A little research...

The hubby and I are headed to Boston at the end of the week for a wedding. So, in typical Rebecca OCD fashion, I started researching every restaurant in the city! : ) I have a MAJOR food obsession and have to case out every place I eat. I'll do anything to avoid one of two terrible things... 1. having food envy 2. making a bad quick ordering decision. I read and re-read and re-read menus before heading out everytime (unless of course I've been there and have the menu memorized).

So, the decisions have been made: We'll be eating at Aquitaine (http://www.aquitaineboston.com/) and Douzo (http://www.douzosushi.com/).

After deciding everything I'll be ordering from the menu (yup, everything), I decided to look at the wine menu. Well... looks good! And, I'm sure that if I just randomly ordered a bottle, it would be delicious and I'd be happy; however, I think it would be more fun to do some research on the wines and REALLY know what I'm getting when I order! More on that below...

First, a little side research...

I decided, since we've had such good luck with the vintage tips I found wherever I found them, I'd try to find more info on that. I found a table that says it's really general and doesn't take a lot of things into account, but that it should be a helpful guideline, so here it is for your viewing pleasure:

(Key: GY= good year; VGY= very good year; EY= excellent year)

Vintage 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Red Bordeaux VGY GY GY VGY GY EY

Red Burgandy GY GY VGY VGY GY VGY

Sauternes GY EY GY VGY GY EY

Rhone GY GY GY EY GY VGY

Champagne GY GY VGY GY GY VGY

Italy GY VGY GY GY GY VGY

Spain GY EY GY GY VGY VGY

California GY GY GY VGY GY VGY

Australia GY VGY EY GY VGY VGY

Ok... so this isn't very official looking b/c I couldn't cut and paste for some reason AND it only goes through 2005, BUT... it's a start! Hopefully I can remember some of the EY!

Here's another that should be easier and actually goes through 2007:

(click on the table to see it better)

(the formatting for the rest of the post is all messed up and I can't seem to do anything about it!)

So... back to the Boston menus:

I'm mostly looking at Aquitaine because Douzo is a Japanese restaurant and I may not drink wine. So... I really love Bordeaux (probably has nothing to do with my amazing 2 months in France), but I am a little picky with them. Again, I'm a Cab. girl, NOT a Merlot girl. And, I have learned that with Bordeaux, it's either Right Bank or Left Bank and that Bordeaux is almost always a blend of several grapes. (I love blends... such a fun way to try different things at once.) Well, typically Right Bank is Merlot heavy and Left Bank is Cab. heavy. Problem is... the label/name typically doesn't say which bank it is (ugh... how rude!). So... I decided to look up all of the Bordeaux that they have and figure out what I'm dealing with!

1.) Bordeaux Superieur, Lalande-Couturier 2005

I couldn't find this exact wine, but from what I can tell... mostly Merlot... NEXT

2.) Bordeaux, Chateau Compassant 2004

Cab and Merlot blend... maybe, but doubtful- just can't find enough info.

3.) Haut-Medoc, Chateau de Taillan 2005

Hmmm... definite potential- all I can tell is that it's mostly Cab; however, it says that the best drink dates don't start until 2011, so that's a little concerning

4.) LaLande de Pomerol, Chateau La Fleur St. George 2006

Started off thinking this was Cab., but upon further inspection, looks to be Right Bank Merlot... this may be more difficult than I thought!

5.) Saint-Emilion, Chateau Vieux-Guinot, Grand Cru 2003

This was easier to find... 70% Merlot, 30% Cab- Nope, not there yet

6.) Pauillac, Chateau Pichon-Longueville 2006

45% Cab, 35% Merlot, 12% Cab Franc, 8% Petit Verdot- Hmmm... 35% is still a lot

7.) Margaux, Chateau de Clairefont, 2nd Prieure-Lichine 2005

Getting a little closer... 54% Cab, 40% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 1% Cab Franc

8.) Saint-Estephe, Chateau La Peyre 2005

Going backwards... 50% Cab, 45% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot

9.) Saint-Emilion, Chateau Bel Air Ouy 2004

Couldn't find this exact wine, but apparently Saint-Emilion is mostly Merlot and Cab Franc with relatively small amounts of Cab

10.) Saint-Julien, Chateau Clos Du Marquis 2006

Ugh... this was a hard project... couldn't find this one either, but from what I could find, it's a Medoc, which I found is Left Bank, so I'm deducing that it's majority Cab

11.) Pauillac, Chateau Lynch-Bages 2004

Oh man... I REALLY thought I'd finally found it! 73% Cab, 15% Merlot, 10% Cab Franc, 2% Petit Verdot... Awesome! UNTIL... I looked at the price! $275/bottle... Riiiggghhhttt!

