Random pejorative reference. Has anybody been to La Riviera in Metairie? I've never heard of it before. But in this story about reduced demand for high-end bottles, Frank J. Prial of The New York Times singles the restaurant out for scorn: "Philippe Dubos of La Riviera in Metairie, La., said: 'Instead of charging a lot for a great big 10-ounce glass of wine, we keep the price reasonable and pour 8 ounces instead.' Sounds a little like those one-pound coffee cans sold with only 11 ounces in them." It's one of only a half-dozen restaurants mentioned by name, and the only other one in New Orleans is Peristyle. Does it reflect well on La Riviera to be mentioned, even in a negative context, in such company? Or is it unfair of Prial to pick on a random restaurant in the hinterlands?
 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 11:20 AM
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Web ring, etc. If you look at the left column of this page -- scroll down a little, if necessary -- you'll notice that I've added a banner for Foodbloggers, which is a Web ring of other food-related sites. The idea is that people who are interested in one of the sites on the ring will click through to see all the others. The link probably won't work properly for a couple of days, but once it's operational it'll be worth checking out. Some of the other sites on the ring are pretty cool.
     You may also notice a couple of other minor changes, mainly to improve readability of links, etc., throughout the site. Most are pretty minor. But if you see something you don't like, please let me know.
 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 12:45 AM
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March 21 results. The theme of the evening was "The Fruits of Repression: Red Wines from Argentina and Chile." Thanks to Pam and Shaun for a terrific food spread. And thanks to Becky and Mark for focusing on wines from an area we haven't really explored. We definitely found some really good values. We also found that this emerging region is, um, going to keep emerging for a little while longer.
     1) "Missing." 2001 Alamos Bonarda, Mendoza, Argentina. $12. Average 13.5; range 11-18. The first wine of the night was also the overall favorite. Jeff thought it was a soft wine that nevertheless had a strong flavor profile. People picked up notes of vanilla and caramel in the nose. To Chip, it smelled like cognac. Steph thought it had some of the bite that most of us associate with South American wines.
     2) "Penguin." 2001 Calina Carmenère, Maule Valley, Chile. $7. Average 13.4; range 8-18. A polarizing wine. Pretty much everyone liked the nose, which was dense, buttery and sweet; Joan said it smelled like carpaccio. Blueberries, Terri said. They -- and others who liked the wine -- thought this syrupy, leggy wine basically followed through on what the nose promised. But some of us thought it was kind of banal -- cough syrup, Concord grape juice -- once you drank it. As Jeff put it: "The same note, again and again and again." Becky pointed out that Chile's Carmenère was originally mistaken for Merlot but is now believed to be a long-lost Bordeaux grape. "They should not have found it," Gary said.
     3) "Pampas." 2000 Catena Malbec, Lunlunta Vineyards, Mendoza, Argentina. $22. Average 12.6; range 7-19. Also polarizing; those who liked "Penguin" hated this, and vice versa. The nose was floral, grassy, spicy and reminiscent of a Rhone. Those who liked it said it lingered on the palate and finishes differently from how it began. But some people thought the wine didn't live up to its big nose. John thought it tasted too much like candied fruit; carnivores might like it with meat, but he had no use for it. Nicholas Catena, who made this wine, also makes the Alamos wine that finished first.
     4) "Caudillo." 2000 Norton Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina. $8. Average 11.7; range 9-14. Most remarkable for the fennel, violets and lavender in the nose. Mark thought the color was terrific.
     5) "Southernmost." 1999 Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Merlot, Colchagua, Rapel Valley, Chile. $20. Average 10.3; range 8-13. The shroomy, peppery nose reminded some people of Italian sausage. Joan said its citrusy quality would be perfect in a sangria but not so perfect if you're drinking the wine alone.
     6) "Evita." 2000 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon, Colchagua, Rapel Valley, Chile. $10. Average 8.9; range 3-12. The knives were out tonight; this one scored worse than the last-place wines in most of our other tastings. It smelled like adobo sauce and marinated peppers. Thin and fairly unimpressive, most of us thought.
     7) "Patagonia." 2000 Caliterra Arboleda Syrah, Colchagua, Rapel Valley, Chile. $13. Average 8.6; range 2-14. Weird, off-putting smell. Perfume and turmeric mix with pine/turpentine, hot asphalt, mineral spirits, cat urine and skunk. The wine didn't actually taste too bad, but that first whiff was hard to forget.
     8) "Magellan." 2000 Primus Veramonte, Casablanca Valley, Chile; 60% Carmenère, 22% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon. Average 7; range 2-13. John thought this young, peppery wine was pleasantly juicy. Other people hated it. Gary thought it looked like Mogen David, Chip deemed it "unencumbered by harmonics," and it reminded Mark of the cheap French wine that distributors used to unload at rock-bottom prices in Thailand. Other people thought the wine didn't taste bad; it was just characterless, undistinguished and extraordinarily boring. Its bathyspheric score is, so far as your Webmaster can tell, the second-lowest to date.
     All of these wines came from Cork & Bottle.

 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 4:53 PM
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Much delayed February 20 results. For the first time, we contracted out a session of wine club. We gave Jon Smith of Cork & Bottle a budget of $150. He picked the theme -- Spanish wines that aren't Riojas -- and all the individual wines come from the shelves of his store. Thanks to him for the wine, Eliot and Laura for hosting for the second month in a row and everyone for bringing food.
