Last night Betsy was making the pasta with shrimp ragu, accompanied by an eggplant/feta/mint salad. I thought crisp Italian, but decided to just try a Macon that was already chilled. The 2002 Domaine Emilian Gillet "Quintaine" Macon-Vire had been recommended by a retailer I like. Whoa, this was not what I was expecting. Big rich flavors of apricot and peach, verges on sweetness, but actually dry. Pretty good acidity, but not what I was envisioning for the pasta. I take a look at label and see that this is a Jean Thevenet property (like Bongran). Aha, I should have guessed- I knew Alan who recced it is a Thevenet fan. I'm not really getting botrytis like I have on some of the Bongrans, but it has similar richness. B+
A good wine, but I just can't imagine it with the pasta (more an apertif to me), so I go down for another bottle. This time I do go for Italian, the
2006 Anselmi San Vincenzo (Veneto). First taste of a new vintage of an old favorite. Good crispness, upfront fruit, nose of hazelnut and lemon, clean white fruit with nuts and mineral on the finish. Nothing deep here, just pretty straightforward Soave. B/B+I'll note that both recipes were from Wednesday's NYT (Mark Bittman did the pasta, Melissa Clark the eggplant), and were both excellent (the first Clark recipe I've really liked).
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