places. I haven't had one since the '90's and was unaware that this brand has gone the oaky international route, if indeed that's the case with all modern DDC's. Still the case, do you know?

[David M. Bueker]

2014 DDC is pretty darned good, and not at all over the top.

As far as I know the wines remain in same mode, with Derenoncourt as adviser.

These were shoulder chops. I actually went to store Sat am looking for beef roast (chuck preferably), but all they had was eye round, so I switched plan (this was in middle of snow storm, Friday hordes had stripped store and no one made it in to restock). I really had few choices.
But we have a regional farm that comes to market, and I have gotten whole shoulder for them. Also Middle Eastern market in Yonkers.
HAve you tried ordering? I think D'Artagnan has, but pricey. I got a lamb neck from Porter Road, my theory anyone selling neck might be selling shoulder! .