Tuesday was my stepson's birthday, and he celebrated with a concert by his band
celebrating their new CD (self-released,the wonders of modern computers). I
arrived home too late for most of it, but enjoyed the rather colorful horde of
teens. After they cleared out, I cleaned up, while Betsy made duck breast with
a honey/mustard/olive sauce. We had a nice dinner on the patio, with the 1999
Joseph Drouhin Gevrey-Chambertin. A Rhone might have matched the sauce better,
but I haven't brought any home yet. The Gevrey had an earthy nose, abundant red
fruit, and nicely defined acidity. Good clean fairly long finish. I was happy
when I was paying $25 for this, and at $19.99 (POst in Syosset NY) it's quite a
good deal. B+/A-

Since my cellar has neared completion, I've been bringing home a couple of
cases per day from office storage. This is also giving me a chance to update
inventory, as there are things I drank w/o removing from database, and many
more I never got around to entering. Plus there is the 1997 La Chenade (Lalande
de Pomerol), which I had marked off, but then yesterday I found a straggler in
bottom of a bin. Carried home, double-decanted, and then we walked over to some
friends for dinner. Several kinds present, so the ecletic meal had filet
mignon, hot dogs, pasta with pestol, and salad.

The La Chenade was a bit of a disappointment. From release till a couple of
years ago it had featured rather exuberant fruit for a '97, but now the fruit
seemed to lack freshness. There's a hint of dilution I didn't notice before,
and the overall effect is rather boring. Not undrinkable, but indistinguishable
from a modest CA merlot that is a touch past its prime. C+/B-

Another guest had brought the 2000 Ch. Barreyres (Haut-Médoc). Very tight at
first, but some air let it show nicely. Ripe blackcurrant fruit, light tannins,
rather upbeat acidity. Nice modest Bordeaux, might see if more's available
locally. B/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.
Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

Dale,

I always love the way you contribute to the NG about wine & food
combinations (or should I say Adventures ...
the only thing that always strikes me is that when you're drinking
Burgundy it's o so often from Drouhin.
Do you have a particular preference for this winemaker or is it coincidence?

Regards,

Bas van Beek

Dale Williams schreef:
> Tuesday was my stepson's birthday, and he celebrated with a concert by his band
> celebrating their new CD (self-released,the wonders of modern computers). I
> arrived home too late for most of it, but enjoyed the rather colorful horde of
> teens. After they cleared out, I cleaned up, while Betsy made duck breast with
> a honey/mustard/olive sauce. We had a nice dinner on the patio, with the 1999
> Joseph Drouhin Gevrey-Chambertin. A Rhone might have matched the sauce better,
> but I haven't brought any home yet. The Gevrey had an earthy nose, abundant red
> fruit, and nicely defined acidity. Good clean fairly long finish. I was happy
> when I was paying $25 for this, and at $19.99 (POst in Syosset NY) it's quite a
> good deal. B+/A-
>
> Since my cellar has neared completion, I've been bringing home a couple of
> cases per day from office storage. This is also giving me a chance to update
> inventory, as there are things I drank w/o removing from database, and many
> more I never got around to entering. Plus there is the 1997 La Chenade (Lalande
> de Pomerol), which I had marked off, but then yesterday I found a straggler in
> bottom of a bin. Carried home, double-decanted, and then we walked over to some
> friends for dinner. Several kinds present, so the ecletic meal had filet
> mignon, hot dogs, pasta with pestol, and salad.
>
> The La Chenade was a bit of a disappointment. From release till a couple of
> years ago it had featured rather exuberant fruit for a '97, but now the fruit
> seemed to lack freshness. There's a hint of dilution I didn't notice before,
> and the overall effect is rather boring. Not undrinkable, but indistinguishable
> from a modest CA merlot that is a touch past its prime. C+/B-
>
> Another guest had brought the 2000 Ch. Barreyres (Haut-Médoc). Very tight at
> first, but some air let it show nicely. Ripe blackcurrant fruit, light tannins,
> rather upbeat acidity. Nice modest Bordeaux, might see if more's available
> locally. B/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.
> Dale
>
> Dale Williams
> Drop "damnspam" to reply

Dale,

I always love the way you contribute to the NG about wine & food
combinations (or should I say Adventures ...
the only thing that always strikes me is that when you're drinking
Burgundy it's o so often from Drouhin.
Do you have a particular preference for this winemaker or is it coincidence?