     1) "Rice." 2000 Marques de Murrieta "Neonato" D.O. Rioja, 100% Tempranillo. $10. Average 14.8; range 8-18. OK, so it's not from the other Spain. But it's a nice little wine that smelled of roses and lavender, with little hints of green pepper. Somebody thought it was "better than sex." Your scribe neglected to write down who gave it an 8 and why, but that score was a real outlier. (Incidentally, ten bucks seems to be a real bargain for this particular bottle. Wine.com sells it for $18.)
     2)"Moss." 2000 Guelbenzu EVO, Ribera del Queiles, Navarra; 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 15% Tempranillo. $20. Average 14.7; range 12-15. Light, slightly musty nose with hints of cinnamon and perfume. Eliot liked it but said it wasn't a stand-alone; you'd need to have it with food. Laura thought the nose was overly medicinal. Jon tells us that this wine doesn't come from a recognized D.O., so it's classified as "vino de mesa." But if one person had scored this wine a point higher, it would have tied for first place.
     3) "Armada." 1999 Tinto Pesquera, D.O. Ribera del Duero; 100% Tempranillo. $25. Average 13.2; range 10-16. This was the last wine served, and it happened to be your webmaster's favorite of the evening. People liked the color and the restrained character of the wine. Others thought it tasted thin and didn't last long on the palate. For what it's worth, the '98 version came in first in our Spain tasting in Feb. 2002.
     4-tie) "Sahara." 2001 Condes de Albarei Clásico Albariño, D.O. Rias Baixas. $13. Average 13; range 11-14. Light but complex nose; underlying the hints of honeysuckle, lemon and concentrated apple was the smell of gravel or stone. Some people thought the wine would be perfect with a dozen raw oysters or alone on a summer night. One of the new fathers in the group thought that the wine smelled of baby spit and that that wasn't a bad thing. But the finish reminded a couple of people of flat Schlitz.
     4-tie) "Town." 2001 Etienne Montes "Dominis M" Vin de Pays Catalan, Roussillon, France; blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsaut. $12. Average 13, range 9-16. This was a ringer; it's from a portion of France just over the Pyrenees from Catalonia in northeastern spain. Somebody said that the wine doesn't try to wow you but is quietly impressive. People picked up menthol and stone fruits. Laura liked the tobacco nose and thought the finish was nice and smooth. Kate thought it seemed really flat. Other naysayers thought it smelled of turpentine or grape Kool-Aid.
     6) "Class." 2001 Gramona "Gessamí" D.O. Penedès 60% Muscat of Alexandria, 40% Sauvignon Blanc. $12. Average 12.7; range 8-15. A confusing wine when you taste it blind; we could almost smell the sugar from the Muscat of Alexandria, but we also picked up the grapefruity and melony notes that are characteristic of Sauvignon Blanc. Some people picked up hints of mint and pear and thought the wine evolved well. But Steph thought it tasted like a mouthful of dried apricot or a bad fruit cocktail. It reminded someone else of simple syrup. In truth, this wine would be the perfect way to finish off a light afternoon picnic in early summer. As the second wine of a long night, it's not quite as appealing.
     7) "Fly." 2000 Capçanes "Mas Donís" Zona Falset, D.O. Tarragona; 80% Grenache, 20% "very old vine Syrah." $13. Average 12.3; range 6-17. Very extracted and very porty, with deep, dark smells and flavors -- cinnamon, caramel, dark timber, petroleum and, above all, cherry cough drops. This was the third wine in the tasting and the first red, but maybe it ought to have come last. Eliot went a step further: "Buy it and stick it on the shelf for a while."
     8) "Empire." 2000 Castell del Remei "Gotim Bru", D.O. Costers del Segre; blend Tempranillo, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon. $14. Average 11.7; range 8-16. Nose was oaky, zesty, nutty, peaty, Frenchy. Some people thought it was perfectly balanced, but others thought it kind of sat inertly in their mouths. One person thought it was flat and fairly screamed, "House red!" Jon said the wine had just been traveling, and maybe that accounted for part of the problem.
     Each of the fake names is the second half of a (relatively) common two-word phrase that begins with "Spanish."
 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 2:06 PM
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Happy birthday to us. This site is a year old today.
 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 10:43 AM
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Lame. I'll type up the February results this weekend -- I promise. (And the ones from tonight as well.) Apologies for the delays.
 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 10:43 AM
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Thanks! Someone on here must have joined Gold Medal Wine and put my name down as a reference, as I received a free bottle in this month's shipment. They didn't tell me who it was, so if it was you, thanks a bunch! The free wine was a 2000 Perry Creek Coteau de Michel red table wine, which I received a few months ago. It's very tasty!
 :: posted by Chris Gray at 11:32 AM
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Anniversary approaches. I meant to post about this earlier, but I've been out of town (which also explains why last month's results aren't up yet)... Anyway, PurpleSunshine.com went live a year ago this week. As I see it, this post is the "Video Killed the Radio Star" of the Web site, which makes March 21 the site's first birthday -- and a good time to reflect on what works well and what doesn't.
     I've already got a few very minor tweaks in mind. But I'd like to hear some comments, suggestions and (constructive) complaints -- both from people with posting privileges here and from people who just lurk here from time to time. If you don't like the type, if the pages load too slowly, if you've got any bright ideas about making the site better, please let me know. Leave a comment here, or send me an e-mail. Thanks.
 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 11:26 PM
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