Betsy had a rare Friday night off, and we had some friends over. Opening wine was the 2002 JP Brun Terres Dorres Beaujolais Blanc. I've posted a half-dozen notes on this, all saying basically the same thing- great unoaked Chardonnay, white fruit and chalk. Strangely, this bottle showed differently. Still clean fruit with no sign of oak, but the fruit profile was far more of a juicy grapefruit style, don't think I would have picked this blind (or even as Chardonnay). Don't know if my tastebuds and nose were on vacation, or there was something off about this bottle, or if this is part of development (though it wasn't that long since my last bottle), but I actually still liked the wine, even if I didn't recognize it. B+
One friend drinks only red, so we each tried the 2001 Protocolo (Spain) that Betsy had used for cooking. I had liked this in previous vintages (at least at its $5-6 pricepoint), but this came across with light yet hard tannins, with unintegrated acidity and a clipped finish. Pass. C+
The main course was lamb shanks in a North African influenced stew, with pistachio-mint couscous. Middle Eastern, huh? Time to break out the Musar. The
1993 Ch. Musar (Lebanon) had very sweet ripe red fruit, with a hint of spice (cumin and cinnamon) that went well with the lamb spices. Not a big wine, but pleasantly balanced. In the long run , though, as Musar has begun to hit $30 and above I'm finding it hard to judge was a decent QPR- there's lots of Spanish and Rhone wines delivering similar packages for less. B
We carried the Musar into the cheese course (Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk- yum!, Manchego, and Bleu de Gex), as well as a 375 of the 1997 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling Auslese (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, AP Nr.
3561077 32 98 for those that care). Honeyed white peaches over a backbone of crisp acidity, nice finish. Not the most exciting Auslese, but it was pretty cheap from PC. 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. Dale
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