Drank a bunch of good wine. Wow.

Here are notes from the tastings prior to yesterday's Thanksgiving Dinnner.

Here are four sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France that won't break the bank but are perfect for the holidays.

NV Brut Duc De Valmer $9.95

Lively, lemony and fruity. Easy to sip as an aperatif. A back palate of light orange peel.

Cremant de Limoux Imperial Brut Tendre $12.95

For a cremant it should be sweeter, so this French sparkler misses the mark. No evident fruit but would be good with Mimosa drinks.

Brut Select de Venoge Cordon Blue, $24.92

A toasty and yeasty fruit oriented well developed Champagne, that just
gets better in the glass. Flavors of vanilla, hazelnut and spearmint.

NV Deutz Brut Classic $26.95

Best of the bunch here's a wvery deep and complex Champagne that is a
very much a food oriented wine, as the honeyssuckle and orange flavors in the wine gives it the flavor and body that will go very well with oysters or sushi.

2000 Terra Rosa Cabernet Sauvignon

Made from grapes from Chile this well made bargain Cabernet drinks
consistantly from year to year. It is a simple easy to drink wine.

2000 Quintana North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon

A wonderfully straightforward drinkable California ccabernet with
bright, forward fruit and flavors of black plums, black cherries and
black raspberries. Soft and not a wine to age long, the soft mid palate
and long finish makes this a memorable wine value.

1999 Counterpoint Sonoma County Cabernet

Here's a wine with lots of structure, big, broad shoulders with chewy,
chunky fruit, with a hint of Bordeaux type deepness, the second label of
Laurel Glen is a delight now but will age for a good 7-10 years.

Here are my notes from Thursday night's tasting and dinner.

1998 Chateau du Trignon Cotes du Rhone

Always one of my favorite Cotes du Rhones, for some reason I skipped the 99
vintage, likely opting to go after more of their Gigondas. Rasteau and
Sablet releases. Year after year the Trignon is an outperformer, often
rivaling Guigal for the best sub $10.00 Cotes du Rhone.

This vintage offers up a brooding, backward, tightly wound red monster, that
is super saturated and deeply purple in color. Not for the faint of heart,
its a gutsy Cotes du Rhone that clamors for food or blue cheese.

The wine offers up sensational black fruits, some tantalizing blackberries
and a hint of black pepper.

1995 Domain la Soumade Rasteau

WOW!!! Talk about deep and rich. This fine example of a single village
Cotes du Rhone, is stunning. Sadly it was the only bottle in my cellar. That
said, I do have the 1998 Cuvee Confiance and some of its sibling, Flure du
Confiance, made from the best of the harvest stashed away.

This is a massive wine, capable of 5 or more years of forward progress.
Blessed with a spicy nose and some incredible blackberry aromas, the six year
young offers up a perfume like elixir that blows away everything on the
table.

On the palate a cornucopia of berries, cherries, ripe red peppers, herbs de
Provence and tarry cherry fruit devastate your mouth, leaving a lingering
finish that makes it so hard to not want to guzzle down more.

1995 Chateau au Longueville Baron de Pichon - Longueville.

Someone, bequeathed a nearly 2/3rds full bottle at Flemings, where I was
again dining. GM Cameron Lumsden quickly delivered the bottle to my table so
we could share it, along with some friends from Roy's who were celebrating a
birthday---for we are not schnoors.

It has a classic nose, Glorious, so to speak. I almost thought at first
blush that it was a California Cabernet. But that was where it ended. Lead
pencil, a hint of tobacco, cedar, menthol, cherry and black currants. It
offered up an amazing finish. Not bad for a free $225.00 bottle of wine.

