Monday David was home sick from school, and Betsy decided to make her version
of comfort food- beef simmered in broth with cinnamon, ginger, and garlic.
Usually served over udon, but an empty pantry led to a substitution of egg
noodles. Usually this recipe leads me to a red with a bit of spice, so I pulled
out the 2002 Cline California Zinfandel. This is an annual buy for me (the '99
of this was one of my all-time CA QPR favorites). This seems a little lighter
than the 2000 & 2001 which I felt were just a tad too much for me; this shows
ripe berry fruit with some vanillin. Nice enough, and good QPR at $10ish, but
not the steal the '99 was. B

Another favorite from '99 vintage was the Lafarge Bourgogne, and it looks like
the 2002 equals it (I like '00 & '01 too, but this is better for my tastes).
Served Tuesday night with mushroom risotto, a classic medium-bodied Pinot with
concentrated black cherry fruit, lively acidity, and clean long finish. Lovely
wine that could pass for a good village Volnay any day. Needs some time (I
think with time the fruit will take a backseat as the light earthiness
increases- this was good with the risotto, but an older Bourgogne might have
been better). A-

Last night was number 2 in our holiday mini-parties, about 15 friends gather.
Again started with smoked fish, then this time progressed to a baked ham with a
cranberry sauce, salad, and a winter vegetable tian from an Alain Ducasse
recipe. This last is one of those recipes that makes me doubt my wife's sanity
- why would anyone try this at home without help? I admit it was gorgeous and
delicious- layers of beets, turnips, etc with a paste of sauteed mushrooms. But
she probably spent 2-3 hours ON A SIDE DISH! But I happily ate. Crowd actually
had several non-drinkers, we had some open wines from previous nights, plus:

2002 St.Urbans Hof Riesling Qba - something with some RS for the ham. OK if
unexciting, light bodied Riesling with citrus and flower aromas. OK, but not
sad this is my last bottle. B-/B

2002 Cave de Lugny "Les Charmes" Macon-Lugny. Light easy wine, maybe just a
hint of sweetness. No oak, but no "oomph" either. Even for a co-op wine I
thought that maybe 2002 would be better. 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