Our house, is a very, very, very fine house. But also a very, very, small
house. When Ian and Jacquie proposed visiting NY area, they asked if there were
any affordable B & Bs I knew of. I didn't, and we don't have a guest room, so
friends offered their guest room. Monday we had Ian & Jacquie, their hosts Joe
and Rachel, and another couple (Marc and Annabelle) for dinner.

Poor Betsy hadn't had a moment since getting back from NC previous morning, and
had a day full of appointments and driving David to appointments. She still
managed to pull together a meal with skill and grace ( and humor).

With North Carolina baba ganoush and Norweigan smoked salmon
NV Pierre Peters €œCuvee Reserve€� Blanc de Blancs
Biscuity yeast nose with apple blossoms and a tad of citrus, fine mouse, rich
apple fruit on palate (cinnamon?) and good finish. B+/A-

NV Gruet Blanc de Noirs (New Mexico)
I figured New Mexican wines probably don't make it to France, so I thought I'd
offer my favorite $10-12 American sparkler. A bit outclassed by the Champagne,
but a nice clean light bubbly with a touch of yeast (though more yeast roll
than biscuit in this one) and light Granny Smith fruit. B

Soup was a madiera/morels combo with a bit of creme fraiche (the chive garnish
went MIA somewhere between store and kitchen). I usually skip wine with soup,
but remembered Ian saying once if you have to have wine with soup, how about
fino sherry? Instead of fino sherry , I offered a wine that has a touch of
rancio, the 1991 R. Lopez de Heredia Gravonia Reserva (Rioja). This one had
less of the rancio note than some previous bottles, the flavors aimed more at
citrus and mineral. But there is an nut/almond note that does remind me a tad
of sherry. Nice wine, maybe my favorite of the 3 or 4 I've opened. B+

Main course was duck legs with a mustard crust over dressed greens, with a
haricots verts and baby pattypan squash. The beans and squash steamed and
dressed with sesame oil, a recipe I found, ok but I think Betsy's original plan
to roast would have brought out squash flavors better. The slow cooking cuts
the sharpness of the mustard on the duck, but while Pinot is my favorite duck
match, I find this recipe does a bit better with something as aromatic but
maybe a tad beefier. So I thought Piemonte (Ian had said few good Italian wines
make to his area) or Rhone (well, almost Rhone):

1993 Michele Chiarlo "Cerequio" Barolo
Unfortunately, corked. Too bad, there was some nice fruit trying to get out
from under the must. Ian, a self-proclaimed TCA insensitive, could smell the
TCA on this one.

1991 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo
Medium-bodied, mature integrated tannins, dark berry fruit with an edge of
spice and orange peel. Both Ian and I noted the famous Piedmont tar. Really a
nice wine, mature at a very young age for one of Bartolo's wines. Plenty of
bright acidity, good food wine. Nose develops aromas of mushrooms, mocha, and
violets. A-

1999 Tardieu-Laurent Costieres de Nimes
Now, I opened this for 3 reasons - I knew Ian had said he had never tasted a
T-L wine, I thought it would be up Joe's fruitbomb alley, and I sure as hell
couldn't think of another time to serve it. I remember on tasting this the
first time on release thinking this needed a spoon to serve, like blackberry
jam. For all my Dominique Laurent-bashing I think this wine showed better than
I expected- the oak had integrated pretty well, leaving an obviously modern but
not caricaturish wine. Dense blackberry and black plum fruit, vanilla oak edge
with a good finish. Not enough balancing acidity for my tastes, but not a joke
at all. I should give Ian his props- he was able to guess "modern , from the
south- Provence or Langedoc?" B

I had promised Ian I'd try to provide an overview of some American cheeses- we
had an Ouray (from Sprout Creek Farm in NY), Ewe's Blue (Old Chatham, also NY),
Grafton 4 Star (Vermont), and Red Hawk (Cowgirl Creamery). Saturday's LBV was
brought out for the blue, a sticky for the Red Hawk and the dessert, and a
Burgundy for the others.

2001 Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux
Pretty forward for a young Grand Cru, but with some upside potential. Good red
fruit with some oak, smoke and earth. With some time a more leather/earth note
predominated. Moderate tannins, good acidity. This needs time, but damn it's
pleasant now. Probably a notch behind the Mascarello for now, but I think best
potential wine of evening. Normally I'd say avoid $50 & under GCs (which given
my budget means I normally avoid GCs), but this is a winner in my book. A/A-

1998 Baumard Quarts de Chaume (from 375)
Floral notes on the nose, with tropical fruit and honey on the palate. Not the
blockbuster style of QdC one gets in better vintages, but quite the nice
medium-bodied Some dried apricot and pineapple aromas after a while. Annabelle
had brought the dessert, a apple/walnut pastry, I believe the match was
popular.

Very nice evening with nice people. Safe trip home Ian and Jacquie!

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 Williams" > wrote in message
...
snipped

>
> 1999 Tardieu-Laurent Costieres de Nimes
> Now, I opened this for 3 reasons - I knew Ian had said he had never
> tasted a
> T-L wine, I thought it would be up Joe's fruitbomb alley, and I sure as
> hell
> couldn't think of another time to serve it. I remember on tasting this the
> first time on release thinking this needed a spoon to serve, like
> blackberry
> jam. For all my Dominique Laurent-bashing I think this wine showed better
> than
> I expected- the oak had integrated pretty well, leaving an obviously
> modern but
> not caricaturish wine. Dense blackberry and black plum fruit, vanilla oak
> edge
> with a good finish. Not enough balancing acidity for my tastes, but not a
> joke
> at all. I should give Ian his props- he was able to guess "modern , from
> the
> south- Provence or Langedoc?" B
>
> I had promised Ian I'd try to provide an overview of some American
> cheeses- we
> had an Ouray (from Sprout Creek Farm in NY), Ewe's Blue (Old Chatham, also
> NY),
> Grafton 4 Star (Vermont), and Red Hawk (Cowgirl Creamery). Saturday's LBV
> was
> brought out for the blue, a sticky for the Red Hawk and the dessert, and a
> Burgundy for the others.
snipped

> Dale Williams
> Drop "damnspam" to reply

I have had this wine, as well as many TL wines, on a number of occasions and
find the "fruit bomb" description a little odd. I would hardly place the
Costieres de Nimes in that category. There is a good deal of ripe fruit but
hardly overdone and in contrast to your comment, Dale, I do find a good
level of underlying acidity. This is an excellent wine to serve with Peking
duck if you don't have a good Burgundy handy.

Ron Lel