| Dale Williams |
Vacation, Part 3
After Paso Robles, we had mediocre sushi south of Santa Barbara, hustled
through post -rush hour LA, and ended up in Laguna. Thursday evening Betsy made
lemon roast chicken (with potatoes and salad) at her grandmother's, and we had
the 2002 Gaetano d'Aquino Pinot Grigio (delle Venezie). Light apple fruit,
almond/nutty aftertaste, maybe a hint of RS. Inoffensive, but I'm glad Betsy
says she's going to make risotto one night, I know it'll be good use for rest
of bottle. B-/C+
Friday night Betsy is going to temple with her grandmother, so we have an early
dinner. She makes tacos, and I open a 375 of the 2000 Esprit de Beaucastel
(Paso Robles). This shows a little simpler than bottle at winery (was that one
decanted?), but still a pleasant CdP ringer with warm spicy fruit and noticable
leather/earthy notes.B+
I wander into town, the local wine bar has a tasting, but wines seem a tad
pedestrian, and I walk on beach instead.
Saturday night was the afore-mentioned dinner at French 75, with the surprise
$65 special and the Beaucastel that isn't really Beaucastel. The 2001 Comte
LaFond Sancerre was a bit simple, but offered rather intense and clear
grapefruit aromas and flavors. Decent acidity. B/B+
The 1999 Ch. Coutet (St. Émilion) was a simple Bordeaux, clearly a lot of
Merlot in the mix. Sweet red plum and strawberry fruit, light to medium-bodied,
a bit lacking in acidity. B-
Sunday Betsy made mushroom risotto, along with squash and some excellent
heirloom tomatoes from Saturday's farmers' market. After market Saturday I had
gone to Wine Exchange in Orange to pick up some bottles of 2001
Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux I had ordered last month (a guy whose tastes I
respect, but seems to drink LOTS of DRC, Roumier Bonne Mares, etc, had raved
over it- when this guy recommends a GC Burg for $40, my ears perk up!), I had
also ended up with the 2001 Mongeard-Mugneret"Narbantons" Savigny-Les-Beaune
1er Cru ($14). Seemed a good candidate for mushroom matching. Ripe Pinot fruit
with a bit of oak, open and accessible with a clean finish. Finished the rest
on our last night in Laguna, with Betsy's pot roast with prunes and apricots.
Second night the black cherry fruit had faded a bit, but been replaced by a
nice meaty/smoky aroma. Good wine for the price. B+
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a
good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where
it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy,
and certainly not of consistency.
Dale
Dale Williams
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