A last minute call from Jim Curl asking to help celebrate his sister's
birthday led to pulling some wines and a quick call to Roy's for a table for
the family and a dinner invitation to join them,

With the medley of appetizers on the Canoe, we popped the first of three
very unique and different wines. A 1997 Marc Tempe Pinot Blanc Priegle.
Unlike most Alsatian Pinot Blanc's this wine sees time in small barriques
which brings out a rich, deep creaminess that is very atypical. Loads of
charming apricots, peaches and melba toast, exquisite length, great depth
and long finish. Perfect now the wine was a perfect match for the sake
infused Ahi Poke.

With the main courses we poured two magnificent Rhone's. 1994 Blachon St.
Joseph and a 1989 Domaine de Haut Terreses Blanches Chateuaneuf du Pape.
These were two totally different wines from opposite ends of the Rhone. The
St. Joseph was sexy, foxy and seductive. The all Syrah based wine developed
a very feminine, perfume like bouquet after about 45 minutes in the
decanter. Lots of soft blueberries and oriental tea, dried olives and herbs.
The CdP was still maturing. Amazing as this wine was a $10.99 purchase back
in 1992. Wow. big nose, lots of depth. The mostly Grenache based wine had
notes of roasted coffee, maraschino cherries, raspberries, Provence herbs
and sweet plums.

Dinner ended with a candle and the outstanding chocolate soufflé and a glass
of Banyuls for the birthday girl.

1999 Domaine du Joncier, Lirac

Can you say inky, dark, purple, teeth staining, rich, deep and unctuous.
Yes, I thought you could, if you tasted this wine. More and more I am
beginning to think that the 1999 Rhone vintage may be one of the best of the
decade, surpassing even the rich and robust 1998s.

This wine from Lirac, which is in the southern end of the Rhone was all of
the above and more. It offered a seductive nose, velvety taste and an
absolutely stunning finish. This is a wine, made from GSM, Grenache, Syrah
and Mourvedre that merits more inspection over time. It has such a sexy
flavor that you think you're drinking old vines California Zin or full
throttle Aussie Shiraz. This wine makes you look back and say, "wow." BTW,
this wine sells for $14.95 a bottle. You could do a lot worse.

Speaking of Zin, I pulled out a 1991 Grigch Hills Sonoma Zinfandel to
compliment the Joncier. Can you say, young. It sure was. Nice briary fruit,
loads of black cherry and rich black plums, a delightful finish of coffee
and currants. This would have been a bell ringer if not overshadowed by the
younger and deeper Joncier.

Back in 1996, on my first trip to the Languedoc where wine was the main
objective (I had been there in 1990 but fun and sun were the thoughts of
that trip as yours truly had just completed college) I made the trek to the
small winery of Mas Champart that rests just outside the town limits of St.
Chinian, which if you look on the map is about 30 minutes inland from the
coast near Bezier. When I visited the winery that year, the 1995 reds were
all in the tanks being readied for bottling, while the 1996 grapes were
still on the vines. Now five years later, I'm happy to know that the wines
from Champart remain some of the most complex and longest lived from any of
the Kermit Lynch imported reds and roses from the Languedoc region.

Mas Champart makes three red wines, a rose, and in very good years some
white wine. The rose year after year is a real crowd pleaser because it has
a fresh flower like appeal and a nice dry finish, all while retaining the
hearty levels of fruit that anyone would ask for in a Rhone blend pink wine.
Paired up with Picholine and Nyon olives there is nothing better to taste
while waiting for roasted peppers to come out of the bag. Yesterday, with
the 2000 Mas Champart Rose ready to be sampled, I found a 1996 vintage
buried in the cellar. Now most Roses are usually well past their prime after
5 years but I've found that the Roses from the Languedoc tend to age and not
lose there flavors, especially the Domaine D'Aupilhac Roses from 1993 and
1994 that seem to want to live forever.

Side by side, the 1996 was a darker salmon colored wine. This was likely
caused by the blend. While both wines are a combination of Syrah, Grenache
and Carignan, the proportions vary based on the harvest. Now the amazing
thing about the side by side comparison was, other than color, how identical
the two bottles were. Same nose, same flavor, same finish. Same perfection.
Hints of kiwi fruit, fresh strawberry and limestone were most represented on
the palate, while the finish left nice lingering notes of blueberry and semi
sweet plums. The 2000. It was identical.