Regards,

Bas van Beek

Dale Williams schreef:
> Tuesday was my stepson's birthday, and he celebrated with a concert by his band
> celebrating their new CD (self-released,the wonders of modern computers). I
> arrived home too late for most of it, but enjoyed the rather colorful horde of
> teens. After they cleared out, I cleaned up, while Betsy made duck breast with
> a honey/mustard/olive sauce. We had a nice dinner on the patio, with the 1999
> Joseph Drouhin Gevrey-Chambertin. A Rhone might have matched the sauce better,
> but I haven't brought any home yet. The Gevrey had an earthy nose, abundant red
> fruit, and nicely defined acidity. Good clean fairly long finish. I was happy
> when I was paying $25 for this, and at $19.99 (POst in Syosset NY) it's quite a
> good deal. B+/A-
>
> Since my cellar has neared completion, I've been bringing home a couple of
> cases per day from office storage. This is also giving me a chance to update
> inventory, as there are things I drank w/o removing from database, and many
> more I never got around to entering. Plus there is the 1997 La Chenade (Lalande
> de Pomerol), which I had marked off, but then yesterday I found a straggler in
> bottom of a bin. Carried home, double-decanted, and then we walked over to some
> friends for dinner. Several kinds present, so the ecletic meal had filet
> mignon, hot dogs, pasta with pestol, and salad.
>
> The La Chenade was a bit of a disappointment. From release till a couple of
> years ago it had featured rather exuberant fruit for a '97, but now the fruit
> seemed to lack freshness. There's a hint of dilution I didn't notice before,
> and the overall effect is rather boring. Not undrinkable, but indistinguishable
> from a modest CA merlot that is a touch past its prime. C+/B-
>
> Another guest had brought the 2000 Ch. Barreyres (Haut-Médoc). Very tight at
> first, but some air let it show nicely. Ripe blackcurrant fruit, light tannins,
> rather upbeat acidity. Nice modest Bordeaux, might see if more's available
> locally. B/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.
> Dale
>
> Dale Williams
> Drop "damnspam" to reply

In article >, Bas van Beek >
writes:

>the only thing that always strikes me is that when you're drinking
>Burgundy it's o so often from Drouhin.
>Do you have a particular preference for this winemaker or is it coincidence?

I do buy a lot of Drouhin's reds, more than any other negociant (I probably buy
more grower wines than negociant wines, but because of wide line Drouhin is
probably near top anyways). It's a combination of stylistic factors, quality,
availability, and cost.

Drouhin tends to have a light hand with oak, not be afraid of acidity, etc.Much
more my style than say Dominique Laurent.
Drouhin tends to make good wines that speak of their terroir.
Drouhin is widely available in my market.
Drouhin tends to be well-priced,a top tier negociant whose prices are
competitive with the cheapies (Laboure-Roi, etc).

So I have everything from village to Clos de la Roche. I don't buy many Drouhin
whites, actually. And I'm no fan Drouhin's LaForet basic bourgogne.

Thanks for asking.



Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

In article >, Bas van Beek >
writes:

>the only thing that always strikes me is that when you're drinking
>Burgundy it's o so often from Drouhin.
>Do you have a particular preference for this winemaker or is it coincidence?

I do buy a lot of Drouhin's reds, more than any other negociant (I probably buy
more grower wines than negociant wines, but because of wide line Drouhin is
probably near top anyways). It's a combination of stylistic factors, quality,
availability, and cost.

Drouhin tends to have a light hand with oak, not be afraid of acidity, etc.Much
more my style than say Dominique Laurent.
Drouhin tends to make good wines that speak of their terroir.
Drouhin is widely available in my market.
Drouhin tends to be well-priced,a top tier negociant whose prices are
competitive with the cheapies (Laboure-Roi, etc).

So I have everything from village to Clos de la Roche. I don't buy many Drouhin
whites, actually. And I'm no fan Drouhin's LaForet basic bourgogne.

Thanks for asking.



Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

amnspam (Dale Williams) wrote:

Dale, please: "Lalande" is usually short for Pichon-Comtesse, not for
Lalande-de-Pomerol ;-)

M.

amnspam (Dale Williams) wrote:

Dale, please: "Lalande" is usually short for Pichon-Comtesse, not for
Lalande-de-Pomerol ;-)

M.