TN: Costieres white, Argentina Tempranillo, and an appelation called Maurice Monday Betsy called and needed a white wine for cooking, I talked her around the cheap end of the cellar. The $4-on-closeout 2001 Campuget Blanc (Costieres de Nimes) was the choice. When I arrived home, I sampled. Some early bottles had been good, but last couple showed a little oxidation. This one , however, was crisp and clean, but no oxidized notes. Light floral white with ample acidity and pleasant finish. Another sip the following night showed it holding on well. Dinner that evening was chicken with prunes, a NYT recipe that was suggested as an accompaniment for Priorat. The only Priorat I own is a lone bottle of Val Llach Embruix that needs time, but I realized I did have a 2003 Mapema Tempranillo (Argentina) that I had been given as a gift. OK, so wrong country and wrong grape, but my guess is that it was a big oaky Spanish-wannabee, so it could fill in for an oaky Spanish wine. Hmm, well, it is oaky. Really oaky. Mouthful of lumber oaky. Very ripe dark berry fruit, unidentifiable as Tempranillo to me (of course, I don't drink as much Tempranillo as some). Low-acid, a bit overripe, under-satisfying. C+ Tuesday I thought I was soloing, but Betsy's rehearsal ended early and she came home to make dinner before heading back to city. She broiled lamb chops and made mushroom risotto, it smelled too good to subject to the rest of the Mapema. So the Mapema went into the vinegar crock, and I opened a 2000 Domaine Viret "Cosmic " C=F4tes-du-Rh=F4ne-Villages Saint-Maurice. Ahhhh, this is more like it. Ripe, but with enough acidity to keep from seeming flabby. This could easily pbutt for a decent low-end CdP. There's a lot of earth-clay as well as herbs (savory, lavender) and saddle leather. Very nice wine, good value. 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. =20 
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