dmwine

Concha y Toro “Terrunyo” Sauvignon Blanc 2005, El Triangulo Vineyard, Casablanca Valley, Chile, An expensive Chilean SB, to be sure, but a good one ...

No, they only do the panel tasting once a month. They've been rotating formats weekly for awhile now.

Anyone else feel like you're reading Harry Potter for the first time, only it's the third book in the series? There's a back story here, and reading that restored thread doesn't quite tell it ... Like, why restore it? Why today?

In the spirit of shameless self-promotion, something I'm not really good at, here's a link to my review of David Craig Bethesda in the March issue of DC magazine. As the magazine itself is not online, this is from my own Web page - dmwineline.com. It's my first published restaurant review, so please be kind. And for those who enjoy a bit of culinary exegesis, no, Tom S. and I did not dine there together, nor did we exchange notes. Though I did happen to see him at the restaurant I reviewed for the April issue ...

Well said, Joe - I'm a fan too. Unfortunately I was unable to meet with Grahm on this rare DC visit, but I've loved his wines for years, as well as his sense of humor and iconoclasm. Is that a word? He makes arguably the best US rose; his Malvasia bianca "Big House White" is phenomenal, as is the Red; Le Cigare Volant is still near the top of Rhone Ranger lists; and he's always coming out with something new, including a sparkling red that beautifully mimics the low-alcohol, slightly fizzy reds Italy sometimes comes out with. And his newsletters are a trip. Did you ask him what he smokes when he's writing?

Full Kee in Chinatown used to be a haven, er, heaven for wine lovers. Is that place still in business?

I think they're trying to improve it, because in previous panels when they posted each "reviewer"'s comments, too many sounded alike. This idea never showed promise - not with these panels, anyway.

You're a braver man than I, Gunga Don! I long ago learned from personal experience with Bobby Kacher that there's nothing more dangerous than describing an importer's wines to the importer. By definition, I am wrong. Besides, I tend to learn more from listening than yakking. So I'll shut up now.

I tend to agree with Joe H., though as always I hate to make vintage generalizations. I was in Rhone and Alsace last November, and when the subject of the '03s came up, winemakers invariably gave a Gallic shrug. The vintage is so "atypical" that many of them don't know how to describe it - they can't really compare it to others of recent memory. So if you find some good wines, enjoy them, but don't think you've learned much about them. Likewise if you don't like them, you shouldn't dismiss those wines from more "classic" vintages. One place I've found where the heat really helped: Loire reds. These usually suffer from being thin and astringent and have trouble achieving adequate ripeness. No problem in '03! Comments about the southern Rhone I'd take with a grain of salt - Chateauneuf especially is prone to pruny overripeness even in a balanced vintage. But OK, I'll taste them before I pan them ... And I'll always defer to Terry Thiese where German wine is concerned.

The most famous is Chateau Musar, which can be quite good (and $$) in an old-world, rustic way. There are other, newer labels. You can find a few of them on the list at Zaytinya. Park yourself at the bar and ask George, if he's there, to be your tutor.

I haven't seen one all the way through, but what don't you like about it? The idea of pairing herbs and flavorings to wine sounds intriguing. And when did she marry Jancis, anyway?

I received the following e-mail from Mark Phillips, who runs the Wine Tasting Association here in the DC area. I offer it without comment ... except to say that I, personally, would NEVER drink wine while doing laundry for fear of making a mistake and having my underwear come out looking like rose' ...

Joe - Right on. I tasted these wines in November on a wine trip in the Rhone, at the end of a day visiting Rasteau and Gigondas. Suffice to say they make Red Bicyclette taste good. (Although RB's rose is actually quite nice ...)

Cheval Blanc would be the one he likes. That you might like another is irrelevant to his argument - he's not saying it's the only one out of reach. Cheval Blanc has its fans. Only most of them know the winery is in St Emilion, not Pomerol.

Did you spot the gaffes in today's wine column?

Wow, anyone know where I can get me one of those "soft Barolos from Tuscany" the old guy remembers so fondly in today's wine column? And when did Cheval Blanc move to Pomerol?

When I dined at L'Atelier in Vegas in October, they explained that Robuchon orders the black clothing because he wants the customers to focus on the food, not the chefs. Anyway, it's stylish. Black is the new black, as it were.

Notice he doesn't write the accompanying drivel ... They are, however, promoting him more, leveraging his longevity to give credibility to the coverage.

C'mon, Ching Ching Cha's been around for a long time. I wrote about it for Washington Sidewalk in 1999. My editor was some guy named, wait a minute, it'll come to me .... Tom something ...

DC does indeed do better - DC magazine, that is. Sorry, shameless self-promotion ...

TMI, Scott! Waaaaaay TMI ... The single worst wine review I ever read, which I ridiculed in "Chateau Viagra,", read simply, "It didn't make my wife and I want to f---, so we won't buy it again." Such brevity, and yet, way too much information. And no, for the record, Scott didn't write that.

At the risk of self-promotion, I wrote about this place two years ago, so anyone who hasn't heard of it just isn't reading the right things.

But John, you make the best soups in town!

"Partially finished bottles"? This does not compute ... It also means that diners will be able to "splurge" on some really rare Spanish wines and pay just $15 above retail price, without the typical restaurant markup (and markups have always been fair at Proximo establishments).

I've had the same problem with the pulled pork on two visits - wet and obviously steamed, only I was unable to detect any smoke or flavor whatsoever. I really cannot see the attraction of this place. Except maybe for the best darned beans I've had in years. But they're not worth wasting a visit, and I work five minutes from there.