TN: Burgs, Baden, Loires, Rhone, Santa Cruz, Tuscany, Bierzo, RIas Baixas

[dalewilli...@gmail.com]

Teriyaki salmon, scallion pancake, banchan, grilled zucchini
2020 Baudry Chinon Rose
Still fresh, light but with good bite, crunchy red fruits, herby. B/B+

2019 Huet “Le Mont” Vouvray
Citrus, apple cider (in a good way), saline. Bright and snappy, long mineral finish, too young, but I quite enjoyed. B+ for now

Thursday we split some cheeseburgers (one cheddar, one blue), with onion rings and sweet potato fries, before Betsy went to EWR to pick up Dana.
2000 Thunder Mountain Bates Ranch red
Milan in Santa Cruz! An early adopter of web, back label refers one to their website , www/winemaker.com (I checked, no longer Thunder Mountain). Not bad but while I assume this is primarily Bordeaux varieties, it sure doesn’t taste like it. Light framed with sweet cherries and saddle leather, this is more like a Sangiovese/Gamay blend. Some green herb/eucalyptus on finish. Cracks up, a bit volatile after couple hours. Fun but puzzling. B/B-

I threw together coq au vin Friday.
2014 Clos Bellane Cotes du Rhone Villages Valreas
Most used for cooking. Unsure where I got this,.pleasant, ripe but not roasted, 14% but no heat, assuming it was $12-14 a good value. B

2004 Chevillon Nuits St George VV
The remaining greenie meanies are way in background, just a hint of green herbs, but this is really quite mature, Some browning at edges, sweet cherry fruit accented with black tea, some earth with the herbs. . I don’t see this as having a long future. B for now, will find other bottle and consume soon.

2014 Enderle & Moll Pinot Noir
Light bodied, hint of spritz, lots of citrus zest over raspberry fruit, fun and ready.. B

Duck breast, cauliflower with pancetta and olives, roast potatoes
2006 Drouhin Clos des Mouches Beaune 1er rouge
This is more like it. Drinking well with some complexity, no hurry, black and red cherry fruit with some smoke, fall leaves, and coffee. Good length, balanced, nice. B+/A-

Cod en papillote with shiitake, orange and ginger, with broccoli ,and the 2010 Boulay Comtesse
Sancerre. I’ve been through a lot of these, most pretty fresh, a couple quite oxidized, this is more mature than most but still enjoyable. Good acids, citrus and herbs, with some petrol and almond notes making its age show Not best bottle, but quite fun. B/B+

Busy day for me, Betsy was doing a recording, so we had a quick late dinner of Hmart marinated chicken. King trumpet mushrooms, soba with dashi sauce, Chinese broccoli.
2019 Selvapiana Chianti Rufina. Somewhat lifted nose, sweet raspberry fruit, easy and forgettable. B-

It’s Mardi Gras! I made jambalaya (andouille, ham, and shrimp) and salad. If you look for pairing suggestions, they include dry Riesling, off dry Riesling, Albarino, Gamay, red Burg, white Burg, Zin, and many more. So I’ll open a red and a white and let folks choose

2020 Do Ferreiro Albarino
Grapefruit, orange, and grass. Crisp, nervy, and with a long rocky finish. B++

(I note retailer writeup of this says “ This 5 hectare estate is one of the best in Rías Baixes. Winemaker Gerardo Mendez's vines are 50 years old at least, with one parcel of over 200 year old vines.” Well, yeah, but all of the 200 yr old vines go into the Cepas Vellas, none of that here).

2018 Finca Luna Beberide Mencia (Bierzo)
Zesty and spicy, dark color but light feeling, it’s like a Zin/Gamay blend . B/B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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.

[Mark Lipton]

On 3/2/22 3:45 PM, dalewilli...@gmail.com wrote:
> Teriyaki salmon, scallion pancake, banchan, grilled zucchini
> 2020 Baudry Chinon Rose
> Still fresh, light but with good bite, crunchy red fruits, herby. B/B+

Good to hear. It's a perennial favorite hereabouts.

