More tasting notes

Far and wide here:

Apremont (Vin de Savoie) Pierre Boniface 2005 A much better Liquor Control Board choice than the Vacqueryas below, this $12 bottle delighted all. Light, fresh and floral, a simple treat. Some of it went in the Cuban-style shrimp stew and the rest accompanied it. A gently pleasing wine, with wildflower notes and a trace of something sweeter on the crisp finish, from the little-known Jacquere grape, grown in the foothills of the Alps in Savoie, France, near Geneva. 11.5 percent alcohol seemed just right as did the non-oaky finish. Nothing fancy, probably not worth ageing, but this will be a superb summer wine with salads, fish, or chicken. ***1/2 (With Cuban-style shrimp stew at my sister’s house, St. Davids’, Pa., 4/2007)

Rosso Classic 2005 – It’s a good thing the Coppola family make better movies than they do wines. Sofia’s whites and sparklers are truly appalling, some of the worst swill being made in California now. This red is a Francis Ford production and The Godfather it is not, quality-wise. A blend of (roughly) 45 percent Zinfandel, 30 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 25 percent Syrah, I found it overwhelming and obvious. Jammy, plumy fruit, almost baked in the way of inferior Port, although fruit-bomb lovers will be pleased. A hot aroma in the glass which does dissipate, given enough time. A soupy mid-palate with some character and even a little nice Zin berry flavor before that’s swamped by a truly noxious finish, in which you can taste the entire oak tree and then the ax used to chop it down – a weird metallic taste left in the mouth. Less alcoholic than it tastes at 13.5 percent. I will freely admit this is not my kind of wine – though I do very much appreciate quality Zins – but I still can’t imagine many being pleased with this even at $11 a bottle. * (With fruit and Brie and crackers at my sister’s house, St. Davids’, Pa., 4/2007)

Cahors Georges Vigouroux 2004 – Those who buy wine based on pretty labels would never choose this Cahors. M. Vigouroux uses his label to print a manifesto, which my French basically translates as “this is our wine, young, fresh, and, we hope, tasty.” (gouleyant). And it is. Dark and rich, almost black, the Malvec grape makes a tough, dense wine here. Cahors isn’t a complicated wine, and this is not: a pleasing aroma; fruit, then a tannic, gripping finish. Not too good with any sophisticated food, but certainly a food wine. Might benefit from 2-4 years in the cellar, but it’s ready now. I enjoy Cahors immensely as a bistro red, but like all French wines its price is creeping up. I found this at $30 on a Brooklyn wine list, and it’s fine at that price or maybe $5-$8 more, but this should not be an expensive wine; it doesn’t have the complexity and charm to hit the wallet that hard. But as a basic red with simple food, an absolute treat. *** (With hanger steak in a roasted shallot sauce, Moutarde, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 11/2006)

Rully J.M. Boillot Premier Cru, "La Pucelle," 2004 – I never quite know what to do when handed a wine list in a restaurant with friends and told to the pick the wine, especially when they are treating, and even more especially when they are having much more elegant food than me. Such was the case in an utterly delightful old-line Brussels establishment with my friends Jim Neuger and Renee Cordes on my trip in February. They had sole; I was having Flemish shrimp croquettes. Hmmm. Jim has a terrific cellar, almost all French, so his taste is in line with mine, and surely their sole could match a top-shelf white Burgundy. But that wine would be wasted on my humbler choice and I didn’t want to break the bank though some village Meursaults and Chassagnes were available at (for this place) quasi-reasonable prices. But … a Maconnais white, fine with my meal, would not be elegant enough for the sole. So … Cote Chalonnaise to the rescue. I am not especially enthusiastic about reds from the Cote, which lies between the Cote d’Or and the Maconnais, but the whites I find trustworthy and good food wines, and this was a popular choice here – fruity but not obvious, zesty and lemony with structure and real body despite a somewhat vapid finish. Improved in the glass and had a hint of that deeply satisfying richness of fine white Burgundy after opening up. Overpriced on an absolute scale at 44 euros, but reasonable in the context of this elegant Old World restaurant with wonderfully old-fashioned Continental service. (If you go, ask for Giovanni.) I especially liked Charles, the oh-so-French 60-ish maitre d’, who always had a glass of wine in his hand on his elegantly courteous errands. Salud! *** (At Aux Armes de Bruxelles, Brussels, 2/2007)