Happy holidays to BWEers from your BD

[JimHow]

Greetings to BWEers around the world from the Maine Mall, scene of some last minute shopping.
The fates have allowed us to be together another year, I hope everyone is healthy and drinking good wines from the northern Medoc this winter season! (I uncorked a 2000 Giscours yesterday afternoon at the office of some of my favorite lawyer friends, it was showing really, really well, very fragrant. I'll be pulling out a half dozen bottles of Bordeaux this evening for our Christmas Eve family gathering with roast beast and lots of cheer!)
I hope to see everyone again in the not too distant future.

[stefan]

Happy Holidays, Jim, and all BWEers. Lucie and I are looking forward to seeing many of you at the 10th convention in Chicago.

stefan

[William P]

Happy Holidays everyone!

[Nicklasss]

Happy holiday Jim, and to all BWEers around the World.

If you have a bottle, please open the 2000 Chateau d'Armailhac before year end, as this could be the BWE WOTY in 2009...

Nic

[Rick]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday's to all

I just openned a 93 Margaux....headed to Capital Grille (will meet Harvey again) for a Xmas eve dinner.

Kathy and I just returned to Chicago, from visting relatives in TN and KY, 30 min ago.

rick

[Jay Winton]

Best to everyone from the vinos. Looking forward to Chicago!

[Comte Flaneur]

Hope everyone is having a good holiday and drinking well.

I had to be discreet with my teetotal family but had a really nice Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard 2003 over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - - lovely peppery and jammy raspberry fruit, hot'n'sweaty and better on day two....and then today the fourth wine of Chateau Latour 2005, a nice light drop of claret bottled by the UK Wine Society

[sdr]

Cheers to all and to fine drinking ahead in 2010 and beyond.

[JonoB]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New YEar,

Quite a few wines from me over this festive period, and more to come!

1979 Chateau Trotanoy,
2002 Bollinger GA Rose
1998 Dom Ruinart
1999 Pol Roger
NV Georges Vesselle Paraphe
1999 Corton Charlemagne- Louis Latour
2004 Chablis Bougros Fevre
1998 Pontet-Canet
1998 Beaucastel
1993 Mouton
Another 79 Trotanoy
A few other quaffers,
and a 78 Chateau Citran.

My head is spinning from the vinious fun, but not a single hangover

[PappaDoc]

Happy Holidays to All, and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Monday night two long time friends came over to Dinner with Stephanie and I.

We started with chilled Alaskan King Crab on top of a garden salad.
Served with the best Champagne dollar for dollar I've had in a long time.

Cedric Bouchard "Inflorescence Val Vilaine Blanc de Noir Organic farmed to very low yields. Hand harvested and crushed by foot, fermented with idigenous yeasts. Aged in steel, bottled unfined, unfiltered with NO Dosage.

This champagne is absolutely gorgeous. The balance is near perfection, tiny bubbles, fantastic mid-pallet, and a finish that keeps going. Cedric recommends a slight decanting and serving in regular wine glasses to really taste the fruit. We tried it first in classic flutes, decanted about 6 ounces for five min. then drank it from Riedel Chablis stems. It really works. I've used reg glasses for Champagne when no champer flutes were available and was pleased , especially if the Champagne was a big yeasty type. The extra space in the glass acting like a decantor to open to wine up.

We moved unto a 2005 D'Angerville Meursault "Santenot" paired with Chilean Sea Bass (Patagonia Tooth Fish)seared and then poached on Onion, fresh chopped vine tomatoes, and flat leaf Parsely and a dollop of butter. Served with Brown Rice and steamed Sugar Snap Peas. At first the Meursault was very Chablis like with high acidity and and a chalky austerity. We decanted it and it gained breath while the acids calmed down to allow the ripe orchard (apples and pears) to come forth. The wine was a excellent contrast to the Sea Bass, we switched back to the Champagne and my nod went to the Champagne as the better pairing.

We finished the meal with some Halvarti cheese and a btl of 2006 Bachelet Cotes d' Nuits Villages. A steal at $27.50 and a textbook example of what Burgundy is.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've had problems logging in on my Wifes computer.

Again Please try to find a BTL of the Cedric Bouchard. I've tasted the whole range and all are tremendous but the Blanc d' Noir is a great deal at $55-$70.00 a btl.

[DavidG]

The best to you too, Jim, and to all of our members and visitors. Here's hoping we'll have as much fun with our BWE brethren in 2010 as we did this past year.

[jal]

Happy healthy and prosperous 2010 to all BWE'ers out there.

We just came back from a family vacation in Maui where we had very little wine, none of it any good (beer works much better with fish tacos, guys). Looking forward to opening a good bottle or two of Bordeaux this week.

[Tom In DC]

Happy and Healthy New Year to all of our friends on BWE!

We've had some decent wines over the holidays, but no Bordeaux yet. The best was a delicious but probably-still-needs-a-bit-more-time 1999 Ridge Monte Bello. Among others, we have '64 Canon and '82 Cos d'Estournel on the card for tomorrow.

Tom and Gail

[JCNorthway]

I'll add my wishes for a healthy and happy new year to all. This holiday season thus far has not involved any special bottles of wine - just basic good stuff that family members could enjoy. But I'm thinking about opening something good for tomorrow evening to go along with a grilled prime ribeye steak.

Jon

[Chasse-Spleen]

Happy New Year Jim and all BWEers! Currently enjoying some basic but basically delicious wines and will have a late dinner soon. Saw the NY Phil play Mozart and Schumann on Tuesday which was a highlight of my holiday season, other than the spiritually satisfying Family Christmas that I had.

I hope everyone has a great 2010!

-Chasse

[tim]

Happy New Year to everyone, whereever you may be! May 2010 bring together family, friends, and good wine!

[AlexR]

Happy New Year to you, Jim, and all BWEers.

I have seen several of you this year, and know that several of you will be coming to Bx. in 2010, and I am very much looking forward to it.

All the best,
Alex R.