The Purple Cousin

“The snow has not yet left the earth, but spring is already asking to enter your heart. If you have ever recovered from a serious illness, you will be familiar with the blessed state when you are in a delicious state of anticipation, and are liable to smile without any obvious reason. Evidently that is what nature is experiencing just now. The ground is cold, mud and snow squelches under foot, but how cheerful, gentle and inviting everything is! The air is so clear and transparent that if you were to climb to the top of the pigeon loft or the bell tower, you feel you might actually see the whole universe from end to end. The sun is shining brightly, and its playful, beaming rays are bathing in the puddles along with the sparrows. The river is swelling and darkening; it has already woken up and very soon will begin to roar. The trees are bare, but they are already living and breathing.” ― Anton Chekhov, The Exclamation Mark

The purple crocuses have decided to join their yellow cousins.  Must be time for more Champagne!

Spring Wine

The world is exploding in emerald, sage, and lusty chartreuse - neon green with so much yellow in it. It is an explosive green that, if one could watch it moment by moment throughout the day, would grow in every dimension.   -- Amy Seidl, Early Spring: An Ecologist and Her Children Wake to a Warming World

Muscadet  is one of three wines that sing spring to me, the other two being a young Mosel Riesling and a fresh Chablis - not a premier or grand cru one, just a regular entry level bottling.    There was some fresh halibut on the plate alongside some white rice and spinach and there was this bottle of  2011 Domaine de la Garniere Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie Vieilles Vignes.  It took much longer to type that name than it did to open the bottle, pour a bit in the glass and start enjoying.  Fresh, young, crisp, salty and refreshing.  Spring in a bottle.

2011 Domaine de la Garniere Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie Vieilles Vignes.  12% alcohol and $12.

This Morning

Flowers are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world. ---Ralph Waldo Emerson

Two, warm, sunny days in a row.  Yesterday early I cleared away some of winter's leaves and such, and this morning I was rewarded with these blooming, yellow crocuses.  Corner turned and we are on to better days ahead with the weather.   

Bubbles

Since the weather turned better yesterday a celebration was called for, and there's nothing better than Champagne to make any day a celebration.  In this case it was a Camille Jacquet Blanc de Blancs Brut.  

Champagne is a beautiful wine to look at in a tall flute, but when I'm at home the first glass is usually in a large red wine glass.  It's opens up quicker and one gets a better sense of the wine in that type of glass.  Great pale color in the glass gave way to distinct aromas of bread and cardamon mixed with tart apples and white peaches.  The more I swirled the more baked goods came out of the glass.

Once it got into the tall flute the bubble stream was textbook - slow and steady and of small to medium size.   The wine does seem to hold it's temperature better in the flute than the red wine glass, and since I don't like Champagne bitingly cold the flute works great after the first glass.

There was salty food in the form of brined chicken wings lightly dusted with seasoning and flour and fried in a cast iron skillet and some shrimp and pasta salad.  Later in the evening there was some popcorn dusted with black truffle salt and a bit of melted butter and another glass of the wine.   

Champagne, if you are seeking the truth, is better than a lie detector. It encourages a man to be expansive, even reckless, while lie detectors are only a challenge to tell lies successfully.   -- Graham Greene

Camille Jacquet Blanc de Blancs Brut.  12% alcohol and $60.00

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March

"The word March comes from the Roman Martius. This was originally the first month of the Roman calendar and was named after Mars, the god of war. March was the beginning of our calendar year. We changed to the 'New Style' or 'Gregorian calendar in 1752, and it is only since then when we the year began on 1st January.

The Anglo-Saxons called the month Hlyd monath which means Stormy month, or Hraed monath which means Rugged month.  That seems more appropriate as yesterday it snowed and today there is bright sunshine and green things are sprouting from the river banks.  That growth made for one very happy and hungry Mallard this morning.

The forecast is spring for the next week so I think a celebration is in order tonight.

Leftovers for Lunch

Bits and pieces of things from the refrigerator that were put together for lunch today.....  Clockwise from the top - some pasta, grape and blue cheese salad;  a ring of sweet red pepper with some Provencal mustard;  some rare sirloin steak sliced thin and dipped in the mustard;  and finally some roasted beets on a bed of mixed greens with a yogurt dressing.

Pinnacle

Wine to me is passion. It's family and friends. It's warmth of heart and generosity of spirit. Wine is art. It's culture. It's the essence of civilization and the art of living”. - Robert Mondavi

The last Barolo of the evening was different than the two Boglietti wines. The 2001 Mario Marengo Brunate was not as polished.   The first two had no sediment in the bottle and this one had some bottle attached to the sediment.  It was definitely old school Barolo and it tasted that way.  The tannins were stronger, the color a bit paler and the aroma profile different. It was textbook Barolo with a big emphasis on fresh road tar mixed in with the roses.  It was much more savory than the first two.  It was also my favorite wine of the evening because all the parts came together in perfect symmetry to make a wonderful wine.  There is a second bottle of this wine in the cellar and it will get five more years. 

2001 Mario Marengo Brrunate Barolo.   14% alcohol and $55 about five years ago.