Wednesday was a lovely cool spring day, after a hard day dealing with
a death of a friend/employee I came home and decompressed with a glass
of leftover rose on the front porch while Betsy gardened. When she was
done, she went in to make mint/chili turkey burgers, with tzatiki and
pita. I thought I'd just have the white she had opened for cooking the
night before, the 2007 Ch. Haut-Rian (Bordeaux Blanc). Light and
easy, lemon and grass. Nice and typical example of a lighter styled
white Bordeaux. B/B-

But as I sipped, I decided after a shitty day I wanted something a bit
more special. I thought I'd try the 1999 Ch.de Chorey "Les Vigne
Franches" VV Beaune 1er. Frankly, this sucked with the burgers-
tight, dense, fairly tannic, a little herby. I wished I still had the
Bdx blanc in my glass. But, as is often the case, an hour or so of
air made all the difference. Sappy red cherry fruit, earth, still a
little bit of vanilla. The tannins need a little time, I plan on
revisiting this is another 3-4 years. C+ to start, B+ to finish.

Thursday was a pan cooked duck breast finished on grill over greens,
with roasted veggies. Recipe called for a cup of Madiran, with none
handy opened Bordeaux, the 2005 Ch Brown (Pessac Leognan). Really
tight, just tannins and acids with little apparent fruit. Stays tight
for couple hours. I switched over to leftover Beaune for the meal.
We'll see how the Brown fares tonight, no real impressions.

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.
*