BORDEAUX RULES AT BARBECUE...UNTIL LONG VINEYARDS RAISES ITS LOVELY HEAD!

From DAVID:

THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME

A few Saturdays ago a friend invited me to a backyard barbecue - Salmon - Grilled vegetables. Really good. The raison d'etre was that one of the guests decided to bring a '78 Chateau Palmer. I was asked to bring a good red. I did not want to bring a Bordeaux because I did not want to compete. So I decided to bring a 1991 Beringer Reserve cab -- different style, different venue, but high quality.

These were the wines:

1. Charles Shaw Sauvignon Blanc. (Yes, Two-Buck Chuck!!) I didn't bother.
2. 2003 Conundrum. Not bad, - different from any other vintage I ever tasted, but that's the idea.
3. 1978 Palmer - A wonderful, sophisticated, complex and elegant wine at it's peak. It won't go downhill tomorrow, but no need to wait.
4. 1991 Beringer Reserve - More full-bodied and one dimensional than the Palmer, but elegant. Not a "fruit bomb."

We agreed in retrospect that it was correct to have the Palmer first - because if it had been the other way around, the subtleties might have been missed after the more opulent Beringer. But no doubt, Bordeaux RULES.

4. For a finish, I brought a 2000 Long Vineyards Late Harvest Riesling - Possibly the wine of the evening - and the competition was clearly stiff. This is one Napa dessert wine wine that has the acidity to back up the fruit. The woman who brought the Palmer wouldn't let go of the bottle.

Cheers -DAVID