Tuesday Betsy made pork chops in a red wine sauce, accompanied by leftover enchilada rojos. Wine for the sauce and the dinner was the
2004 Eric Texier Cotes du Rhone. Very much a lighter styled CdR, no confusion with a CdP here. Ended up just perfect for our needs- good acidity, nice juicy red fruit, no discernible tannins, low alcohol. Just a hint of herbs. Nothing to draw your attention, but perfectly fine to accompany dinner. BWednesday she made a couple duck legs (and used the leftover red wine sauce), a pasta sauced with leftover ricotta/spinach from Monday's ravioli, and a salad with sauteed mushrooms. I opened the 2005 Genot- Boulanger "Les Saumonts" Mercurey 1er. A big whiff of VA at first, I worried but it seemed to mostly blow off, leaving only a slightly lifted nose. Good overall acidity, fruit seems a little shy for a
2005. Still, I love Burgundy with duck, I love Burgundy with mushrooms, and this fits the bill. Cherry fruit with a little black raspberry, some damp earth notes. Light tannins, bright acidity. A revisit later in the evening is showing more giving fruit, tinted a bit darker. Not great, but certainly decent QPR at $20, I think 2-3 years might do this some good. 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.