I had one of the loveliest dinners in a long time tonight. The foods were pretty straight forward, the wines (dessert excepted) aren't considered great wines in general, but the whole was greater than the sum of the components.
Char-grilled salmon salad was pretty nice with Quinta do Ameal Loureiro Vinho Verde Ponte de Lima 2006, but maybe such a greasy fish would have needed a more robust wine? A delicate nose of pear, minerals and some herbaceousness. Dry, light but forceful, very lively and mineral, almost metallic. A fantastic wine for the price (13 or so € here, so probably a fraction of that elsewhere).
With a rustic stew of beef in red wine, herbs and black olives we had Pegovino Sélectionné par Laurence Féraud 2006 a Grenache + Syrah from VdP d'Oc. Usually I'm not much of a fan of Grenache based wines, but at just under 10€ I must admit that I might get a few more bottles of this. A bit of spice and garrigue, lifted and bright but with dark and even honeyed low notes. Primary and a bit chemical now, but with refreshing tannins boxing in the copious fruit and a lovely tartness bringing freshness.
For dessert we started on a bottle of Domaine des Baumards Quarts de Chaume 2004 which was just stupendous. A lovely, pure Chenin nose of quince, quinine, peas/greenness/vegetation. Sweet but refreshingly acidic, very lively and pure. The mineral-water aftertaste lasts forever. Lovely; and very moreish despite being a dessert!
-Otto