Well, I'd be lying if I said I missed posts on Saturday and Sunday because I was busy. What I was busy doing was recovering from Friday where it seemed like a good idea to drink a lot. And you all know that mama, being no spring chicken, simply does not recover from these events easily. One of the culprits of my demise was the above wine. Alain Graillot, Crozes-Hermitage, La Guiraude, 2003. Peter bought this a couple years ago, but go for the 2005 regular Crozes (we served this at our wedding). It's better and cheaper. Available at John and Pete's on La Cienega for $34.99.
This wine had tons of stewed fruit, just what you would expect from 2003 as the hottest and driest year on record in Europe since 1452. I get the feeling that the grapes were shriveled up like a kangaroo scrotum and then pressed, releasing intensely concentrated and raisiny juice. (This reference comes from Owen Bird in his really informative and fun book on Germany, which I am currently reading, called Rheingold. Since he is an Aussie, I assume he knows what that looks like.)
It's stewy and smokey and really delicious, but the alcohol must have been a little elevated as I had a headache that lasted well into the following night.
Just an occupational hazard that I generally avoid. But I guess if I had to do it all over again, I'd still drink a lot of this wine.
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