Saturday Betsy made pork roast (well actually she made on Fri, recipe called for 10 hours slow cooking). I thought Gruner , but Betsy wanted red. Time to open the 2000 Perrot-Minot Chambolle Musigny ( I think this had a Vieille Vignes designation). Dense black cherry juiciness, some minerality, but marred for my tastes by lots of oak. Big for a
2000, I could see this appealing to a lot of people, but not really to me. B-Sunday we went to friends for a nice simple dinner, assorted antipasta then spaghetti with meatballs and sausages. First up was the 2003 Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon. I've thought this a decent QPR in the past, but the sweetness is too much for me here. Basic red fruit with a definite sweet note, a little hint of oakchippy vanilla. B-/C+
It's my weekend for oak, up next is the 2001 Castello D'Albola Chianti Riserva. Nice structure with ample acidity, medium tannins, and good plum/dried cherry fruit, but overlaid with a LOT of oak. Oh well. B-
For a respite from oak Copa Santa wouldn't be my first choice, but the
1999 Clavel La Copa Santa (Coteaux du Languedoc) was what I had brought to the dinner. And this did have some oak. But the oak has integrated for the most part, now an accent not the heart of the mix. Nice smoky blackberry Syrah fruit, big but with a sense of sprightliness. I drank my others too early. This is quite pleasing now, with leather and grilled meat aromas over the deep dark fruit. Good finish. A-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.