Sat. night, Andrew's best friend Quinn came over with his family (Mom, Dad and younger brother Grant) for dinner at our place. The expected chaos of two four-year-old boys cavorting with a two-year-old boy in tow was raised to whole new levels when Grant sicked up just as dinner was being served. Having just recently endured a close encounter with norovirus, Jean and I gritted our teeth and soldiered on with the dinner of roasted tenderloin of pork filled with dried fruit and potato-leek soup. With the appetizers of gambas al ajillo and olives, we opened:
NV Foreau Vouvray Brut nose: lightly toasty, herbal, citrus palate: fine mousse, crisp acidity, herbal, toast
The current release of this Loire sparkler was a bit less fruity than earlier versions, but also had more pronounced bergamot-like herbal character -- either that, or it was subtly corked ;-) A big hit with all of us.
With dinner, we opened:
2006 Michel Tête "Domaine du Clos du Fief" Juliénas nose: red fruit, minerals palate: silky entry, cranberry light body, balanced acidity
A very good match with the slight sweetness of the pork, it was very drinkable stuff that pleased all of us, winegeek and non-winegeek alike.
Mark Lipton