I love Tartine.

Some of the tastiest food I have yet eaten in San Francisco has been at this bakery in la Mission, at 18th and Guerrero to be precise. Though I have yet to thoroughly explore the sweets, the few that I have tried have been very tasty, particularly the delicate, slightly moist, melt-in-your mouth cocoa nib studded merengue.

As good as the pastry is, to me Tartine's greatest strength is its bread. It is the best bread I have ever eaten. Delicious, with a slightly chewy and crisp crust, very moist, large crumb interior, and excellent staying power for the next day (even when kept in a paper bag on the counter, there is no bread drawer in this house....)

On Tartine's killer bread, they fashion some of the best cheese sandwiches I have ever eaten. Idiazabal and membrillo; pecorino, almond and arugula with lemon and sage; and a three cheese sandwich featuring cheddar, idiazabal and Carmody. There are also ham sandwiches. Which reminds me, their croque Monsieur, and basically anything else they do with ham and gruyere on it, is a must try.

I can't wait to eat some more Tartine bread tomorrow!

Three from Chateau Musar

Here are 3 rather brief snapshots of three vintages of Musar. Given that these were tasted a few days after opening it's far from ideal to critique these wines formally. But I'm a pretty informal guy. And besides, I maintain that one can get a pretty good sense of most wines by tasting them on day 2, 3 or even day 4 as in my most recent tasting of Chateau Musar).

Chateau Musar 1999 - Mainly primary, bordering on sweet cherry flavors. It's balanced, slightly spicy, and the most brisk and fruit forward of this line-up. Well balanced, tasty Rhone-like Lebanese red that is more interesting and tastier (not too mention easier to drink at 13.5% alc) than many a CdP out there.

Chateau Musar 1998 - This one is showing a lot more secondary characteristics and appears to be aging quickly. At least that is what this particular bottle was showing me. Still delightful, though. More cinnamon, cocoa and pipe tobacco on the nose, as well as more advancement on the palate.

Chateau Musar 1995 - My favorite. This seems to have more weight and structure than the others with a darker fruit quality and all of the classic Musar cinnamon and exotic spice notes.

Interesting...though geographically the temptation is to equate this with Israeli wine, that of the intensely sunny, very warm, New World style, Chateau Musar really comes across stylistically as firmly in the old world. Or at least that is what the overall balance of nuanced aromas and flavors would suggest. Maybe it's the altitude (1000m), or the limestone based soil? Quite possibly both, combined with Serge Hochar's philosophy, as exemplified by his quote on the Chateau Musar website:

"I once produced a wine that was technically perfect but it lacked the charms of imperfection".

Souls of Mischief - '93 til infinity [good quality]

Another
OK, time to rep for the Bay Area. This is a classic record. Enjoy!

Phil Collins Friday

OK, I've generally railed against '80s pop music. Phil Collins would be a happy exception. Everything about this video is just so mid 1980's. Check the drum fill-in leading into the 2nd verse!

And now some ROCK! Phil and Philip

I never realized this was Philip Bailey! Now, in addition to the version of 'Reasons' off of the live EWF album Gratitude, I can think of this rocker as well as part of the catalogue of one of the greatest Falsettos of our time - Philip Bailey. Yes!

These Burgundies ARE good. Why? Because I say so, dangit!

I do not have tasting notes in front of me, but I think I should remember these wines well enough to properly paint a picture for you all. I'm only describing red burgs today. These are all good values for their respective prices, in some cases really good values.

2005 Domaine Vincent Sauvestre Bourgogne Rouge - Cheap ($13) red burg for gamay fans! That is, there is a certain pleasing earthiness to this wine that reminds me of good 'ol, real Beaujolais grown in granitic soil. Rustic but a good table wine, which is probably why I like this more than many anonymous tasting $20 Bourgogne Rouge wines out there.

2005 Domaine Bart Marsannay 'Les Longuieres' - Man, this is tasty Pinot! A real textural pleasure, this. There is an abundance of fleshy, dark cherry fruit, delivered in a wine whose mouthfeel is so incredibly velvety, and at the same time slightly thick - even for this ideal, ripe vintage. Tannins are very smooth, and the wine finishes with just a hint of allspice on the finish. Terrific stuff from someone making serious wines in an unfortunately less than seriously regarded village. For about $21 this is a deal.

2005 Domaine Patrick Size Mercurey 1er cru 'Clos de Montagne' - This is another wine with a darker cherry fruit profile and a similar mouthfeel to the above. It is still tight, though it does not come across as being tannic in any way. This wine has a really interesting, spiciness that does not seem to be derived from new oak as much as it is the soil where it grows. Sort of reminds me of village Meursault if it were a red wine. Should improve for at least 7 years. At $29 it's a winner.

2005 Bachey Legros Bourgogne Rouge - The one generic Bourgogne Rouge on this list is really quite good. There is all the density and depth of flavor that any winemaker could deliver in Burgundy's '05 vintage, but an added weight and structure on the palate that makes this wine stand out. $20.

