More wines for Bresse chicken

Dinner at San San Trois.

2003 Schlumberger Gewurztraminer Kitterle - the half-bottle was drunk with the sashimi. While I normally expect the Alsatians to ferment their Gewurz with some residual sugar, this wine was much sweeter than I expected. Perhaps I should have remembered that 2003 was a very ripe year for French wines...and brought something drier for the food. Anyway, the typical Gewurz characteristics were all there - lychee, minerals... But I must admit that I still find something in Schlumberger wines not quite to my liking.

2001 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - we had another bottle of this in the office just last Friday afternoon, but I thought it would go well with both the kama as well as the roast chicken. Indeed the wine opened up very well after 1 1/2 hours, and the usual grilled meats, minerals and very sweet red fruits were all present in the nose. Gave it a little more time, and even caramel started showing up. Full-bodied but not overpowering. Despite this being Kistler's cheapest offering, I still found it very enjoyable.

1997 Beringer Merlot Private Reserve Bancroft Ranch - I still have a few cases of this wine because I enjoyed it so much, but this bottle was definitely off. The fruit in the nose was masked by the unpleasant smell of wet chalk and other aromas, and I think it even suffered from a bit of heat damage. Not great and we did not finish the wine.

Full post on dinner is here.