TN: Kick#$s Muscadet, and mediocre reds

3 Zin challenge
Emery Davis Emery, To do the terroir thang, you'll probably want to stick to a single vintage, of which 2002 will give you the most...

Monday I invited one of my helpers home for dinner, where I grilled some wild sockeye and some summer veggies and served with a salad. I opened the 2001 Benton Lane Pinot Noir (Oregon). Light and pretty cherry fruit, but some toasty oak predominates. Not sure that this wine would thrill anyone- not enough of a fruitplant for some, too oaky for others. I don't recall any geek I know who falls into the "delicate fruit with a lumberyard overlay" preference category, but for gobless oak this is your wine. Still, well-made, and ok with the salmon. B--C+

residues in red wines
Ian Hoare Ian, believe it or not I am going to take issue with some of your statements here. Firstly...

Origins of this newsgroup in a nutshell
I wasn't reading it during the interval when that happened (as I mentioned in pbutting in the nutshell history) and therefore missed the debate in the early 90s about spinning off a specialty group from...

Bob likes bigger reds,I could tell he wasn't really into the Pinot, so I poured the 2001 Chbutte-Spleen (Moulis). Bigger than the Benton Lane, but rather quiet nose. Round and low-acid, dark fruit and surprisingly short finish. I'll pbutt on getting more of these. B-

Tuesday was sirloin on the grill, with some peas and salad. In addition to a glbutt of the Chbutte-Spleen (a bit oxidized, not holding well) I opened a 375 of the 2001 Freestone Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa). Straightforwardly simple CalCab, some dark cbuttis-berry fruit and vanilla-oak notes. There's some decent structure for a cheap Cabernet, but less an ager than a "drink now with steak" type- so I did. B

But the winner over the last 3 nights was the 2004 Domaine de la Pepiere "Clos de Briords VV" Muscadet . Opened Sunday, with a glbutt Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (well, maybe 2 Tuesday) this is an exercise in minerality. Actually, seashells by the seashore. No, lime and limestone. Whatever- fresh, clean,minerally with great underlying fruit. Delicious, though you can tell it's tight and taut. I remember when I used to say with confidence "oh Muscadet, best to drink immediately on release." Here's one to put away. A

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

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