With a sausage/mushroom/radicchio risotto, a half-bottle of the 2001 Jean-Noel Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Morgeots" (Rouge). Starts off as a pretty light-to-medium bodied wine with bright raspberry fruit. A little air seems to let it pick up some weight, as well as more earthy notes. Good finish with a spicy quality. Nice, I think I like better than the decent 2000, but not as much as the excellent QPR 1999. Must go back to get a full bottle to give it a fair trial. B+ ?
NV Cristalino Brut Cava- clean, dry, crisp. Not the least bit complex, but good QPR at $7, I pick up some in case I run out of Prosecco for Bellinis. B
1999 Schramberg Blanc de Blanc -lemon and apple fruit, pleasant, but uncompelling at $23. B/B+2000 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay (Napa, I think)- big Chard, apple and pear fruit, a little spice. Noticable oak, but not overwhelming. Good crispness (I don't think they do malo). I seldom buy a CalChard, but decide at $26 this is worth cellaring a couple. B+/A-
2001 St Innocent Willamette Pinot Noir - I've never had this wine before, though I've liked St. Innocent's single vineyard PNs. Good black cherry fruit, good acidity, some cedar and vanilla. Not wild about it, but it's decent, I buy one ($16) 'cause it's hard to find a US PN for less than $20 I like. Probably could use a couple years to see if the oaky edge incorporates, but I'll probably drink too soon, sigh. B (B+ potential?)There were also some Australians, the only one I really liked was the 2002 Kaesler Stonehorse GSM - round and lush, lots of oak, but with an underlying earthiness and some tannic structure to make it interesting. B/B+ Dale
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