In keeping with the idea of Mas Champart, I pulled a 1995 St. Chinian red as
well. Of the three reds the St. Chinian is the wine that is the most
misunderstood, while the most intense and longest living red is the Coteaux
du Languedoc and the most fun wine is the Vin d'Pays Doc for dollar for
dollar, that and the Domaine Pujol VDP, seem to offer years of drinking
pleasure for under $10.00 along the lines of the Guigal Cotes du Rhone, only
with more stoniness.

The St. Chinian red has to conform to the local AOC rules for percentages in
the blend, and often times is sold mostly locally with small amounts sent to
the USA and other countries, and is the most typical wine they make. That
said, this wine, which was decanted for four hours before drinking was a
monster, and a wine that could stand up to any top notch Rhone wine around
from Gigondas or Vacqueryas. This wine was guilty of all that, possessing a
big bouquet of ripe plums, blackberries and the always evident garrigue
aromas, all dominated by blackstone fruit that was dancing on your nostrils
at first whiff. On the tongue you get fruit, fruit and more fruit, backed by
gentle rolling tannins that provide support for this wine to age for 7-10
more years. As this wine was drunk loads nice blackberries, blueberries,
plums and cassis flavors came pouring through. It was just like I remembered
the wine from that June day back in 1996.

Good night, from San Diego.

As an regular customer of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, from time to time I
get offered some outrageous deals on wines, usually when they are looking to
close out the vintage when the next one is due to arrive. A few weeks ago my
regular rep offered me two cases of 1999 Chateau du Trignon Cuvee Celestines
Cotes du Rhone Blanc for a whopping $4.95 a bottle. That's $15.00 less than
the retail at a local shop here in San Diego.

First the wine is a blend of Viognier, Rolle, Rousanne and Marsanne, all
from what is described by experts as a very good to great vintage. The nose
is exotic with the perfume from the Viognier showing its stuff very early
on. A dose of sandalwood also touches the nose, but in a positive way. On
the palate the Rolle otherwise known as Vermentino gives off a nice bottom,
while the flavors of apricots, lychee nuts, pears and apples come through.
Such a deal ! At this price, I'll be drinking this wine up over the next 12
months as it's a wonderful house white.

Well it's the end of summer for most of us in the USA. Labor Day weekend
ended and while the weather will remain warm this marks for most people the
end of frivolity and fun, and a time to honker down and get back to serious
work.

Last night I popped three more bottles at a friend house.

2000 Domaine du Pujol Coteaux du Languedoc Rose

This wine had a very interesting almost orange color. Unlike most roses that
are almost translucent in color, this wine was deeper, while still
maintaining the freshness and liveliness while delivering loads of fruit
that kept on coming. While I'll always be partial to the roses of Domaine
d'Aupilhac, this one sure gives it a run for the money when it comes to
those wines from the Languedoc. Lots of fruit, perfect starter wine and
what's more, loads of body to stand up to a nice mesculan lettuce salad with
sugar coated walnuts.

1999 Domaine du Pujol Vin d'Pays Doc Rouge

This may be another great find in the sub ten dollar range. Talk about a
wine to gulp down, yet still savor. This wine has all the guts, gusto and
completeness of a wine for two or three times the price. Lots of perfectly
ripened red and black fruit, crème de cocoa, garrigue spices of thyme and
rosemary. Perfect with a rich pasta in cream sauce or even lamb. Wow. This
wine, like the rose, is available from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant in
Berkeley, CA.

1999 Clos du Caillou Vielles Vignes Cotes du Rhone

As wines from the Rhone shoot up in price, its always good to find a nice
one at the $10.00 or so price point. Certainly the Chateau du Trignon and
Guigal red hits that spot nicely. Here's another that is just smoking good.
Its got balance, great structure and gobs of blueberries. The Syrah and
Grenache dominate, but I suspect due to the soft middle there is some
Cinsualt tossed in the blend. A lingering finish with dazzling length, this
wine easily can go 5-7 more years, if you can keep your hands off it that
long.

