LOS

Yeah, been there, done that -- too many times to count. I'm frankly finding that even Cote D'Or whites are too heavy for the food I'm eating. I used to make Chicken Dijon and fish in cream or mustard sauces a whole lot more often. Those big white burgs are just sitting in the basement. I may end up auctioning those with a good resale value.

My taste in wine has definitely changed. I no longer am impressed by high extract and can no longer tolerate low acidity. IME, this is a common progression among winelovers, but it is by no means universal.

I'm with tcizma. Specifically: For the first 3 courses, I would do a sparkling Vouvray or a Cremant de Alsace. For the last 2 courses, a Gruner Veltliner or Austrian Riesling or dryish Vouvray. Or: Courses I, III, and IV with an off-dry Scheurebe or a Moscato d'Asti. The citrus flavors in these wines will match well with the food. Courses II and V with a rich Vouvray or Alsation gewurtz or pinot gris, of the dryish variety. Something like one of the Huet 'sec' Vouvrays or one of the drier Zind-Humbrecht bottlings. I'm assuming there will be a bit of Asian spice in these dishes, though none is mentioned.

Indeed, great work, Eric. The ammonia smell/taste was very slight, and seemed to me to be natural part of the cheese (which was, as I said very sharp). You had to get the cheese in your hands and up off the plate before noticing any aroma. EDITED to add: But then I'd have to taste a pristine sample to know for sure, wouldn't I?

My source says that it's spelled Ballencheres. No google hits at all, though.

It's an aged goat's milk cheese, with a thick coating of dark ash. Comes in logs about 6-7 inches long and a good 1.5 or 2 inches in diameter. Very sharp, almost ammonia-like flavor. It's pronounced like BAHL-ann-CHAIR-ose. My best guess as to the spelling was Balanceros, but that doesn show many google hits, and none look right. So what is this stuff?

1990 La Nerthe CdP with cassoulet, at Vincent. Drinking perfectly.

Another option that sounds good to me is to chop the shrimp and slice the scallops and mix with a mild goat cheese and sauteed shallots. Throw in some parsley (or, better, chervil). Lightly sauce with a cream sauce with the same herb (and saffron too?).

Wine the first -- some darn Kerner from the Mosel that Schneier supplied. Tasty, in a grapefruity sort of way and a good match with the salad: field greens with slices of kumquat dressed with olive oil and 2 vinegars: blood orange and ginger/green peppercorn. Wine the second -- 2000 Zenato Valpolicella Ripasso, a very nice wine with lots of acid to go with the slightly elevated alcohol of the ripasso style. Good match with the soup (shitaakes, white beans, pancetta, celery, etc). Wine the third -- 1999 Ogier VDP La Rosine, yet another tasty tasty wine. Reminds one strongly of Cote Rotie -- which it should, given that the vineyard is just outside the AOC boundary. Another good match with buffalo stewed in red wine with onions and mushrooms.

I recently returned from the Marche aux Vins 2004 in Ampuis. Judging wine there can be difficult, as you only get a small pour in an INAO glass and have no chance to decant the wines. So I taste the wines multiple times, and try to get at least one pour from a nearly-empty bottle. Even then, the wine may simply be in an awkward phase. So take these notes for what they are worth. 2002 Condrieu -- severely lacking in acid; few impressive wines here. For the first time, I returned home with no Condrieu at all (excepting the Gaillard dessert wine). 2002 Hermitage -- there were only a couple of these at the Marche, but they pointed to a very weak year for Hermitage as well. 2002 Cote-Rotie -- A poor year, but not the total disaster that it seems to be in Condrieu and Hermitage. Even the best wines will be short-term drinkers and are likely be poor value in the US market. My favorites were Jasmin and Ogier. 2002 St Joseph -- in both red and white, these wines seemed to fare better than any of the other appellations. Still, not a great year. 2001 Cote-Rotie -- there were still quite a few of these at the Marche. They were surprisingly easy drinking, absent the mouth-puckering tannins that are often evident at this stage in evolution. Very nice depth to these wines. 2001 St Joseph -- the best vintage for red St Jo since I've been going. The Montez Cuvee du Papy is the best St Jo I've ever had. The Deboisseyt-Chol Rivoire was superb too. 2003 Cote Rotie -- many of these were nasty wines. They showed a huge amount of tannin, some more tannin, very little acid, and some decent fruit buried underneath all that tannin. Did I say they were tannic? But remember that these are very young wines, and they will continue to evolve in barrel. The best wines were from Gaillard, P et C Bonnefond, Jasmin, Ogier, Lafoy. I did not taste the wines from Jamet and some other notables. Producer Notes Duclaux -- a nice 2001, past wines have been hit or miss Gilles Remillier -- absent this year. Too bad, as they have usually made nice wines Champet -- also absent this year Bonserine -- they seem to have tamed the oak a bit. The basic 2001 cuvee was nice enough, the 2001 La Garde had solid depth but was very tannic, the other 2001 prestige cuvee was an oaky mess Coursodon -- Nice white St Jo here Jasmin -- bottles of 2001 Cote-Rotie were available in 500 mL here, a great wine in a nice weekday-dinner size. Voge -- the 2001 Vielles Fontaines was not showing well, but I picked some up anyway on the advice of a local who had tasted it just before bottling. Bottled 2 weeks before the Marche. Daubree -- a newcomer. Had a convincing 1999, and some nice 2001s.