Well, based on all of this, it looks like #3 would be my best bet; however, I think I've created a monster! Now I want to look closer at the rest of the wines because I'm just not convinced that that's THE best bottle for us! : )

Alright... Aquitaine is a French restaurant, so I really do want to stick with a French wine (I'm a dork)! So... here are the rest of the options:

THE SOUTH

1.) Cotes du Roussillon Villages, Chateau de Caladroy 2006

This is a Grenache... I really do like Grenache, but I think that may be too light for what I'd like

2.) Cotes de Provence "Rouge Reserve", Domaine Houchart 2003

Grenache and Syrah blend- Hmmm... could be very interesting! However, I'm sort-of worried about the 2003 vintage!

3.) Coteaux du Languedoc "La Reserve", Chateau L'Hospitalet 2006

Syrah- Hmmm... definitely interesting- I love the peppery aspects of a good Syrah

LOIRE

4.) Chinon "Tireaux", Domaine Olek-Mery 2006

Cabernet Franc- This could be fun! A little something different!

RHONE

5.) Cotes du Ventoux "La Quintessence", Chateau Pesquie 2006

80% Syrah, 20% Grenache- I think that sounds pretty good, but I saw a description that says it has pretty strong licorice/anise flavors... NOT ok with me! : )

6.) Chateauneuf du Pape, Domaine du Vieux Lazaret 2007

Yummm... I love a strong Chateauneuf du Pape- can't really find out too much about this one though- Also, they only offer a 1/2 bottle... probably not enough! : )

7.) Chateauneuf du Pape, Domaine du Galet des Papes 2004

I found a blog where someone reviewed this wine and I was practically salivating!!! This seriously may be the winner!

8.) Saint Joseph "Le Grande Pompee", Paul Jaboulet 2005

Syrah- the description sounds delicious!!! This is definitely a front-runner right now!

9.) Gigondas "Les Hauts de Montmirail, Domaine Brusset 2005

This is a Grenache blend and sounds yummy... but maybe not as good as a couple others

10.) Cornas "Vieilles Vignes" Alain Voge 2003

Syrah- This one sounds AMAZING! However, upon further inspection... A bit pricey!

11.) Cote Rotie, "Terres Lombres", Yves Cuilleron 2005

Syrah- couldn't find much info on this one; however, it's $215/bottle... yeah, no thanks! : )

BURGANDY

12.) Beaujolais Morgan, Chateau de Pizay 2008

Gamay- A little too light for this occassion

13.) Bourgogne "Vieilles Vignes" Joseph Voillot 2007

Pinot Noir- I like Pinot Noir sometimes, but this isn't what I'm looking for

14.) Volnay 1er Cru "En Chevrets", Louis Latour 2005

This is a Pinot Noir- again, just not right

15.) Bourgogne "Cuvee Margot", O. Leflaive 2007

Pinot Noir...

16.) Santenay, Jean-Marc Morey "La Comme Dessus" 2006

Again... Pinot Noir

17.) Savigny Les Beaune, "Veilles Vignes", Alex Gambal 2008

Pinot Noir

18.) Pommard "Les Tavannes", Domaine Gaunoux 2004

I can't find anything about this one, but I'm just going to go out on a limb and guess Pinot Noir

19.) Vosne Romanee, Domaine Chezeau 2006

Yup... Pinot Noir

There are 2 others, but they're really expensive and I'm guessing Pinot

So... another thing learned: Rhone=Syrah (generally) and Burgandy=Pinot Noir (usually). This is actually something I think I may be able to remember!!! : )

Well, this is a lot to think about, so I'll just have to study these descriptions for another day and then hope for the best! I'll let you know what we choose! : )