[TN] 2001 Font de Michelle CNdP

Mar 06, 2011 4 Replies

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Mark Lipton 15 years ago

Last night Andrew selected lamb loin chops for dinner, so Jean settled on a bottle of this wine to accompany it.

2001 Domaine Font de Michelle Chateauneuf-du-Pape nose: classic CNdP nose of kirschwasser cherry with an overlay of something meaty palate: fully resolved tannins, medium body, silky smooth, no heat from the 14% ABV

This is the first of the 2001s we've dipped into but this producer typically makes a more forward wine than many of the traditionalists that I favor. Made by the delightful and friendly Gonnet brothers, this is their cuvée normale and doesn't see much new oak AFAIK. Totally typique in character, it was really a pointe and unlikely to get much better IMO. Great match for the lamb, too (but then again, what red wine doesn't pair well with lamb?)

Mark Lipton

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lleichtman 15 years ago

Your last comment makes for interesting discussion as I do find that many red wines don't pair well with lamb. Zindfandel seems to overwhelm lamb and Cali wines with big oak also tend to do so for me. I do like CdP with lamb though.

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Emery Davis 15 years ago

Nice! I don't have any 2001 CdP but if I did I'll bet this would be one of the bottles. So, vicariously enjoyed. ;)

-E

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santiago 15 years ago

lleichtman wrote in news:e038b785-7ad8-4db3- snipped-for-privacy@o14g2000prb.googlegroups.com:

Oh, I am surprised now. I share the idea that most red wines that I drink, go well with lamb, specially when thinking classic regions (to me, that means Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Chinon, Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Toscana and Piamonte).

Actually, when I want to enjoy a really good bottle of wine from this regions, I end up with a grilled steak and/or roasted lamb. I even try not to add anything sweet (e.g. roasted vegetables such as leek, carrots, etc) because I find it makes the dryer wines taste sour.

There is another category of wines, which are usually heavy on oak and bear higher alcohol levels, that I think can go better with dishes that have a sweet component, and plainly roasted lamb can usually be too soft a flavour for that wines.

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Bi!! 15 years ago

I could not have said it any better Santiago.

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