Friday Betsy made lamb chops in a Calabresan pepper/tomato sauce. The wine was the 2002 Brigaldara Valpolicella Classico. High-toned, with a lifted black cherry aroma. Food-friendly, with a noticable but not aggressive acidity and a simple fruitiness. Pleasant enough wine that I wasn't excited about, but as (a) Betsy said 3 times she really liked it & (b) it's about $11, it'll go on the rebuy list. B
I was intrigued by references on a food board to coffee as a steak rub, so Sunday when it was my turn to cook, I tried. I took a couple of thick ribeyes and rubbed in a mixture of ground coffee, good quality paprika, and kosher salt (2:1:1), along with a dash of black pepper. After grilling I was rewarded with delicious steaks. Betsy was astonished when I told her what I'd done- not trace of coffee flavor. Great recipe. Wish I could say the same re the wine. The 1997 Franciscan Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon was a bit disappointing- overripe red fruit, seemingly MORE oaky than on release, comparatively short finish. B- Monday, with a delicious veal/pepper ragu (Marcella Hazan recipe), the 1997 Sassoalloro (Jacopo Biondi-Santi). Ah, now this is more like it. Well-balanced modern-styled Sangiovese, the vanilla-ey oak now just a whisper in the background, good acidity and deep fruit, hints of leather and coffee. Good wine, I think it's my last one and that makes me sad. :( B++ On Tuesday Betsy stopped by Fairway on way home from a rehearsal, picked up some wonderful mushrooms-chanterelles and maitake. She cooked those simply with garlic while I grilled some pork chops. The wines was the 2002 Sylvie Esmonin "Cuvee Sylvie" Bourgogne rouge. There's a hint (just a hint) of new oak, with very ripe dark cherry and redcurrant fruit, and a good long earthy/iron finish. No need for concern here from what I taste, good wine for $14-15. B/B+ On Wednesday I had leftovers while Betsy worked- retried all three- I still liked the mini-Super-Tuscan (welterweight-Tuscan) and the Burg, now actively disliked the Cab and sent it to the sink. Saturday my organization had a 20th year non-gala celebration, which was a lot of fun (and a lot of work). Some ITB friends had donated some wines, and between dealing with details and schmoozing I managed to taste several:
2003 Borsao - maybe a little riper than previous years, but still a nice,balanced, strutured if slightly simple wine.
2000 Old Field Vineyard Chardonnay (North Fork, LI)-decent acidity, pear fruit, but really way too much wood for the fruit.
2000 Old Field Vineyard Merlot- now this is a pleasant surprise. Now ripe round Merlot, soft and easy drinking, decent finish. 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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