Rain, lovely rain

[Florida Jim]

How do I tell you that it is raining but it is wonderful?

The garden is almost singing because the rain has been gentle, continuous, and has lasted for several days and nights. Lovely sleeping weather, a good time to clean the house, and a glass of wine with lunch makes a nap one of those delightful moments in the day.

So anyway, it’s beautiful here and a nap is in my future.

With a pasta dish that had fresh tomatoes, black olives, onions, garlic, mushrooms and grated cheese:

2000 Clos Roche Blanche, Gamay:

crunchy black cherry on the nose with stones and a touch of high toned red cherry/

light bodied but plenty of concentration, crunchy on the palate with vinous red cherry, herb, smoke and black cherry flavors, intense, bright, balanced/

very long finish with deep black cherry echoes.

A forkful of the food and a sip of this wine in the mouth make both tastes better. By itself, the wine is almost cleansing on the palate and so intensely flavored that the finish seems endless. Many years of life await.

About $9, delivered.

Personal opinion: When the 2002 of this hits the shelves (shortly) I will buy several cases. The 2002 vintage in the Loire is certainly a good one, maybe better. But at this price, this is the ultimate no-brainer. Not even Coudert’s Fleuries rise to this level (and they are stellar).

The finest QPR value I have ever encountered.

Best, Jim

[Varmint]

Thanks again for your tasting notes, Jim. If you're now in the mountains of North Carolina, I wish I were with you during this rain. It is indeed mighty peaceful. I'll be there in two weeks, and I'm counting down the days!

[Florida Jim]

I'll be there in two weeks, and I'm counting down the days!

Where?

Thirsty?

Best, Jim

[Jaymes]

What a beautifully-written post. Just reading it, I could hear the tap, tap, tapping on a tin roof and smell the wetness in the air and see the leaves of the plants dipping and nodding with the weight as they hold and then release the falling raindrops.

So where are you, Florida Jim, that your day is so peaceful?

Edited July 2, 2003 by Jaymes (log)

[Varmint]

Jaymes, not to make you envious, but the House o' Varmint has a metal roof, and our bedroom has no attic. We've been getting tons of rain, which makes it very, very difficult to get up in the morning.

Jim, I'd love to join you, but I'll be in Franklin, over an hour west and south of Asheville. Come join us, please!

[Jaymes]

Jaymes, not to make you envious, but the House o' Varmint has a metal roof, and our bedroom has no attic.

Dammit!

I mean, I'm not envious one little bit.

Edited July 2, 2003 by Jaymes (log)

[Florida Jim]

What a beautifully-written post.  Just reading it, I could hear the tap, tap, tapping on a tin roof and smell the wetness in the air and see the leaves of the plants dipping and nodding with the weight as they hold and then release the falling raindrops.

So where are you, Florida Jim, that your day is so peaceful?

Jaymes and Varmint,

I am in the western mountains of North Carolina just outside a small town named Banner Elk. It is the ski area, with both Sugar and Beech mountains within three miles. Elevation above 4,000 feet.

Yeah, Franklin is a bit far. Nice area though.

Best, Jim