My Birthday Present

Today I turned 35 years old. Kind of amazing to me, as I can so clearly remember, and still sometimes feel like the person who watched the older kids in the playground and thought "when will I ever be 12...I wish I was as old as those kids." I'm halfway to 70 now. But I'm having a baby in 3 months, I'm trying to start my own business, I quit smoking 3 years ago, and I feel great. So there.

We just returned from dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Al Di La, on Brooklyn's 5th Avenue. BrooklynLady is in the shower so I will steal this moment on the computer. I had 2 wine presents today. My 2004 Adelsheim single vinyard wines and 2005 Elizabeth's reserve wines arrived in the mail.

Adelsheim and St Innocent are the two Oregon producers whose wines I will buy no matter the weather conditions of the vintage, no matter how paltry my wine budget might be in that year. I just love their wines - so skillfully made, so delicious with food and on their own. I was pretty excited to see the big bog come in the mail, and to find 2 bottles each of Calkins Lane and Bryan Creek Pinot Noir, and also 3 bottles of 2005 Elizabeth's Reserve. Now that's a birthday present! Although I should wait a couple of years, there is no way I will have that kind of patience, so expect tasting notes on one of the 04 single vinyard wines soon.

Tonight we opened a bottle of NV Duval-Leroy Champagne Brut to help celebrate my b-day. I am somewhat suspicious of huge Champagne houses, sort of the way I am suspicious of restaurants like Chili's or the Olive Garden. They might have some good dishes, and can offer a pleasant evening, but they don't seem to be trying to achieve any individual character. Instead they please the masses. And there is value to that. But for minimum 30 bucks a bottle, as NV Brut Champagne, seems to be, I want to find something special.

I don't have enough experience to know how it stacks up in the NV Brut pantheon, but this is some very tasty and interesting juice. Mike and Jess gave it to me for my birthday, so thanks to them. It has a pretty line of large bubbles springing up from the bottom of the glass, and a nice yeasty and lemony smell. There are toasted bread, chalk, and some citrus fruit tastes, and some acidity that I feel on the sides of the tongue and in the cheeks. After I swallow the wine I can taste the chalk very clearly. All in all, a super enjoyable treat on my birthday - some bubbles always make the evening special.

Wife is out of shower and packing now - we leave for France tomorrow night. We have been hooked up with someone in Burgundy who will take us to a few Domaines to taste wine and show us around a bit. I will most likely not make any posts until we return on November 27th.

But then I will be back with a vengeance! Tasting stories and notes galore, restaurants...Burgundy and Paris! Fughedabadit - I hope I can keep notes on everything wine related that we experience.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, and see you in about a week.