Saturday started with a trip to the ER- Betsy sent a needle though her finger on the sewing machine Fri night. A tetanus shot and antibiotics were in order, and then I spent the day helping her prepare for some dinner guests. We did make one trip to Scarsdale, while she was in a shop I visited Zachys to pick up a Montrose for an '02 offline this week. They were pouring some Drouhin wines:
2002 Drouhin "Vero" Bourgogne Blanc- a nice minerally wine that I thought a good value at $15. Fresh ripe fruit but with crisp acidity and an underlying minerality. B+
2002 Drouhin Clos de Mouches blanc was a big wine, tight and oaky- some potential, but hard to get a grip on. B+?
2002 Drouhin "Vero" Bourgogne Rouge -a bit nondescript, acceptable Pinot but at $20 not a compelling buy. B-
2003 Drouhin Chorey les Beaunes - ripe, maybe a tad overrripe, and rounder than my preferences, forgettable juice. B-/C+
2002 Drouhin Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru (this is a mix of premier vineyards) -surprisingly tannic, but showed nice cherry/red berry fruit and some distinct earth. A little smoky oak, give it a couple years. B+/A-
2002 Drouhin Charmes Chambertin had nice structure, with ripe tannins and good acidity. Surprisingly more forward than the Chambolle. A-/B+ I thought best values were the Vero white (I bought) and the Chambolle
1er.
That afternoon I made my first eggplant parmesan (or at least provided the hands under Betsy's directions). Our dinner guests included one teen vegetarian, so this was to be a main course or a side for those of us having steak. We used Gabrielle Hamilton's mother-lin-law's recipe for last week's NYT,excellent. As were the porterhouses.
But first we had Betsy's pickled rock shrimp. This I served with 2002 Hugel Gentil (Alsace). Interesting if subdued nose,herby and smoky. Light on the palate, not bad. B/B-
With the steaks and eggplant, two reds:
2001 Bleasdale Bremerview Shiraz. The only Oz Shiraz I've bought lately. Definite sweet darkberry fruit, but a bit of acid and some tannins to give it spine. Not bad as a steak wine- typically Oz Shiraz without going into caricature-land. B/B+
2003 Castle Rock Syrah (California) I've generally felt the Castle Rock products offered good value overall. This has a slight tinge of nailpolish volatility at first, and is a little too strawberry-jammish on the finish for me. Not enough oomph to go with a steak. With some air it does better with the cave-aged Cheddar from Bobolink Farms. Still, not a re-buy. B-/C+
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.