Around the world (or at least France)

Not to be outdone by myself, I had to follow up on the 2004 Bordeaux extravaganza with something else interesting. Of course, there were the three dinner parties we were having at our place over the next four days, but there was also the Salon des Vignerons Indépendants.

Friday evening, in preparation (uh... or else, defying our livers' capacities) we drank a bottle of NV Pierre Moncuit Brut “Hugues de Coulmet” with Juliette, Sylvain and Philippe. I find that champagne ever-tasty in its elegant, light-bodied blanc de blancs way. Afterward we drank a delicious, red-fruity 2002 Philippe Amiot Chambolle-Musigny and then a rustic and tannic 2004 Philippe Teulier Marcillac “Lo Sang Del Païs.”

Saturday was then the Salon... Mm, some tasty finds. From an interesting set of champagnes from Sadi Malot (but not as exciting as a few other independent producers tasted in recent months), we moved on to whites from the Domaine Saint-Nicolas, Fiefs Vendéens, which are excellent but pricy. Burgundy was served by M. Jean-Pierre Mugneret, with some well-crafted Vosnes and Nuits, with the odd Echezeaux thrown in just for hedonism’s sake.

Then we moved down the coast to the Rhône, tasting 2005 and 2004 Côtes-du-Rhône from La Borie (wickedly tasty), then a spate of Châteauneuf-du-Papes, white then red, young then old, from the Château de la Gardine. With an odd hop to Corsica, where I was treated with slight regard and got miffed at the Domaine Leccia, so only tasted the 2005 vermentino (less interesting to me than a sharp version from Antoine Aréna tasted a couple of months back) we then moved on...

But wait, this is getting too long. I’ll just recork my pen and save some for later so as not to seem a hog.