Squash soup:
2005 Dom. Vissoux, Beaujolais Villages VV Cuvée Traditionnelle:
Bright, fresh wine that is open, ripe, natural and exuberant. Lovely juice with lots of life and verve. 12% alcohol, imported by Weygandt-Metzler and about $14; I’d buy a lot again.
Good with the soup as the ripeness of the wine adds dimension to the soup but does not overwhelm its earthy flavors.
Chicken pot pies (homemade):
2004 A. et P. de Villaine, Mercury Les Montots:
Much more savory than the above wine with a somewhat closed nose but plenty of earthy, dark fruit elements on the palate with good concentration and balance; long, earthy finish. Too early to this bottle are we but still, a most enjoyable wine with food. 12.5% alcohol, imported by Kermit Lynch and about $30; I’d buy it again.
Excellent with the dish as the savory notes play well with the savory notes in the pot pie and the relative weights match. An excellent pairing.
Pizza with Caesar salad:
2005 Dom. Vissoux, Moulin à Vent Les Deux Roches:
What a wine! Very aromatic with all sorts of red and dark fruits, spice and a light mineral note; smooth and supple in the mouth but with good cut, structure and depth, flavors echo the nose but add nuance and the entire package is so complete and of one cloth its hard to believe this has years left in the cellar. 13% alcohol, imported by Weygandt-Metzler and about $22; worth multiples.
Great wine by itself or with the pizza.
With smoked salmon spread and crackers:
2005 Selene, Sauvignon Blanc Hyde Vnyd.:
Not much ‘there’ there but not a bad wine; sort of innocuous. 14.1% alcohol, price unknown; not for me.
Okay with the dish.
Chicken sausage, red lentils, tomato-squash salad and Naan:
2005 Saint-Damien, Côtes du Rhône VV:
Smoked meat, cooked fruit, salt nose – very enticing; much the same in the mouth with old vine sap, a worsted texture and a slight rusticity which is attractive; medium length finish. If more grenache tasted like this I’d drink more grenache; none of the sweetness and satin textures of many CdP, this is a country wine of character. 13.5% alcohol, imported by Weygandt-Metzler and about $15; buy it by the case.
An excellent pairing as the salty, meaty aspect of the wine aligns with the sausage and lentils and the weight of the wine does not dominate over the food.
Best, Jim