Betsy mentioned she would miss ham for Easter as we're going to her pesce-vegetarian sister's, and my helper said he was sad he wasn't having ham, too. So it seemed a given that I would combat their "loss" with a ham, using a thyme/butter/honey glaze. I also did asparagus and kale, and opened the 2007 Frederic Magnien Bourgogne Rose. Which kinda sucked. Pale copper color , pale flavor. Based on my limited experiences with Magnien's wine, the dilution is a surprise. Better than water, if you like a little alcohol. C
Seldom do I decide a bottle is not worth drinking, but this was one of those times. I offered Betsy the options of dry rose, sparkling rose, off dry white, or light red. She said sparkling rose, and I opened the 2007 Latitude 50 Spatburgunder Brut Rose. This very pale rose was quite tasty, bright, clean, strawberry and plum, nice texture. $15 sparklers I like are rare, roses even rarer, this isn't compelling but I'll probably get one or two more. B
A friend came by Saturday afternoon from visiting his mom in Rhode Island, brought by a couple of local specialties, snail salad (actually scungilli, not escargot) and "stuffies" (stuffed clams). A white to try with that, the 2007 Domaine des Vieilles Pierres (J.J. Litaud) Macon-Vergisson. Fairly broad/rich for a Macon, moderate acidity, a bit of mineral on the finish. Fairly priced at $14-15. B
A while later, I needed real dinner, and had a little leftover brisket, quinoa, and salad. Wine was the 2007 JP Brun (Terres Dorees) Cote de Brouilly.Nice ripe red berries and cherries, a light mocha note, good length. I've been somewhat unenthusiastic (at least re my usual Brun fandom) of this bottling in some previous vintages, but quite enjoy this one. Medium bodied, light tannins, nice juicy acidity, good length. Very tasty. Taking the leftover Macon and Beaujolais to an Easter party today, we'll see how it holds up. 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.