Over the past week I had some other wines, that for a variety of reasons did
not make it onto the winepals list. Sadly, the occurrences of this week,
sure overshadow the frivolity I tend to indulge in more than one person
should be allowed to. That said, on with the notes.

1999 Comte Peraldi, Ajjaccio from Corsica

Initially one of the folks over for Saturday late lunch/early dinner though
this was a lot like the Domaine Gautier, a Rhone blend from the Provence
region that is still one of the best under ten dollar bottles around. It's
light color made me think of a Beaujolais, but it's nose led me to think
more Rhone. As the afternoon wore on, I found myself going back to this wine
more and more, and realized, that its complexity was buried deep in the
bottle, like a Burgundy and all it needed was some time. Loads of licorice,
black pepper, anise, spice, red berry fruit, truffle and sage. A sensational
bottling and a wine that for $16.50 really hit the mark. WOW !!

1999 Abadia Retuerta Rivola, Sardon de Duero, Spain

This blend of Tempernillo and Cabernet Sauvignon has that typical soft,
textured and slick taste on the palate. Lots of ripe black cherry fruit,
with some red currants. It has a nice fruity finish and has the length to
make you happy this under $10.00 wine can age for 4-6 more years.

2000 Domaine Sorin Cotes de Provence "Cuvee Tradition" Rose

Found at Albertson's of all places, this south of France Rose is a wonderful
late summer quaffer and a wonderful starter. A blend of Cinsault and Syrah
it has a lovely strawberry bouquet that goes nice with it's truly pink
color. Blessed with lots of nice mid palate fruit, the wine is a delight to
enjoy right now.

2000 Domaine Sorin Cotes de Provence "Cuvee Tradition" Blanc

There is something about the white wines from the South of France that
excite me. Compared to the California Chardonnay or French white Burgundies,
these wine seem so much more, well, exotic. The fragrances remind me of the
perfume factories in Grasse, mixed with the exotic fruit flavors of the
South Pacific. While this wine has some crispness to it, is by no means a
dry style wine, as the layers of lush, ripe fruit just pass over your tongue
the way a ballerina works the stage, so lightly, but with impact. This wine
has a copious amount of Ugni Blanc which evens it out, but mixed with some
Marsanne and Rolle it has a lovely middle that is fruit cocktail like. Lots
of melons, apricots, pears, fresh melons--Crenshaw or cantaloupe. Smashing
and well worth the hunt for.

1999 Domaine Sorin Cotes de Provence "Cuvee Prive" Rouge

Nothing makes me happier than to drink an under $20.00 red with guts,
character and a different taste than other Rhone inspired varietals. The
Cotes de Provence reds always benefit from that close to the sea, warm,
humid coastal weather. They take on a character that when young is charming
and as the age, almost aggressive. Normally I age these wines more, but for
purely educational purposes I had to try just one of these now. For starters
I've been drinking this wine older siblings for a few years, as well as the
very well made, Bandol. I always find the wines of Sorin to be wines to buy
because they are so well made and have a certain quality which reminds me of
Burgundy, more than the neighboring Rhone region. This wine loaded with
raspberry, black cherry, tar, bing cherry, black currants and oriental tea
is a real winner. Perfect now, it can only get better over time. That is if
I can keep from consuming the remaining bottles.