2005 Domaine Paul Miset (Varoilles) Chambolle-Musigny - Definitely an up-and-coming estate, methinks. This wine smells of strawberries, real root beer (not A&W) and clove. On the palate there is a similar spicy red fruit character that is delicious and distinctive, with good length and well-integrated tannins. $42 and worth it.

2005 Domaine des Varoilles Gevrey Chambertin 1er cru 'Clos des Varoilles' - I do not remember the cost of this wine and do not think that any more is available in this country. Man, it was good though! Very lively blackberry flavors, incredibly focused and pure, pure pure. Very intensely flavored and super long on the finish.

Here were three wines which disappointed:

2004 DRC Echezeaux Grand Cru - Of course it was infanticide to crack this one open, but I was not there when the guilty party committed the act, and then left behind the bottle for me and my co-workers to taste. As a general rule, if there happens to be a bottle of DRC laying around, open, you kind of have to taste it. It's your duty as as a wine drinker. I am not the least bit experienced in DRC (this was my first encounter), though the wine struck me as being super tight, which is not surprising. Beneath all the tannin and structure, it was difficult for me to ascertain much beyond a bit of exotic spice (cumin, cloves) and dark fruit.

1999 Domaine Marechal Savigny Les Beaune Vielles Vigne - Another infanticide. This was definitely pretty, intense, pure PN. No doubt. But maybe I was just expecting a little further development, some more secondary flavors presenting themselves. This was super refined for a Savigny, which I guess is no surprise given this excellent domaine's rep. If you have this in your cellar, I'd sit on it for another few years.

2000 Domaine Pierre Morey Pommard 1er cru 'Grands Epenot' - Many '00 burgs are apparently drinking very well right now. Well this had very fleshy, cherry fruit and that Pommard sense of density and weight on the palate. But again, that was it. Very primary, and just a little boring. Good fruit intensity is a good thing, but I'd like some more in the way of floral and mineral notes in my wine.

A near revelation:

2004 De Montille Volnay 1er cru "Taillepieds" - This was as close to a 'WOW' experience as I've had in tasting red burgundy. Apparently I really like this vineyard; I remember tasting an '02 Bouchard from the same vineyard that was also good. But not this good. Very floral, with an amazing layered array of roses, raspberries, cherries, and mineral. Very lithe and supple on the palate. I could drink this every night and not tire of it. Unfortunately it's $80. But a splurge that is worth every penny.

I must say the good thing about tasting a number of wines from the same region is that you (or your friendly wine merchant) can make some general observations about what you like and dislike, as far as vineyard sites, vintages, producer's style, etc. Closing in on the end of 2007, a year which constituted a very good primer on Burgundy for me, I have discovered that I prefer softer, more feminine styled red burgs. And if they're from traditional producers and more classic vintages, so much the better.

Burgundy - worth the price of admission?

Not Ron Burgundy of Anchorman fame (to which I would respond with a resounding 'yes') but Burgundy as in the famed Pinot Noir and Chardonnay based wines of France. I must admit, though I've been tasting more and more of these wines, most of them current or recent release, some of them older, I am consistently underwhelmed. Well, maybe 'underwhelmed' is a little harsh. What is on my mind when I taste Burgundy, though, is the following: Why have I had so few wines that I find to be truly interesting, that are distinctive and that I can easily remember how it tastes, its texture on the palate, what make it unique from other Burgundies, etc? OK, once again a stretch. I know Meursault when I taste it, I know Puligny Montrachet when I taste it. Gevrey Chambertin vs Chambolle-Musigny, or Volnay? No problem. I'm speaking about generic Bourgogne Rouge and Blanc, and a good many village wines as well. Maybe it's just that I don't appreciate these grape varietals. I can say with certainty that I don't much care for Chardonnay, unless it is from Chablis or Champagne.

Even wines I've tasted from the amazing '05 vintage, while they are very well-made, have often times struck me as being tasty, well-made, nice wines. Nothing more. Here is a list of wines I'd rather spend money on then 99% of Bourgogne Rouge or Blanc:

REDS

Good nebbiolo
Traditional Rioja (La Rioja Alta, LdH)
Cru Beaujolais
Loire Vally Cab Franc
Mondeuse
Poulsard
Pesquera
Cerasuolo di Vittoria

WHITES

Muscadet
German and Austrian Riesling
Vouvray
Gruner Veltliner
Pacherenc
Jurancon
Sancerre...

...and plenty others. Why have I yet to have a revelation, a Burgundy that makes me say "Yeah!!! That's what it's about it, now I get it." Maybe I need to have my palate checked, could it be fatally flawed? Perhaps I'm just a hater, a Francophile hater. Maybe I need to hang out with more wine geeks. Wine geeks with deeper cellars. Wine geeks with deeper pockets than me.

I can appreciate peoples obsession's with Burgundy, without a doubt. But I just don't find them to be particularly exciting wines, at least without spending a good chunk of change. And I'd rather have an excellent producer's benchmark wine from a less fashionable region than some mid-end village Burg at twice the price. That's just me. Now let the hate mail and nasty Burghead posts begin....

Next post, I'll review some red burgundies whose taste I actually remember and write up one near revelatory Burgundian Pinot Noir experience I had several months ago.