I recently opined it was best to leave all 2002 red Burgundies alone,
but I am nothing if not inconsistent, and found myself opening a bottle
of
2002 Domaine Chandon de Briailles "Ile des
Vergelesses"Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Tuesday to accompany some leftover
Copper River coho and potato gratin. Ok, okl, it was tight at first.
But a lovely pure lighter bodied wine emerged with some air time.
Strawberry and black cherry fruit framed by lovely minerality. Clean,
pure, long, and satisfying. Very nice for under $30 Burgundy. A-

Wednesday Betsy had a late rehearsal and asked me to take care of
dinner. I barbecued chicken (using leftover hoisin-garlic-chili BBQ
sauce Betsy had made for ribs Monday) and grilled corn. The 2005
Domaine de Gournier (VdP des Cevennes) was an acceptable light rosé,
hints of herb over sweet strawberry fruit (dry wine, just sweet
impression from fruit)with
moderate acidity. Does anyone know where Cevennes is? I assume Provence
or Languedoc. There are better rosés out there, but this is a decent
value at $7.xx. B-/B

We also attempted to try a 2004 Banrock Station Riesling. I usually
like Oz Riesling, but there's nothing to like here. Dull lemon flavors
(lemon flavors but low acid, go figure), soft and short. Dilute, and
that's a good thing in this case. Not worth drinking. C-

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.