On Mar 12, 4:02*pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> On 3/12/10 3:51 PM, DaleW wrote:
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> > So last night Betsy made salmon steamed with chard and onions, along
> > with brown rice. Unlike grilled salmon, I don't think PN works with
> > this, so decided to go white. Here's an opportunity for a
> > idiosyncratic wine.
>
> > 1997 Kalin Cellar Semillon (Livermore Valley)
> > This is actually the current release I believe, and I wasn't concerned
> > by the deep gold color. However, the cork was a sponge meets sawdust
> > mess, and once wine hit air it darkened even further. Nuts meets
> > sherry oxidative notes, apple pie, citrus rind, lemon pledge.
> > Interesting but not fun, and I'll assume a substandard cork. C+, but
> > hopefully not a representative bottle.
>
> > 2007 *Michel Lafarge “Raisins d’Orees” Bourgogne Aligote
> > As the Kalin was more interesting than good, I decided to go to the
> > backup. Now this is a lovely bottle of Aligote- sweet pear and apple
> > fruit with a squirt of lemon, wet stones on the finish, very good
> > length for its level. I don't drink much Aligote, but this is
> > generally my favorite, and this vintage is quite good. Nicely
> > balanced, holds one's interest. B+
>
> Thanks for the interesting notes, Dale. *I wonder whether that Kalin
> Semillon is atypical or not. *The biggest fan of that wine I know of is
> Joe Perry, who is also nuts for Sherry and very oxidative Spanish
> whites, so draw what conclusions you wish from that. *I'll keep in mind
> your recommendation of the Lafarge Aligoté, as I have pretty much
> written off the grape as not interesting enough to warrant further
> attention ("charmless" is what I actually had to say about my last one).
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

I've had Kalin Chard before, blind my guess was skin-contact white a
la Gravner or Radikon.
Most Aligote (even more than most wine) is terrible, best suited for
Kir, but some producers do much better