TN: in which I like IGT, MSR, & Bojo but dump 82 Bdx

Betsy had some proscuitto & mozzarella ready when I got home Saturday, she asked for a cooking wine (for the chef, not as an ingredient), I opened a half bottle of the 2004 Felsina Fontalloro. Nice and lush, black cherries, berries, smooth tannins, balanced acidity. A little pleasant herby note, just a touch of vanilla. I quite like this. B+

Dinner was a pad thai variant (substituting fresh rice noodles and broccoli sprouts) along with "dry" Chinese long beans. Wine was the 2005 Willi Schaefer Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese. Now, the Wehlener Sonnenuhr isn't considered Schaefer's top site, and I'm not always sold on 2005s. But this is a lovely wine. Bright, creamy, peaches and cherries, limeade, rich but lively. Salty/slatey finish. A-
 
Sunday was a bit stressful, I was running a big picnic for the folks from the streets and the weather was threatening. But rain held off, and a good time was had by all. But when I got in about 6:30 it had been a loooonnnngg day. Betsy had decided to reward me with a dinner of
lamb chops, asparagus, potatoes, and spinach salad. I decided to try a longshot wine , the 1982 Ch. Dutruch Grand Poujeaux (Moulis en Medoc). Intact cork, good color. Smell of red fruit and a bit of bottle funk. Not bad for a little known wine at 27, even for 1982. Oh wait, I have to taste it. Fruit is a bit bland, some red plums and herb, with an overlay of ashes. Finish is short and clipped. I'm thinking B-/C+, but it quickly evolves. Unfortunately in the wrong direction, fruit is still there, but overwhelmed by ashtray aromas. C-

After a long day, I wasn't going without wine (or drinking the Moulis), so opened the 2007 Vissoux/Chermette Cuvee Traditionnelle Beaujolais. Red berries, herbs, light but firm body, not the best lamb match in the world but a very tasty wine. B/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. 

2005 Willi Schaefer Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese...I'm not always sold on 2005s. But this is a lovely wine.

Not always sold on 2005s in general or just from Willi Schaefer? If in general, is that because you think they're too ripe? If so, you must hate 2006.

I don't hate 2006 or 2005, but they (especially 06) push the ripeness envelope for me. My preferred vintages of this century are 01, 02, 04, and 07. I don't dismiss 05 or 06, and own a couple dozen of the former and a dozen on the latter, but I'm looking forward to 08.

Fair enough!

I started with 01 and 02 and in retrospect they seem so special. But, 08 should be refreshingly interesting.

[David M. Bueker]

I started with 01 and 02 and in retrospect they seem so special.

That's because they are special, and not just because of what preceded (1999, 2000) or followed them (2003 and its brethren).

I'm sipping the Vissoux Traditionnelle as I type and can see how this would be no match for lamb (we had some oven roasted lamb, Borrego na Forno, with '07 Chamine from Cortes de Cima in Alentejo the other night and that was a great match...). In fact, this wine didn't even stand up to a roast chicken with french fries - I was about to write it off. But after letting it sit for awhile lots of little facets are emerging: some tart cranberry set against herbs and minerals. Crisp yet not shrill. In the end, a very shy wine but worthy of your B/B+ rating.

First bottle I tried last week was corked - that was a seriously shy bottle. My local wine merchant gladly exchanged it for another.