On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow. -Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)
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"Bloomsday 2012 & Ulysses' 90th" --
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Bev Power and I know you will do great in this role as your passion for your career shines through :)
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Nicole's delegation
— with Nicole Sutherland.
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Nicole's delegation
— with Nicole Sutherland.
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Nicole's graduation in attaining her guardianship with Aboriginal social work program |
Robert Parker has published his most recent assessment for the 2009 Bordeaux wine vintage after spending two weeks in January 2012 to retaste an extensive number of wines from the bottle.
In his report, titled "2009 Red Bordeaux from Bottle - Not A Myth, But Mythical" he notes:
"...in Wine Advocate issue 188 (April 2010), my barrel tasting report on the 2009s was titled "Once Upon A Time - 1899, 1929, 1949, 1959, 2009." In it, I suggested that many châteaux had made the finest wines that I had tasted in over 32 years of evaluating Bordeaux vintages. ... this is
unquestionably the greatest Bordeaux vintage I have ever tasted.
What was clear in the tastings from the bottle is the remarkable consistency of the vintage
. Obviously the classified growths have produced extraordinary wines, but what is so striking about 2009 - and I haven't really seen this kind of excitement since 1982 - is the quality of the cru bourgeois and the petits vins and generic Bordeaux that are available...In short, 2009 is the greatest vintage I have tasted in Bordeaux since 1982, of which it is a modern-day version, but greatly improved...
Just like in 1990 or 1982, the low acidity, the very ripe fruit, the high glycerin levels from the elevated alcohols, and the stunning concentration and fruit from low yields will give most of these wines
Neal Martin's/Robert Parker
Wine Journal 90 Points
The Le Pey has a lifted, exotic bouquet with a slight digestif quality from the oak inflecting the ripe black fruits. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, nice grip with cedar and tobacco decorated the refined finish. Excellent.
Price:$27.99
Neal Martin's/Robert Parker
Wine Journal 90 Points
The Haut Barrail 2009 has a very fine bouquet with cedar, black fruits, a touch of Xmas cake and sous-bois with good definition. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, good acidity and a very composed finish with ample freshness. This is a very well made 2009 Cru Bourgeois.
Price: $29.99
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The main reason the 2009 Lafite Rothschild did not receive a perfect score is because the wine has closed down slightly, but it is unquestionably another profound Lafite, their greatest wine since the amazing 2003. Among the most powerful Lafites ever made (it came in at 13.59% alcohol), the final blend was 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. The selection was incredibly severe with only 45% of the crop being utilized. A tight, but potentially gorgeous nose of graphite, black currants, licorice and camphor is followed by a full-bodied wine revealing the classic elegance, purity and delineated style of Lafite. It is phenomenally concentrated with softer tannins than the 2005, the 2003's voluptuous, broad, juicy personality, and low acidity. There are several vintages that I thought were a replay of their colossal 1959, most notably 1982 and 2003, but 2009 is also one to keep an eye on. It is still extremely youthful and seems slightly more backward than I would have guessed based on the barrel tastings, but it needs 10-15 years of bottle age, and should last for 50+.
99+ Points
Robert Parker
Price: $3599.99
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A brilliant offering from the Mentzelopoulos family, once again their gifted manager, Paul Pontallier, has produced an uncommonly concentrated, powerful 2009 Chateau Margaux made from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Merlot with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. As with most Medocs, the alcohol here is actually lower (a modest 13.3%) than most of its siblings-. Abundant blueberry, cassis and acacia flower as well as hints of charcoal and forest floor aromas that are almost Burgundian in their complexity are followed by a wine displaying sweet, well-integrated tannins as well as a certain ethereal lightness despite the wine's overall size. Rich, round, generous and unusually approachable for such a young Margaux, this 2009 should drink well for 30-35+ years.
99 Points
Robert Parker
Price: $2399.99
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incredible appeal in their youth, but at the same time will guarantee that the top wines last for 30 or more years, as the best 1982s have certainly done"
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A blend of 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.7% Merlot with just under 14% natural alcohol, the 2009 Latour is basically a clone of the super 2003, only more structured and potentially more massive and long lived. An elixir of momentous proportions, it boasts a dense purple color as well as an extraordinarily flamboyant bouquet of black fruits, graphite, crushed rocks, subtle oak and a notion of wet steel. It hits the palate with a thundering concoction of thick, juicy blue and black fruits, lead pencil shavings and a chalky minerality. Full-bodied, but very fresh with a finish that lasts over a minute, this is one of the most remarkable young wines I have ever tasted. Will it last one-hundred years? No doubt about it. Can it be drunk in a decade? For sure.