1999 Coudelet du Beaucastel Blanc

I really used to enjoy this wine when it was priced in the low teens years
ago. The first time I had it was in NYC with John Bennett Perry (the
original Marlboro Man and dad of the hit show Friend's Chandler, Matt Perry)
and long time wine drinking pal Doug Kaplan. That was the 1993 or 1994
vintage at the Union Square Cafe. It made me search out for some as it was
just exquisite. Coupled with its big brother the Chateau du Beaucastel Blanc
this wine has never been a slouch. Now with the 1999 vintage supply running
thin on the left coast, I grabbed the last remaining bottle form a local
retailer for almost $20.00. OUCH. Prices have risen for this hidden gem. The
1999 is a very interesting wine. Not as fat or unctuous as the 1993/94
bottles were, this wine was much crisper, drier and more compact. It was
lean, but by no means austere or unpleasant. Quite the opposite, in its
angularity the wine encased nothing but apricots, peaches and pears. It was
long on the finish and a joy to consume.

1989 Chante Pedrix Chateauneuf du Pape

One of the best value Chateauneuf du Pape's from a superior vintage, like
the other CdPs I've been opening from that vintage of late, this wine showed
that it is evolving nicely and has 4-7 more good years ahead for it. A nice
toffee, blackberry and Provence spice nose, the wine has loads of fruit, is
beginning to hit that point where great CdPs turn Burgundy like. The wine is
smooth, like glass. No roughness or coarseness at all. A wonderful wine and
perfect with herb seasoned Mahi Mahi.

To get out of the funk of the past few days, I went to my favorite steak house.
Dinner at Fleming's was as always perfect. Great steaks, fresh veggies, superb
service, as always.

2000 Chateau de Trinquevedel Tavel Rose

A deep pink robe with a light bouquet of spring flowers. Much deeper and
drier than the 1999. A delicious strawberry and raspberry middle with a
never-ending blueberry finish. Smashingly good and a very different wine
from a very forward vintage

2000 Corte Gardino Bianco di Custoza

This Italian summer weight is a refreshing change from the French
whites I've consumed of late. A soft bouquet of lemon zest and a key lime
pie flavor on the front palate, all backed by a delightful pineapple finish,
from this Lake district bargain white. It's clean, crisp and offers up a
nice well balanced acidity. Don't though plan to age this wine, as its a
drink now type of wine.


1993 Mas Champart Saint Chinian Rouge

Opaque, almost black in color with this eight years young Languedoc red
wine. The 90's really only had one so called light vintage in the d'oc, that
being 1992, though 1996 was at best marginal depending on the producer.
1993 was the first of three big harvests and considered backwards versus
1994, where the grapes provided for a more forward vintage. 1995 was close
to classic until 98 and 99 where despite a small harvest producers made
sensational wines.

Anyway, this 1993 is delightful as it offers up a truly wonderful level of
saturated fruit and tarry flavors, plus the oh so evident Garrigue aromas.
Midpalate black plums and blueberries along with a dazzling cherry

Like the 95 edition of this wine, the 1993 has miles to go before it's done.

Layered fruit is the best way to describe this wine as it offers up a very
complex combination of fruit and flavor. The bouquet is pure Languedoc, with
berries, cherries and that usually evident Garrigue aroma.

On the forward palate are flavors of briary fruit, plums and blackberries.
The mid palate offers up saturated blueberries, while the finish is a
dazzling, almost never-ending array of cherries and red plums.

I grabbed a fast salad and pizza on the way home last night. With that I opened a summerweight Italian Red called Bardolino from the area near the Lake Gardo.

2000 Bardolino "La Fontane" Corte Gardoni

It a light red with a ruby color. Lots of cherry fruit on the nose and cherry finish. Perfect with wood fired oven pizza with mushrooms and pancetta. Lots of depth and good length. A good summer sipper for $10.00. I also have their white and Chiaretto (read rose in Italian) and will open them most likely over the weekend.

Last night, splitting dinner between two establishments, Fleming's and Roy's
with the management of both I brought along three bottles of wines from the sun
drenched part of France and Corsica. If you don't know, from my past posts,
there are no two finer restaurants in San Diego that show my colleagues and
friends a better wine experience letting us tot in wine corkage free--for
nothing more than a taste of the wines which have become a staff coveting
experience of late. To be candid, we all love the way they treat us and how the
phrase "comp corkage" has been applied so generously.

