TN: excellent Lafarge, good Cline, soso Qba and Macon

Monday David was home sick from school, and Betsy decided to make her version of comfort food- beef simmered in broth with cinnamon, ginger, and garlic. Usually served over udon, but an empty pantry led to a subsbreastution of egg noodles. Usually this recipe leads me to a red with a bit of spice, so I pulled out the 2002 Cline California Zinfandel. This is an annual buy for me (the '99 of this was one of my all-time CA QPR favorites). This seems a little lighter than the 2000 & 2001 which I felt were just a tad too much for me; this shows ripe berry fruit with some vanillin. Nice enough, and good QPR at $10ish, but not the steal the '99 was. B

Another favorite from '99 vintage was the Lafarge Bourgogne, and it looks like the 2002 equals it (I like '00 & '01 too, but this is better for my tastes). Served Tuesday night with mushroom risotto, a clbuttic medium-bodied Pinot with concentrated black cherry fruit, lively acidity, and clean long finish. Lovely wine that could pbutt for a good village Volnay any day. Needs some time (I think with time the fruit will take a backseat as the light earthiness increases- this was good with the risotto, but an older Bourgogne might have been better). A-

Last night was number 2 in our holiday mini-parties, about 15 friends gather. Again started with smoked fish, then this time progressed to a baked ham with a cranberry sauce, salad, and a winter vegetable tian from an Alain Ducbutte recipe. This last is one of those recipes that makes me doubt my wife's sanity - why would anyone try this at home without help? I admit it was gorgeous and delicious- layers of beets, turnips, etc with a paste of sauteed mushrooms. But she probably spent 2-3 hours ON A SIDE DISH! But I happily ate. Crowd actually had several non-drinkers, we had some open wines from previous nights, plus:

2002 St.Urbans Hof Riesling Qba - something with some RS for the ham. OK if unexciting, light bodied Riesling with citrus and flower aromas. OK, but not sad this is my last bottle. B--B

2002 Cave de Lugny "Les Charmes" Macon-Lugny. Light easy wine, maybe just a hint of sweetness. No oak, but no "oomph" either. Even for a co-op wine I thought that maybe 2002 would be better. 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

Dale

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