>
> 2019 Huet “Le Mont” Vouvray
> Citrus, apple cider (in a good way), saline. Bright and snappy, long mineral finish, too young, but I quite enjoyed. B+ for now
>

What sweetness level, Dale? I'm guessing Sec from your description (and
'19 was great for Secs, pardon the double-entendre)

> Thursday we split some cheeseburgers (one cheddar, one blue), with onion rings and sweet potato fries, before Betsy went to EWR to pick up Dana.
> 2000 Thunder Mountain Bates Ranch red
> Milan in Santa Cruz! An early adopter of web, back label refers one to their website , www/winemaker.com (I checked, no longer Thunder Mountain). Not bad but while I assume this is primarily Bordeaux varieties, it sure doesn’t taste like it. Light framed with sweet cherries and saddle leather, this is more like a Sangiovese/Gamay blend. Some green herb/eucalyptus on finish. Cracks up, a bit volatile after couple hours. Fun but puzzling. B/B-

You may remember Jon Cook IIRC from WLDG? He married Kira, the
winemaker's daughter. I met them both at an SFJoe soiree many moons ago
just after Thunder Mountain closed shop (2004)

>
> 2004 Chevillon Nuits St George VV
> The remaining greenie meanies are way in background, just a hint of green herbs, but this is really quite mature, Some browning at edges, sweet cherry fruit accented with black tea, some earth with the herbs. . I don’t see this as having a long future. B for now, will find other bottle and consume soon.

You are far more patient than I, Dale. I drank my last a decade or so
ago, I'd reckon.

>
> 2014 Enderle & Moll Pinot Noir
> Light bodied, hint of spritz, lots of citrus zest over raspberry fruit, fun and ready.. B

This was probably the "Basis" bottling? (early editions just said Pinot
Noir on the label) IME, it doesn't have much of the earthy quality that
I value in the E&M wines, just light and spritzy as you found. On a
related note, I just recently learned that Sven Enderle, half of the
duo, left the operation in 2019. Given that he worked the fields, I'm
not sure what to expect.

> 2018 Finca Luna Beberide Mencia (Bierzo)
> Zesty and spicy, dark color but light feeling, it’s like a Zin/Gamay blend . B/B+

Interesting description. I'm still trying to get my head wrapped around
Mencia. I've had versions that were light and probably carbonic, and
others that were dark and brooding. I see from CT that I have 3
different ones in the cellar now: 2017 Aldega Algueira Ribeira Sacra,
'17 Raul Perez Ultreia and '19 Petalos. I'll have to see what I can
make of them.

Thanks for all the interesting notes,
Mark Lipton

[dalewilli...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, March 2, 2022 at 4:24:33 PM UTC-5, Mark Lipton wrote:
> > 2019 Huet “Le Mont” Vouvray
> > Citrus, apple cider (in a good way), saline. Bright and snappy, long mineral finish, too young, but I quite enjoyed. B+ for now
> What sweetness level, Dale? I'm guessing Sec from your description (and

Oops, yes the sec

> You may remember Jon Cook IIRC from WLDG? He married Kira, the
> winemaker's daughter. I met them both at an SFJoe soiree many moons ago
> just after Thunder Mountain closed shop (2004)

I remember John's posting (and Milan on this groups many moons ago)

n and ready.. B
> This was probably the "Basis" bottling? (early editions just said Pinot
> Noir on the label) IME, it doesn't have much of the earthy quality that
> I value in the E&M wines, just light and spritzy as you found. On a
> related note, I just recently learned that Sven Enderle, half of the
> duo, left the operation in 2019. Given that he worked the fields, I'm
> not sure what to expect.

Yes, the Basis . for me Liason was sweet spot, but haven't bought in years (not doing Lyle)

[Mark Lipton]

On 3/3/22 7:51 AM, dalewilli...@gmail.com wrote:

> Yes, the Basis . for me Liason was sweet spot, but haven't bought in years (not doing Lyle)

Yes, Liaison is also sweet spot for me. Vom Boden (Stephen Bitterolf)
brings them in, too, so Posner often sells the Liaison.

Mark Lipton