Welcome back one and all from your summer vacations. Those of you who fought the traffic getting back to Paris will find the City of Lights deserted as the tourist occupation forces have left leaving a trail of McDo wrappers, torn Rick Steve’s tourist maps, empty wine cartons, and God know what else in their path. They will return home thoroughly pleased with Paris except why don’t they speak English like the rest of us? For many of you September means rentrée scolaire des élèves (back to school)- that long awaited moment when our dear ones are gently nudged back into the adoring arms of Madame la Directrice – tight lipped, no-nonsense but always perfectly coiffed and dressed. For others, its a return to the old routine – you know getting re-acquainted with one’s cinq à sept (five to seven) and hoping that you brought enough gold bling to turn that pout upside down it can be a long winter. For others, it means hesitantly putting on their costume to see if they sufficiently behaved or if the vacation was one of sublime excess. But I digress. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed themselves but let me add for the record that you missed some events of biblical proportions. You missed an earthquake – really something especially for a quake newbie like me and you missed a lil’ol hurricane that chewed it’s way up the Mid-Atlantic coastline and then, hungry for more, went inland and destroyed more. It was better than reading Ouest France with the inevitable story about a tourist being blown off the cliffs somewhere in Brittany or a ten car pileup on the autoroute. Part three of this biblical trilogy has yet to reveal itself. I expect it could be swarms of slimy snakes crawling about the canyons of Washington, DC (no wait we have those already) or possibly an invasion of locusts darkening the skies, maybe a squadron of flying monkeys with little red caps swooping down. Cute thought. So now that you are read-in, comme on dit, on all the disasters let me get on with the really important matter at hand -that being food.
2009 Rene Bouvier Bourgogne, Le Chapitre. This Pinot Noir is light and silky. Incredibly focused, with a mix of brilliant red-berried fruits and a bright finish.
2009 Rene Bouvier Fixin Crais de Chene, Burgundy, France. Seamless and supple red with aromas of raspberry, cherry, and sandalwood. Fairly rich and sweet, with plenty of volume and breadth. Finishes with big, palate-coating dusty tannins.
2009 Rene Bouvier Gevrey-Chambertin, La Justice, Burgundy, France. Rich and ripe, yet very clean and pure, with a texture of pure silk on the palate delivering loads of red and black fruit flavors with hints of truffle, cigar box and exotic spices. Crisp acidity and firm but integrated tannins on a slightly spicy and smoky finish. OMG.
Sauvignon Rutherford, Napa Valley, California. Rated 91 points by Wine Spectator: “Aromas of fresh earth and mineral are taut and firm on the palate, with dried currant, sage, cedar and crushed rock. Full-bodied, tight and concentrated, ending with firm tannins that have a touch of chewiness.”
2008 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford, Rutherford, Napa Valley, California. Bursting with rich, ripe cherry-plum aromas and a touch of vanilla-oak. Full-bodied flavors accent a fine supple texture with fresh, minerally-cherry, and hints of dark chocolate with tannins and an excellent finish, this is a stylish, dense wine that should age well for up to a decade.
And my sleeper selection: 2009 Colosi Sicilia Rosso from, wait for it….Sicily. It’s a bottle you can’t refuse if you value your life.