Chris, Have you had 91 Musar recently? I have a case coming across the pond from Farr, and was wondering how soon to drink one. The US price of this stuff has taken a skyward turn in the last few years. thanks

Tina's in Dundee was pretty good when I was last there, 3 or so years ago. On the cheap side, Martha's Tacos in Lafayette is quite good.

Carmenere is a grape which was once widely planted in Bordeaux. At the beginning of the 19th century, I believe it was a majority of the acreage there. It was nearly gone by the beginning of the 20th century, supplanted by varieties which gave higher yields (but not better wine). See Andrew Barr's excellent book Wine Snobbery for details -- and to check on my facts. I am away from my books, and haven't read the book for a few years. EDITED to add: Carmenere may well be extinct in Bordeaux now.

I've seen it done with the base of wine glass. Took a couple of tries, but it worked.

I've never been fond of the Ambroise wines. Then again, they're imported by Bobby K, so we may get a Kacherized version here in the US. Don't think I've ever had any bottles that didn't go through import channels. I've looked at the prices for Howard Ripley's '02 burgundy offerings, and these are alarming for those of us viewing the prices in US dollars. I may still buy some, but purchases chez moi will be severely curtailed. Those wines are going to need some serious hype to sell well in this market. The hype has already started; we'll see if it's good enough.

I agree with Dale -- those prices look high and the producers are well-regarded but not of the very first rank. I suspect 2002 burgundy across the board will be quite a sticker shock, so I expect that those prices will not look out of line in six months or so. That said, I expect you will be better off looking for older vintages. IMO, these wines are a clear pass. A word about North Berkeley and their unique cuvees. Their unique cuvees are often heavily extracted and heavily oaked. If you like that sort of thing go ahead, but many Burgundy fans believe it removes the soul of Burgundy.

I would suggest making sure that the burgundies come before the california wines. This means either 2 flights of 3 (2 burg + 1 OR, then 1 OR + 2 CA) or 3 flights of 2. California -- Edmeades is a well-priced, widely available producer I would look for. Oregon -- the basic Evesham Wood Willamette Valley is relatively cheap and good. I also like the basic bottling from Belle Pente. Burgundy -- It looks like you live in Texas. IIRC, you cannot ship there from out-of-state, and your local selection is likely to be limited. In that case, my best recommendation is to stick to basic Bourgogne Rouge from very good growers. Look for M. Lafarge, G. Mugneret/Mugneret-Gibourg, Bruno Clavelier, G. Barthod, Denis Bachelet, Fourrier, Coche-Dury, Robert Chevillon, H. Gouges.

There's a very good VDP Viognier that's very nice called "La Gauphine"; around $15.

The Henri Billiot rose NV is great stuff, and not too spendy ($35 full list or so last time I saw it).

Zenato also makes a good ripasso. 2000 is the current release and mighty tasty.

I knew I was forgetting some well-deserving candidates. Just thought of the first one: Gattinara.

There's just so many to choose from. I'll pick one red and one white: White Runners-up: Rheinpfalz, Rheingau, Nahe, M-S-R: All undervalued, though M-S-R has played some serious catchup in the last 2 years. Franken: So underrated the wines are not even imported into the US Austria: Fits in the odd category of being underrated but not underpriced Fruili/Alto-Adige: great seafood wines Vouvray: in addition to the well-priced still wines, great underpriced bubbly Touraine: this catch-all Loire appellation has some a handful of great producers that show what can be done with dedication Grand Prize Winner: Muscadet: It's actually hard to buy a Muscadet in the US market and not get a good wine. The top bottlings, like the Clos des Allees and Clos des Briords and Cuvee Eden, can compete with wines priced much, much higher. These wines need a few days of air time to show well young. Red Runners-up: Pic St Loup: these wines show much more character than most Languedoc reds Rioja: the traditionally-styled wines are cheap for their quality, and mature wines can be had for reasonable prices Douro: some great nonfortified wines from here in recent years Chinon/Saumur/Bourg. : a style that is not for everyone, so it's great for you if you like it Grand Prize Winner: Beaujolais: they may not have gobs, but they've got everything else. The 2003's may even have gobs..

Scott is so right. Chateau Grillet wins this contest, hands down, since it is an appellation to itself. Napa is still a solid second, though. In an economy like ours, a wine's selling price has an extremely high correlation with the popular opinion of the wine. And that's what I thought we were talking about.

I'm with Fat Guy; I'd love to see the exact quote. Among other reasons, because it's such a unique take on the situation. But that really deserves a thread of its own. And don't confuse Napa with the rest of California. In talking about overpriced/overrated, we've been specifically talking about Napa. Let's not lose sight of that.

Melissa had prior plans, so I had to choke this down all by my lonesome. Tighter and more tannic than other recent bottles I have had, showing a cherry fruit that was actually candied just a touch. Other bottles have shown a more subdued cherry fruit. A hint of plumminess and tomato, but no sign of the sous bois shown by other recent bottles. Not a trace of the overoaking which is this producer's reputation; a very nice bottle.