On Mar 30, 10:00�am, DaleW > wrote:
> A matching mistake, Betsy had said we were having salmon, so I pulled
> out a Pinot Noir. Problem was the recipe she used steams the salmon
> with chard and caramelized onions, does much better with whites. But I
> already had the cork pulled on the 2002 Williams-Selyem Sonoma County
> Pinot Noir. � Red kirschy fruit, a little blackberry, a little earth.
> Tannins are mostly integrated, the acids seem a little spikey. The
> fruit is a little candied. Decent, not exciting. B-
> (my early inclination is that is ready and needs to be drunk up.
> But...it actually held up, and is better on day 2. Hmmm, what to do
> with other 2?).
>
> Sunday afternoon I prepped dinner, made an appearance to thank
> volunteers at a benefit concert, but then headed to White Plains where
> Betsy was leading cello section in a small string orchestra. Theme was
> film composers and those that influenced them, sinfoniettas by
> Bernard Hermann and Franz Waxman, and then Verklarte Nacht by
> Schoenberg.
> Afterwards I rushed home to do pork chops with a mustard/sage sauce,
> with potatoes, salad, and some grilled vegetables. In honor of
> Schoenberg, we went with an Austrian wine, the 2002 FX Pichler "Von
> den Terrassen" Gruner Veltliner Smaragd. Peppery/ floral nose, ripe
> peach and melon fruit on the palate backed by firm acidity. Nice
> length, clean finish. With some time there's a little Riesling-like
> petrol note, but there's also some pea and white pepper to show it's
> GV-ness.
> Nice wine, not one of Pichler's more expensive bottlings, but doing
> well at 7- drinks nicely, but no hurry. A-/B+
>
> 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.
> �

I've never had a WS Pinot that blew me away. I find many of them a
bit candied and for the most part they never seem to deliver much.