Wines tonight

[Florida Jim]

With homemade cream of broccoli soup:

1996 Baumard, Savennieres Clos du Papillon:

If I had ten cases of this, I wouldn’t have enough. I bought this on close-out for about $8/bottle and it is the best wine bargain of my life.

Fabulous nose of chamomile tea, flowers, white fruit, stones, rain water and citrus/

Full body, oily texture, deep and incredibly intense flavors follow the nose, profound complexity, solid acids, remarkable concentration and great balance (it is just plain hard to believe they got this much flavor in this 750ml bottle)/

Endlessly long, strongly flavored finish that is both clean and compelling. Still shows young but a great wine in every sense of the word. Grand vin.

With grilled pork chop and pasta with caramelized onions and black olives:

1997 Kistler, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir:

A nose completely dominated by cloves; some allspice and dried fruit/

The palate has a little more dried fruit but it is still a minority player to the dominant clove, pepper, allspice and citric flavors; very bright and crisp acids, a linear presentation of flavors (except for the clove, which is pervasive), intense and concentrated, lots of grip/

Short, clipped but cleansing finish.

I liked it as a wine (although the Chenin was better with this dish) but this smells and tastes more like Zinfandel than Pinot Noir. I put the cork back in the bottle and put it in the cellar for the night; tomorrow should be interesting . . .

Best, Jim

[Mark Sommelier]

Baumard is good. I just put the 2000 Clos de Papillon on my list. I'm sure the '96 is great now. The close-out price was great, also. Normal wholesale is around $16 a bottle. Sorry the Kistler PN sucked for the dish. Those are hard to come by and very expensive.

[Florida Jim]

Baumard is good. I just put the 2000 Clos de Papillon on my list. I'm sure the '96 is great now.  The close-out price was great, also. Normal wholesale is around $16 a bottle. Sorry the Kistler PN sucked for the dish. Those are hard to come by and very expensive.

Mark,

The 96 Clos has such a long life ahead and yet it still is so deftly made it can be enjoyed now.

As for Kistler pinots; I have had a good number of them and I have yet to have one that really spoke to me. They are sort of freakish in style and could be from anywhere - no sense of place.

I think Steve Kistler makes pinot into interesting wines of a non-descript variety that better reflect his talent than the vineyard site. That doesn't make them bad (or good) but they are usually not my preference.

Even so, it will be interesting tonight to see how it fares with 24 hours open in the cellar.

Best, Jim

[Michael Laiskonis]

...1996 Baumard, Savennieres Clos du Papillon:

...Fabulous nose of chamomile tea, flowers, white fruit, stones, rain water and citrus...

Chamomile! That's the aroma that has for so long remained ineffable for me. Stones and rain water, yes, but chamomile!

I, three, am a big fan of Savennieres.

["T"]

Ahhhhhhhh Jim. I dream of eating and drinking as well as you.

One day, I say, one day.

Cheers, T.

[Craig Camp]

I feel sorry for the importers that keep trying to sell fantastic wines like Savennieres because they know they are great, but then end up closing them out because it seems impossible to wean consumers from industrial chardonnay.

[Michael Laiskonis]

I feel sorry for the importers that keep trying to sell fantastic wines like Savennieres because they know they are great, but then end up closing them out because it seems impossible to wean consumers from industrial chardonnay.

When I see a restaurant wine list with, say, a Joly, I tend to assume that it's there almost out of a sense of obligation. But otherwise, if it fits my budget and the cuisine, I'm all over a nice Savennieres. It is often a sign to me that someone actually cares.

[Florida Jim]

I feel sorry for the importers that keep trying to sell fantastic wines like Savennieres because they know they are great, but then end up closing them out because it seems impossible to wean consumers from industrial chardonnay.

When I see a restaurant wine list with, say, a Joly, I tend to assume that it's there almost out of a sense of obligation. But otherwise, if it fits my budget and the cuisine, I'm all over a nice Savennieres. It is often a sign to me that someone actually cares.

Craig,

The importer's misfortune is our good fortune - such is business, I suppose.

Michael,

When I see such things on a wine list, I examine it closely and in its entirity - just maybe I've got someone picking the list who really can - it happens occasionally.

Best, Jim