2001 Alain Jaume CdP

[VouvrayHead]

occasion: it's the coldest night of the year. windchills at -35 F...

company: my gorgeous girlie

wine: 2001 Alain Jaume Chateauneuf-du-Pape

food: seeded french bread with loads of garlic, black olive, herbs-du-provence, a touch of black pepper and some thin slices of good local gruyere... in the oven just enough to melt cheese and make the garlic and olives sing. Also roasted potato/carrot/sweet onion all oiled and herbed up... (we're vegetarian, but still epicurian damn-it!)

the wine was fabulous for a lower-end CdP...
the notes in my journal read: "fruity (black cherry?) and gamey nose, but the palate is all about earthy, spicey and salty. A kaleidescope of olive, lavender, gravel and earth. Terrific with the food, each bite of food changed the wine. A long finish of olives and herbs.

soooo good with the food. it's good to be inside and warm on nights like this! grapes are miraculous little things...