A week's worth

[Florida Jim]

With Caesar salad and a ricotta, lentil and blue cheese tart:

1996 Baumard, Savennieres:

Honey and quince on the nose with elements of flowers, citrus and mineral, good complexity; marrowy on the palate with excellent acidity, focused and delineated flavors that follow the nose, moderate depth, complex and well-balanced; very long finish.

Textbook Savennieres. This is the regular bottling and, although delicious with this dish now (especially the salad), it has years and years of cellar life left. Excellent wine.

With assorted cheeses:

1999 Earl Alain Michaud, Brouilly Cuvee Non-Filtre:

Pungent black cherry, hard candy and spice aromas; medium body with strong flavors that follow the nose, evident structure, intense and balanced; medium finish.

Still somewhat closed and not at the same level as a recent 2000 Cuvee Prestige from the same house and cru, but this was firm, masculine wine that worked well with the dish.

With tuna sandwiches:

NV Alianca, Vinho Verde:

Clean and crisp but not over-dry; smells of apple, rain water and light spice; lightweight, with flavors that echo the nose with crackling acidity; very clean, fruit driven finish. All of this is in a graceful, slender package that has 9% alcohol and lots of freshness. Good with the dish.

With chicken nachos with peach salsa:

2002 Baudry, Chinon Les Granges:

Exuberant cabernet franc! Sappy, plush, earthy and juicy; lots of cherry and berry smells and tastes with some pit fruit accents and a touch of smoke, soft tannins, ripe fruit, concentrated and balanced. Will last but is delightfully fresh now.

With chicken Caesar salad and olive oil/salt bread:

2003 Pascal Jolivet, Sancerre:

Rounder, more alcoholic and broader than Jolivet’s usual efforts, nonetheless, it is clearly Sancerrois in flavor, has good structure and is pretty well balanced. Not for long term aging yet it paired well with the salad.

With homemade pasta with onions, garlic, basil and black olives:

1999 Texier, Cotes du Rhone Brezeme:

Light vinous scents on the nose; acidic and lean on the palate, full of particulate matter, solid flavors (but also a rather odd olive juice note) but little complexity, medium length. Diane says it tastes like an alcoholic beverage but not wine. I still liked it but I would never expect anyone else to.

and,

1999 Gilles Robin, Crozes-Hermitage Cuvee Alberic Bouvet:

More potent and alluring on the nose; seamless, satin texture, deep flavors with complexity, integration and excellent balance; good length. Twice the wine of the Brezeme, maybe more. Diane loves it, I love it and I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying it, especially with the dish.

Interesting comparison.

With pecan crackers and Stilton:

1992 Fieldstone Port, Staten Family Res.:

Dried fruit, chocolate, honeycomb and fruit-cake spice nose, appealing and integrated; the flavors echo the nose with a bright, almost fresh fruit element as accent, good intensity, mouth-filling and moderately complex, nicely balanced; medium length.

Sweet but not cloying (especially with the cheese), well resolved and although not as complete as Porto, a genuinely delicious wine with the dish. Can keep.

With salad Nicoise:

1998 Belle Pente, Pinot Noir Wahle Vnyd. Res.:

Muted nose of earth, very light red fruit and wax; somewhat better on the palate with fruit sweet raspberry and plum, some earth tones and spice accents, structured, good balance; medium finish.

Sort of dull on the palate; no lack of acid but either this is closed down tight or it simply hasn’t got the stuffing. Fair with the dish.

With turkey, bacon sandwiches:

2001 F. Magnien, Fixin:

Bright and sappy black raspberry on both the nose and palate with some red fruit and mineral tones, slightly hard edged but the middle weight structure gives it a charm that keeps it from being austere, decent length. None of the sauvage character I associate with the appellation; a fruit driven, beguiling wine and perfect for the lunch. Thanks Bill.

Best, Jim

[Brad Ballinger]

Jim,

Thanks for the data point on the Baumard Savennieres. I have a couple of these buried somewhere, and it's good to know I should leave them there. Also, thanks for the note on the Magnien Fixin. I had the 1999 version of this wine a little less than a year ago and happened to like it a fair amount, in a lighter-styled way.

[tanabutler]

Is it breaking some code of conduct to post prices? I would love to know if I can aspire to taste a single one of the wines you praise.

[Craig Camp]

Is it breaking some code of conduct to post prices? I would love to know if I can aspire to taste a single one of the wines you praise.

Yes, it breaks Jim's. However if you wish to post purchase prices, please do.

[Florida Jim]

Is it breaking some code of conduct to post prices? I would love to know if I can aspire to taste a single one of the wines you praise.

Tana,

I mentioned this once before, but you may have missed it.

The prices vary (more than I would think) from place to place and I buy from all over. In lieu of prices I started posting the importer, which could at least help one find the wines so that you could see what they sell for locally. This time I was lazy; 'sorry.

The price deal got a little out of hand when I got a couple of e-mails that . . . well, let's just say they called my credibility into question. From that point on I decided that I preferred to be a source of information not aggravation. No more price posting for me.

I'd also point out that many of these wines were bought on release and are not the current releases. Hence, prices would be dated, at best.

Take care, Jim

[Rieslingfan]

One of the great things about Jim's posts is that he drinks a lot of fantastic AND affordable wines. As an example, my price on the '96 Baumard was $15.99 two years ago. I've seen more recent vintages for not much more than that.

Of course Jim likely paid less, but he is a better shopper than I am.