1999 Château de Trinquedevel Rose

With the arrival of the new 2000's its really time to start to finish off the
older roses. While rose can live for many a year, they are best when young, for
that is when they are freshest and most enjoyable.

If there's any reason why rose doesn't sell in the USA as well as it does in
the south of France, it has to be due to White Zinfandel. Serious wine drinkers
who never have experienced a soft, subtle rose from Tavel, Provence or Bandol
really are doing themselves a disservice as last evenings very fine rose wine
showed.

First off a Tavel, if properly made is bone dry, unlike white Zin. Secondly, if
it's from a good producer like Château de Trinquedevel, the bouquet will be
full of rich fruit and flower petals. Lastly on the palate it will be
refreshing, not overly cloying or sweet. Think Alsace lightness with depth, but
more floral and powdery, for that was how this wine was.

Loaded with fresh strawberry and raspberry fruit the wine was simply delicious.
The finish was long and totally enjoyable and paired up nicely with the chopped
salad at Flemings.

Next up was a wine I never had before and look forward anxiously to enjoying
again.

2000 Domaine Maestracci Corse Calvi " E Prove" Blanc de Blanc

I have no idea what is inside this bottle, but I'm ordering more today (not
that I need more white wine or wine in general) for this wine was simply
stunning from the moment it was opened until it was finished. Talk about a
nectar like aroma, flavors of nectarines, melons, ripe peaches and more. Fruit
cocktail never had this much going for it. The body is supple, it glides over
your tongue and offers a finish that is as Adam, the GM of Roy's put it, like a
Gauby. Having been tasting Corsican wines for the past two years or so, I have
never had a white from there which showed the complexities and nuances that
this one offers.

1998 Domaine Maestracci Corse Calvi " E Prove" Rouge

While the white was simply fantastic, this wine was as impressive or more. Made
from four grapes, two of which are new to me, this blend of Syrah, Grenache,
Nieluccio and Sciarello was an ethereal wine. The nose was from somewhere south
of Aix en Provence, the body was Spanish like and the flavors reminded Cameron,
the Flemings Operating Partner, of an Italian. Certainly the long sun drenched
days have done this wine well, but no Bandol, Rhone or Languedoc ever showed
this degree of diversity of flavor and finish. Completely balanced and
refreshing, this wine went perfectly with the onion and mushroom smothered bone
in New York steak that was perfectly cooked by Flemings fine staff. It's a
jammy wine, loaded with brambly fruit, full of herbs and spice and everything
nice. Deep black plums and black currants ran through the wine. The finish left
me wanting more, more, more.

Last night at the Pacific Coast Grill (PCG), a few friends got together and opened three choice reds.

The first was the very delightful 1999 Mas Donas Capacanas from Spain. This blend of Syrah and Grenache is available now on local store shelves. Unlike Rhone siblings, the Spanish wines take in more of the Mediterranean climate and thus become more velvety and lush at an early age. While this wine is not every going to make old bones, it is charming now and will age nicely for 4-5 years with proper cellaring.

1997 Rombauer El Dorado Zinfandel was as usual amazing. While it showed a slight spritz, there was lots of fruit and certainly a good degree of alcohol. Lots of nice berry fruit with a nice long finish.

1992 Hauts du Montmirial Gigondas was wild. Initially it had some bottle stink, which with decanting blew off revealing nice blueberry and blackberry fruit, backed by a nice white pepper spice.

We all split dishes including the wonderful Top Sirloin over mashed potatoes, Sea Bass and Pork Chop. The appetizers were also very edible, including an Ahi Poke like dish and pot stickers. Yum.

While at dinner at the next table was Doug Flutie, the new starting QB for the Chargers who was joined for a few moments by WCW wrestling champ, now on hiatus, Bill Goldberg. Bill's brother Steve is the owner and proprietor of PCG.