Thursday Betsy made a shrimp/apsaragus/potato casserole-y type thing, and I thought Sauvignon Blanc was in order. As a white Bordeaux hat I guessed was mostly SB was in the drinking queue, I opened (with great trepidation) the "this should be quite dead" 1990 Ch. de Cruzeau (Pessac-Leognan). Surprise, surprise. Still some citrus and spiced apple fruit, good balance. A little nuttiness on the finish probably an indication it was a bit oxidized. But a helluva showing for a 13-year old white Bordeaux not meant for aging. An Andre Lurton label. B*
I mentioned a few weeks ago we had prevailed in a court case against our ex-landlord, who tried to hold our security deposit based on things like dirt on the top of ceiling fan blades. Saturday we had a dinner to thank a few friends who helped- an attorney who gave me advice, a tenant at our old address who notified us when the landlord (who was ducking summons by not signing for certified mail) was on premises, and a neighbor at our new house who jumped in his truck and served the SOB after that phone call. Plus their significant others. A very fun night, with great food and mostly good wine:
With appetizers of smoked mackerel (some with horseradish), proscuitto/mozzarella rolls, and olives, we tried: the rest of the 1990 Cruzeau. The one guy that cared aboutwine at all (but no geek) declared " it's like bacon and eggs". That perplexed me, but he explained he thought it deep and rich. I thought personally it was just flat out amazing it was still drinkable on night 2.
2002 Domane Wachau Terrassen Riesling Federspiel. Crisp acidity, granny smith apple fruit with a twist of lemon peel , quite pleasant. B/B+
1999 Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet Smoke and chalk over lime and apple fruit, bright acidity. Very nice for a $20 village wine! Wish I'd bought more, this should last a while, but I'm guessing my one other bottle won't last the year.B+/A-
A detour through some butternut squash soup, then with ribeyes grilled and served over a parsley/watercress salad with croutons and a caper/mustard/horseradish dressing (sounds weird, but it was damn good!):
2000 Bogle Petite Sirah. I served this because the recipe came as a suggested pairing from a NYT tasting panel look at Petite Sirah. Dark color, rich sweet fruit, drew some "oohs" and one "aahh" from the table. I usually think of Bogle PS as the quintessential hamburger on the grill wine. Never subtle, but I found this one a little too simple with its jammy fruit, soft texture, and overt vanilla. Ok wine, but not one I'd recommend in general (Bogle PS has been on my recommend list for a while). Poor vintage, awkward stage (I thought I liked this on release, probably a year ago), bad food match? B-
1995 Ch. Labadie (Cotes de Bourg) Very dark color, a little herb and plum on nose, fairly rich plum fruit with an edge of cedar. Finish is a little short, but a pleasant fully mature (ok, maybe a bit past it*) minor Bordeaux. B
With a cheese course (Mont Briac, Stilton, Reblochon, and a 3 yr old Vermont Cheddar), and dessert (applesauce and ice cream-don't ask me, I don't eat dessert), we lingered over the reds, plus had the
1995 Kurt Darting Dürkheimer Nonnengarten Rieslaner Auslese. A bit of a storage worry, as the '95 was several shades darker than the '96 beside it when I pulled out that morning. Nice wine, with good acidic backbone. Apricot, ginger, and a honey-meets-Cointreau edge. A little botrytis? Nice. B+
Tonight after a long day of helping friends unsuccessfully move furniture (always measure the turns in the stairs before you buy the antique armoire), I had some leftovers, including wine. 3 day opened 13 yr old Bdx blanc is hopeless, and the Bogle's oaky sweetness had intensifed. The Labadie was also past it, but the Ramonet was singing.
*Ok, I know you're thinking, what's up with 1990 Bdx blanc and 1995 Cotes de Bourg? I was in a local strip mall this week, walked into a store that I had always ignored. A few apparent deals (though not steals) in the store- 1996 Margaux (not Ch. Margaux!), '96 Piemontes, etc. Asked the clerk (owner?), he vowed good storage. They all say that. So I bought a 13 y old Pessac and a '95 Cotes de Bourg, for $9 and $13 respectively, s test subjects. Both were ok, not great. But neither seemed to my palate to have the tell-tale signs of bad storage- no sherryish notes (the Cruzeau had some nuttiness, but not extreme), no prune or cooked fruit flavors, etc. Will go back and up the ante a little, though it will be a while before I spent real money there.
Grade disclaimer: I'm a pretty 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. Dale
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