Wine: Domaine André Vatan Sancerre

Love is not
enough. We die and are put into the earth forever.
We should insist while there is still time. We must
eat through the wildness of her sweet body already
in our bed to reach the body within that body.
~ Jack Gilbert

Jack Gilbert, the poet who fled from the fame flung in heaps at Beat poets like Ginsberg, composed his poetry out of not only images of the Americas and its people but of old Europe as well (as discussed elegantly by Meghan O'Rourke of Slate). His best work is unclouded & clean, relevant and accessible.

Domaine André Vatan Sancerre could be described in a similar way: perfectly clear in color and clean on the palette, while partically typical Sancerre it is also very reasonably priced. It's a well balanced, dry-tasting wine with a light citrus and honey bouquet. A perfect lunch wine (12.5% alcohol), it went down well with a salad made with a preserved lemon viniagrette.

Value: 3.0
Color & Clarity: 3.5
Bouquet: 3.5
Flavor: 3.0

Wine: Domaine Sainte-Eugenie

It can be of no practical use to know that Pi is irrational, but if we can know, it surely would be intolerable not to know.
~ Titchmarsh, E. C.

The mathematician E.C. Titchmarsh may agree that while it isn't of much practical use for there to exist so many varying wine styles it surely would intolerable for them not to exist.

Rosés come in a few different and general styles. A great little example of a less common approach is embodied in the Domaine Sainte-Eugenie rosé: it's not a big, sweet fruit bomb and it has a very short finish. The pleasant acidity makes you just barely want to smack your lips, and the faint caramel hint in the mouth is a real treat. It's made of Cinsault and Syrah in the Languedoc region of France, and has an expressive if gentle bouquet of strawberry. It's a playful, beautifully light-pink rosé and can be had for about $15.

Value: 3.5
Color & Clarity: 3.5
Bouquet: 3.0
Flavor: 3.5