Recent drinking round-up!

Time for another catch-up on what's been drunk lately... one has to get through this interminable lockdown somehow! Here we have three blasts from the past and something new.

The other night, G cracked open a couple of wines from Domaine Parent, and it was fascinating to try them side by side.

The 2015 Bourgogne Rouge came in at a mere 12.5% and had a nose of raspberries and a certain earthiness reminiscent of Pommard. It was lighter than I expected, and very drinkable, the kind of wine I think of as being good with lunch. Not what I was necessarily expecting based on the old days when we used to drink a lot of it.

The 2013 Monthelie came in at 13% and had an attractive, slightly musky nose. It was juicy with a high level of acidity and also seemed light, fruity and young. It opened up after a few minutes and with hindsight would have benefited from an hour in decanter. Apparently it was even better the next day!

Yesterday the weather was good enough for ACC and I to have a socially-distanced picnic in the nearby square. ACC had told me he was going to bring along the new gewurztraminer from Romain Chapuis, which was exciting. I wasn't really sure what food would go well with it, but it turned out that my duck and prune terrine was a very good match. It was a beautiful golden colour and had an aromatic gewurz nose but more subtle than some (no granny's handbag here). Apparently it's made from grapes grown in Alsace but Romain declassifies it so it's a Vin de France. I really liked the weight and richness of it, then discovered it clocks in at a whopping 14.5% so not like some of his other unsulphured wines. Definitely a bottle to share with others, and something a little bit different. The wine bars really ought to snap this up, once they're allowed to reopen...

My contribution was this Moulin-a-Vent Cuvee L'Exception 2011 from the Trichards, which we used to enjoy very much back in the day. A case was still lingering in storage and I had it delivered recently. It has matured very nicely and is still a wonderful bottle of Beaujolais, more on the serious side, and best served slightly chilled. As usual, my glass seemed to evaporate. A very pleasant way to spend a sunny afternoon!