TN atypical but good Macon, typical but faux Soave
 

Last night Betsy was making the pasta with shrimp ragu, accompanied by
an eggplant/feta/mint salad. I thought crisp Italian, but decided to
just try a Macon that was already chilled. The 2002 Domaine Emilian
Gillet "Quintaine" Macon-Vire had been recommended by a retailer I
like. Whoa, this was not what I was expecting. Big rich flavors of
apricot and peach, verges on sweetness, but actually dry. Pretty good
acidity, but not what I was envisioning for the pasta. I take a look
at label and see that this is a Jean Thevenet property (like Bongran).
Aha, I should have guessed- I knew Alan who recced it is a Thevenet
fan. I'm not really getting botrytis like I have on some of the
Bongrans, but it has similar richness. B+

A good wine, but I just can't imagine it with the pasta (more an
apertif to me), so I go down for another bottle. This time I do go for
Italian, the
2006 Anselmi San Vincenzo (Veneto). First taste of a new vintage of an
old favorite. Good crispness, upfront fruit, nose of hazelnut and
lemon, clean white fruit with nuts and mineral on the finish. Nothing
deep here, just pretty straightforward Soave. B/B+

I'll note that both recipes were from Wednesday's NYT (Mark Bittman
did the pasta, Melissa Clark the eggplant), and were both excellent
(the first Clark recipe I've really liked).


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

TN atypical but good Macon, typical but faux Soave
 

On Aug 17, 12:31?pm, DaleW > wrote:
> Last night Betsy was making the pasta with shrimp ragu, accompanied by
> an eggplant/feta/mint salad. I thought crisp Italian, but decided to
> just try a Macon that was already chilled. The 2002 Domaine Emilian
> Gillet "Quintaine" Macon-Vire had been recommended by a retailer I
> like. Whoa, this was not what I was expecting. Big rich flavors of
> apricot and peach, verges on sweetness, but actually dry. Pretty good
> acidity, but not what I was envisioning for the pasta. I take a look
> at label and see that this is a Jean Thevenet property (like Bongran).
> Aha, I should have guessed- I knew Alan who recced it is a Thevenet
> fan. I'm not really getting botrytis like I have on some of the
> Bongrans, but it has similar richness. B+
>
> A good wine, but I just can't imagine it with the pasta (more an
> apertif to me), so I go down for another bottle. This time I do go for
> Italian, the
> 2006 Anselmi San Vincenzo (Veneto). First taste of a new vintage of an
> old favorite. Good crispness, upfront fruit, nose of hazelnut and
> lemon, clean white fruit with nuts and mineral on the finish. Nothing
> deep here, just pretty straightforward Soave. B/B+
>
> I'll note that both recipes were from Wednesday's NYT (Mark Bittman
> did the pasta, Melissa Clark the eggplant), and were both excellent
> (the first Clark recipe I've really liked).
>
> 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

Your reaction to the Gillet is very common! The first time that I
tasted it I thought it was slightly oxidized then I realized it was
botrytis. Not really my cup of tea but as a distibutor of the wine it
surprises me how much of it we sell.