WTN: wines in NY -roses, ESJ, Magdelaine

On Wednesday we had chicken with white beans and preserved lemons, along with the 2017 Terrebrune Bandol rose. This is one of the pricier (though not Ott/Tempier level) Bandol roses, but I think worth it. Strawberries and cherry, a pleasant herbal bitter note, lots of chalky minerality. Playful but precise. B++

Some friends came over, we started with lomo, tongue terrine, landsjaeger, and crab canapes.

2002 Pol Roger Extra Cuvee de Reserve Brut Champagne
Toast and smoke, apple and lemon, crisp and full. Pretty tasty, but young. B+

Amuse of green gazpacho and some scallop crudo

2017 Jacourette Rose (cotes de Provence)
Dry, light, straighforward. B

2017? La Vigne du Roy rose
Where’s white Zin when you need it? Sweet and empty C

Ribeye steak, duck fat smashed potatoes, Prune’s recipe for tomatoes with butter, salad

2006 Ch. Magdelaine
Seems to be an early drinking Magdelaine, but no hurry. Black plum and cherry, floral notes, some incipient cigarbox. Supple tannins, integrated acids. I didn’t buy much ‘06 Bdx, this is really quite good. B+

2016 Edmunds St John “El Jaleo”
Pretty much perfect red from a summer patio dinner. Bright acids, light body without being insubstantial, fresh. Red fruits, herbs, delicious. B+/A-

Friday before we left for Canada we did a dinner of leftovers- bucatini all'Amatriciana, steak, leek fritter, salad, tomato, white beans with preserved lemon. Wine was the 2017 JP Brun Le Rose d’Folie. I never wrote down anything that night, but know I thought it a fun little wine.


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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.

[David M. Bueker]

Dale,

I totally agree with your comments on the El Jaleo. Related to that, did you notice a thread connecting the El Jaleo to the Rocks & Gravel wines? Despite the varietal makeup differences, as well as the site differences, I caught an essence that said "ESJ" when I drank it.

I need someone to surprise me with a bottle...blind.

I think of it as very ESJ, though not sure I think it resembles R&G, this seems more bright and delicate, while I thought in most vintages the R&G was a bit fuller/rounder. But both fit in with what I think of as the ESJ style- balanced, spicy, food friendly, complex.

[David M. Bueker]

Yeah, I agree that the two wines are rather different in terms of weight and mega-character, but there was this distinct flavor/texture element that set off the bells in my head.