I really couldn't work up much enthusiasm over Thanksgiving this year. I like cooking for a crowd - nothing like a house full of people to get me pumped up about putting on a meal. When it's just us for a holiday, I have a hard time getting psyched up.
Still, we rallied nicely and had a few good belly laughs over dinner. And any day that includes opening a bottle of Champagne from 1996 is a good day, for sure.
With some cheeses and salumi, we opened the
1996 Beaumont des Crayeres "Nostalgie" Brut
The color is straw. There is a very fine bead and a so - so mousse. There is that leesey aroma that says "vintage" Champagne - and green apples, yeast and a ginger note.
On the palate the wine is weightless - I sense just a frothiness as it glides across my tongue. I would have to say there is a bit of a hole in the mid palate, with ever so subtle flavors. There is bracing acidity, and a refreshing finish. Not a blockbuster by any stretch, but just a nice sparkler from a terrific vintage.
For our dinner of deconstructed turkey with trimmings, I hemmed and hawed for a bit before I settled on the
2003 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir - Santa Rita Hills
I have way too much of this wine and need to start working through some bottles. I had considered Beaujolais, or ESJ's recently released Gamay Noir, but in the end, settled on my good neighbor Wes' SRH pinot.
The wine is a lovely light garnet. The nose is very pretty - there's a touch of smoke, lots of crushed red fruits, and a whiff of oak barrel, not unlike visiting the winery.
It shines on the palate with great balance - it's a mouthful but yet isn't clumsy or plodding - pinot noir like I remember it. There's tart cherry and cranberry flavors (or was that the Ocean Spray) with that nice mineral backbone Wes' wines always sport. There is a touch of heat on the back end, but nothing to get my knickers in a knot over. This wine is showing nicely now, and s