Monthly Archives: December 2013

2011 Savigny-Les-Beaune Les Narbantons

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2011 Savigny Les Beaune Les Narbantons

We enjoyed this bottle of Burgundy with a Dutch dish called “Parelhorn met Dragon-Dille Boter” otherwise known as guinea fowl with tarragon and dill butter. The guinea fowl is flavorful and light…I like to think of it as slightly gamier chicken…this is how all chicken should taste. The wine is a premier cru Burgundy from the Cote d’Beaune in the Cote d’Or. With the price of well known Burgundy producers/regions in outer space Savigny and Santenay are great areas to explore on weeknights or with low key meals with solid bottles available around $20-$30. For something more sophisticated with a weekend meal or having guests but still on a budget I’d recommend jumping to something a bit nicer around $40-50. Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin, Chassange-Montrachet, Nuits-Saint-Georges, or Meursault are all good choices.

colonelgrape: 84. We had this on a weekend with a big meal but I’d consider it more of a weekday drinker. On the nose there was red/black cherry, fresh earth, and a hint of citrus…young smelling. As the night went on the nose improved. Similar on the palate but I enjoyed the nose more than the taste. Even though most young Burgs tend to be a little tart at the end the finish here was on the tart side. Overall it was a somewhat simple but good value at $25…I’d drink it again.

MobyGrape: 81. There’s just something about pinot that I’m not so keen on, and I just can’t quite put my finger on it.  Oh wait, yes I can.  It’s the incredible tartness that comes along with young pinot, or pinot that isn’t mad expensive.  I want to like it so badly, because it works perfectly with lighter meats until you get to that puckery finish and then it’s just ruined.  Ok, maybe that’s a little dramatic.  It’s not ruined, this was a perfectly fine bottle of wine, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

2006 Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion

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2006 Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion

Bordeaux blanc is typically a blend made of sauvignon blanc and semillon. If you went in blind and heard those grapes you’d expect a lighter style wine however these are full bodied whites. Pessac-Leognan is located on the left bank in the north part of Graves. This region is more well known for red (it’s home to the classified first growth Chateau Haut-Brion) however there are some good whites to be found. I think these wines are good alternatives to Chardonnay based whites with meals that want full bodied wines.

colonelgrape: 91. The nose was a bit funky: barnyard, hay, with a little citrus sneaking through. On the palate: citrus, limestone/chalk, and toasted oak. It had a little nuttiness to it too. Really liked the mouthfeel…good full body to it. An agressive white but good acidity leads to a long, smooth finish. I picked this up for $35 at Vin Bin and I think it’s fairly priced. I’d pair this with fleshy fish, pasta with cream sauces, and lighter meats like chicken, rabbit, or quail.

mobygrape: 88. Initial nose? Farty. After more nosing?  Asparagus pee.  After getting over it and nosing some more?  Kind of woody and musty, and I’m not sure how else to describe it other than pungent.  Looks like someone didn’t drink anything for 48 hours, drank a gallon of Ecto Cooler and peed, it’s a very intense yellow color.  Are you thirsty yet?  This is a serious white wine.  It’s more like a white that doesn’t know it’s a white.  It’s full bodied and does not want to be paired with some mamby pamby white fish.  It’s tart, very full, and would definitely overpower a light fish or appetizer.  I don’t think it’s got the cojones for red meat but it would be ready to step into the ring with a heavier fish (salmon, swordfish) or other meat (such as rabbit drowning in delicious mustard sauce).  Cheers!