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TN: Hedges, de la Borne Muscadet, Heitz Chard, and Oz Godella

Monday made lamb cooked with minty orzo, some leftover Roc de Cambes was ok, but a white matched better with the mint. I had gotten the 2004 Domaine de la Borne Muscadet for two reasons, good internet reviews and the fact that the ever-dependable Chambers Street Wines carried it. It wasn't bad at all, with a chalky typicity, but it lacks the freshness/vivacity of the Pepiere regular, the structure of the Pepiere Briords, or the individuality of the Ecu Expression de Granit.A nice Muscadet with good acidity and clear mineral notes, but I wouldn't buy again in the current sea of great 2004 Muscadet choices. In a lesser enviroment I'd be rushing back for more. B

Tuesday was date night, and Betsy decided on the Freelance Cafe & Wine Bar across the river in Piermont. This is the more casual branch of the fantastic Xavier's, we got there early to beat the rush (no reservations). Betsy chose to go with 3 small plates (absolutely fantastic fennel/bacon soup, very good mushroom ravioli with truffle oil, and a endive/apple/blue cheese salad that was merely ok in my opinion, but Betsy liked more). I had an extraordinary casserole of Prince Edward Island mussels to start, then Stone Church Farm chicken stuffed with brie and served with very good braised greens. I thought the brie actually detracted a bit from the otherwise stellar chicken, but overall food was very very good.

Nice wine list, but with our varied dishes (and drive home), we just shared three glasses of wine:

2005 Hope Estate Verdelho (Hunter Valley) Just a tad off-dry, apple and tropical (mango) fruit. No sign of oak, good crisp acidity. Develops a more floral nose with time, and a touch of canteloupe. Might be a fun summer wine. B

2004 Heitz Cellars Chardonnay (Napa)Pear and melon fruit. This one does show some oak, though not overwhelming by CalChard standards. Crisper than average, too, my objection is that it seems a bit big and clumsy. B/B-

2003 Hedges CMS (Columbia Valley)Simple easy red, not complicated, but acceptable. B-

The company was better than the wine, but with Betsy that's always the case.

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.

Reply to
DaleW
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Hi Dale,

Interesting choice; I'd have thought even with the mint the acidity would somehow clash with the lamb. Somehow if a white was on I'd go for something rounder, maybe a chenin. (Having just mentioned that white can be a choice with lamb.)

My old stomping ground! I lived in Piermont for some years as a teenager after we moved out of the city. It was a quiet little burg, featuring the "Community Market" which had an excellent butcher. At some point they opened the Turning Point, where I played many a time. I wonder if it's still there? (Another one was The Office in Nyack, funny to think of these joints after all these years.) Hard to imagine Piermont as a "destination!"

Anyway thanks for the trip down memory lane, much more agreeable than many of the posts here of late... :(

-E

Reply to
Emery Davis

Emery, The dish is actually far more orzo than lamb. She used maybe 1/2 lb of lamb shoulder in cubes. Browned, and then the orzo, mint etc is tossed in. I had opened the Muscadet as an apertif, continued when I realized there was less Roc de Cambes than I thought (but Muscadet worked better!)

Turning Point is still there, a few doors down from Freelance & Xaviers. I've seen some good shows there.

Reply to
DaleW

Sounds good. I love it when a nice match shows up unexpectedly.

Amazing, after all these years. And the average lifetime of a jazz club is like 4 years, too.

-E

Reply to
Emery Davis

Well, Emery, to tell you the truth, it hasn't really been a jazz club in at least 15 years. Lots of folk rock /Woodstock nostalgia (Richie Havens must play there 20 times a year), some blues, some other stuff, little pure jazz. I've got a few jazz musician friends, serious gigs are in the city.

Reply to
DaleW

Well, that explains much. That's a very typical route, sadly.

Same as it ever was...

Rehearsals in town tomorrow, that is if the students don't block me train. :) It's spring time, and the blood it up!

-E

Reply to
Emery Davis

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