Maker's Table

Les Beaux Soldats de L'armée Terroiriste

This Saturday, winemaker Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard will pour his wine and read from his new book, Been Doon So Long, at Dartmouth's Tuck School. We expect sixty-five enthusiastic business students to take a break from the rigors of the curriculum to enjoy these spectacular offerings.

The wine arrived today. I lined up the bottles, handsome footsoldiers in the army of terroir. Left to right:

Ca' del Solo Albariño 2008 ($20)
Le Cigare Blanc 2007 ($22)
Vin Gris de Cigare 2008 ($15)
Syrah "Le Pousseur" 2006 ($18)
Le Cigare Volant 2005 ($32)

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Rough Day Smoothed

Duckhorn Vineyards
Napa Valley Merlot
2005
Current price: about $25 (half-bottle)

I had a particularly rough day last Tuesday. In lieu of flowers, my husband brought home two unusual wines meant as little amusements, diversions from the day's convulsion. The first failed horribly as a wine, though its vegetal astringency did succeed in completely eclipsing all sourness I was feeling.

The second was this Duckhorn. The best Merlot I've ever had—that wasn't true Bordeaux—was a Duckhorn, though I hadn't had it in years. This one didn't disappoint. It was a deep violet-red, with a spicy, brambly nose that promised dark and meaty fruit. It delivered: smoky and chewy, with more dark bramble fruit, plum, and spice. Voluptuous, but not Rubenesque; strong, with a long finish.

Thanks, dear.

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Red, Green

Domaine Fouassier
Sancerre L'étourneau
2005
Current price: about $26

This wine is 100% pinot noir, which one might guess from its color and ringing clarity. But it smells like salad and tastes like hay; a more vegetal wine I have never experienced. It's as if the fruit had been completely drained out through a plug at the bottom, leaving behind an acid bite and lots of tannin. A red that tastes green.

Loire reds are tricky, requiring flawless weather and careful winemaking to coax the fruit. I'd love to taste a luckier specimen. It might be spectacular, or at least really interesting: another expression of pinot.

 

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