WTN: Chapoutier CdP Blanc, Evesham Wood Pinot

[Brad Ballinger]

Sometimes having family and friends know that you are “into” wine is not a good thing. What do I mean “sometimes”? Heck, most of the time it’s not a good thing. Over this past weekend, we hosted my wife’s cousin’s family for dinner. I had just returned from Singapore where I drank only beer, so I was looking forward to some wine. The cousin, knowing I am a wine person showed up with a bottle as a gift.

How does one graciously accept a 2003 Charles Shaw Chardonnay – especially when the giving of it is prefaced by “you probably know the story behind this wine…”? You can’t pull out the standard, “Thank you, we’ll think of you as we drink it,” without sounding even a little disingenuous. So we talked about Two Buck Chuck, what a great place Trader Joe’s is, and ended it with me saying I’d serve the wine as a ringer at a blind tasting and let them know what happened. For anyone who drinks wine with me, don’t worry. I’m not going to do that. The wine is relegated to what Marcia can drink with her girlfriends on a girls’ weekend.

Anyway, onto the wine we drank that evening.

1999 M. Chapoutier “Le Bernardine” Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc. This wine was served with assorted cheeses and olives as a pre-dinner wine on the patio. It was probably a bit on the rich side for that setting, but I was in the mood for the wine regardless. There was a pleasant floral and lemon character to the wine, with some steely minerality. Texturally, the wine struck a balance between chalky/flinty and oily, if that’s even possible. A bit more astringent on the finish then I would like, but I suppose that just makes one take another sip.

1998 Evesham Wood “Le Puits Sec” Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley. Since the cousin’s family lives in Oregon, I had to open this wine. It was served with grilled salmon with a butter, lime, wine sauce and fresh diced tomatoes, saffron rice, and roasted asparagus. This pinot is much more my style than several syrah wannabes I’ve tried from California and Oregon. And it comes at one-half to one-third of the price ($19). Spicy cherry aroma, a little tar. In the mouth, the wine showcased bright fruit, supported by light mineral, oak, and spice. The wine isn’t going to win any awards for complexity, but it’s balanced well, and will gain a lot of fans, including me.

[LindaJ]

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law keep trying to push some generic rose on me that's been sitting around for years. I keep declining graciously or intentionally forgetting it. The only positive thing about the bottle is that the glass can be recycled. Thank you for the "I'll think of you..." statement. It's going to come in handy.

[Rebel Rose]

That was a graceful save, Craig!

I once went on a blind date (only once!) and the fellow knew I was 'into' wine, so he proudly opened a really old bottle from a really funky local producer. Blech. It tasted like burnt asparagus, and I couldn't hurt his feelings (although by the end of the evening I was trying harder) so I just said, "Mmm. It's like--dinner in a glass!"

[David94928]

The first time my wife had me over for dinner when we were just beggining to date, about 11 years ago, knowing that I was into wine she proudly brought out a 5L box of generic Summit white (a wine being produced by Geyser Peak at the time).

I quickly looked into her fridge and found a five year old bottle of Clos du Bois Gewurztraminer. I thought that still had a chance verse no chance for the Summit wine. I was right...the Gewrz still had some drinkability to it.

Several months later when we started living together I told her that we should use the Summit wine to soak the red wine stains out of my jeans. (I was working at a winery during the crush).

In the 11 years since that she's learned a lot about wine.

David

[Phil Ward]

<<For anyone who drinks wine with me, don’t worry. I’m not going to do that. The wine is relegated to what Marcia can drink with her girlfriends on a girls’ weekend.

>>

Hmm...... I gather you think that Marcia, et al, haven't got a clue about wine so.....

Phil

[Brad Ballinger]

Hmm...... I gather you think that Marcia, et al, haven't got a clue about wine so.....

Phil

No, it's not that. Marcia doesn't really care what she drinks. I have to buy wine coolers for her when I'm in a beer mood. And her companions on girls' weekend don't care either. She volunteered to take the wine with her.