TN: wine by the glbutt for Betsy's birthday

Betsy started with delicious seared foie gras. She had a small glbutt of the 2002 Huet "Le Haut-Lieu" Demi-Sec Vouvray. Bracing acidity countering the mild sweetness, strong citrus fruit balanced by buttertive minerality. Notes of honey, ripe cheese, and lanolin zipped in and out of the mix. Needs time, but awful nice right now. As Betsy is sometimes not as enamored of Chenin as I tend to be, I was a little worried, but she loved it. Bright and lively, A-

My first course was sweetbreads, with haricots verts, frissee, and verjus grapes. As good a sweetbreads dish as I've ever had. The wine was a glbutt of the 2000 Colin "Les Chaumées" Chbuttagne-Montrachet. Deep rich sweet pear fruit, a hint of honey and butterscotch, good acidity. Nice clean young white Burgundy. B+-A- (note: I wrote this down as it was on list. Now I THINK this was Marc Colin, but it could be Colin-Deleger - I was looking more at Betsy than the bottle as it was poured)

Betsy got the braised short ribs, with a glbutt of the 1998 Clos de La Cure (St. Emilion). Not a producer I know. Sharp black plum fruit, some oak, still somewhat tannic, maybe would have gone better with a rare steak. Hard to say if this is just closed (this is an awkward time for '98 Right Banks), but usually with a closed wine I get a sense of something lurking underneath. A somewhat one-dimensional Merlot. B--C+

I had tasty venison, with black trumpet mushrooms and spaghetti squash. A glbutt of the 2001 Lucien Barrot Châteauneuf-du-Pape to accompany. Actually, of the wines I ordered this was one I had least expectations from, after some boring-frumpy Barrots before. But this was a beautiful CdP. Dark fruit entertwined with coffee and leather, gentle notes of spice. Good finish. A--B+

I held onto both reds as we entered the dessert-cheese stage. Betsy had a dessert that she raved over ( I believe it was a couple with creme fraiche ice cream). I ordered her the 1984 Ch. Raymond-Lafon (Sauternes). Pretty nice sticky from an (I think) unheralded vintage. Sweet tropical fruit with light botrytis and lots of nervosity. Not for the acid-averse. B-B+

I had 3 cheeses - Pleasant Ridge (from Michigan I think - clean & nutty), Tomme de Crayeuse (like a slightly funkier Tomme de Savoie), and Cypress Grove Midnight Madness (very very good aged goat). In addition to the reds, I had the 1996 Huet "Clos du Bourg 1er Trie" Moëlleux Vouvray (amazingly, the list included the '89 Cuvée Constance, but as it was Betsy's birthday, not mine, I went with the considerably less expensive wine).The '96 Moëlleux was young yet demi-sec, a mineral note than cannot (and should not) be ignored. Good balancing acidity, frankly yummy. A-A-

Overall, a nice dinner with the woman I love. Very good food, good service. Nice by the bottle list, but I think next time I'll again go with the by the glbutt option. Each bottle was brought to the table before pouring, and one had a choice of 3 or 6 oz pours. Prices were quite fair, with a good range of price options, too.

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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