100 Points
Robert Parker
Price: $3599.99
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Think we missed the boat with the Penguin and the Pip. Either we're not here
or they're busy. Mom has been here a couple of days already.
Let's chat when we get back and try to work something out. CC
Hi Champagne!
The only "nurse" I had at home was Cora "Hot Lips" Lee, unfortunately, for me!
Haven't had a reply from Legs yet but assume she'll be in touch. Give us a shout when you are back from gallivanting!
Hi Aquitaine!
Thanks so much for wonderful party! It was great to see everyone. Julia is a lovely, lovely young woman. You are right to be exceedingly proud. Great grad snaps! Please pass along our thanks to your parents for wonderful food. Not to mention Injustice Served!
For my part. feeling even better now, I'm pleased to report. Saw the dottore yesterday morning and she gave me the go ahead to start cycling again! After visiting Mom took a leisurely ride around Stanley Park. Felt pretty good after being off for more than three months. Of course, I'll be staying reasonably close to home for next little while, at least until I build up my fitness!
I guess you will be somewhere between Chilliwack and Seattle, as I scribe. Hope all goes well. Don't forget to let us know where to contribute. Buona Fortuna! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!
Cheers, Patrizzio!
Glad to hear from you. Not the sick part. You aren't supposed to get sick. Anne turns 99 this year? or is 100. No wonder she wants to sleep.
We have been painting the inside of the house. Boy, does that take time. Lots of excecise with the ups and downs. We don't have any plain walls that you can make quick headway. I think I am finished until we get back from AK in Aug. Even then I might be able to find an excuse to wait until next year. Jack painted the deck today and complained that it was too big a job.
We go to murder fish on the 26th and get back 7/31. Will see our Great Granddaughter. I don't know about this getting older bit.
Got to wake Jack. He has to cook dinner. gg
Hi Gail!
Have no idea how or where I contracted pneumonia. Feeling better now, I'm pleased to report. Saw the dottore yesterday morning and she gave me the go ahead to start cycling again! After visiting Mom took a leisurely ride around Stanley Park. Felt pretty good after being off for more than three months. Of course, I'll be staying reasonably close to home for next little while, at least until I build up my fitness!
Mom will turn 99 on September 22nd. She looked pretty good. I hadn't seen her since I'd come down with pneumonia. She smiled at me as I chatted. Will take along pictures you sent and show them to her today.
How is Jack doing? From the sound of it he's back to normal. He went through quite a trial himself.
Cheers, Patrizzio!
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| Moonrise Kingdom |
Your luggage rack sounds terrific. Can hardly wait to see it. I gather it is set up to carry all the Stanchion-O-Meter gear!
Given that I was on the rroad to recovery, on Thursday evening, Cora Lee, Chloë and I went to see Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, at the Park. Not sure if you know his work. I didn't, or at least wasn't sure if I'd seen any of his other films. It was great to have Chloë along to answer any questions about various actors I didn't recognize, etc. Thought of you and your film work as one of Anderson's trade marks, as you may well know, is to show the interior sets as intricate dollhouse cutaways, panning from room to room, following the various characters. We were all taken with this charming, delightful period piece, from 1965. The setting is on:
"...an island off the coast of New England (the film was filmed in Rhode Island), two precocious 12-year-old pen pals in love escape their unbearable lives and travel the length of a local Indian trail together. Suzy (a very serious Kara Hayward, wearing lots of mascara) is a sister of three annoying younger brothers, with no friends at school, and is dangerous when provoked. The film begins with a now familiar sort of Andersonian gesture, the camera panning from floor to floor and across breakaway walls to show her family’s home, while the brothers listen to Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde, instruction and art at once.
Suzy takes her brother’s record player with her on her escape with Sam (Jared Gilman), an orphan and a Khaki Scout with excellent wilderness survival skills. Hated by his fellow scouts, Sam seems short for his age and never takes off his glasses and coonskin cap. A variety of oddball characters set out to find them: Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton), a lonely local cop (Bruce Willis), a heartless social services representative (Tilda Swinton), and Suzy’s dysfunctional parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bishop (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand).
The runaways endure an armed conflict with the Khaki Scouts, a storm, a fire, a lighting strike, all to suggest that love might triumph over all. It also even offers an expert narrator (Bob Balaban, in red fingerless gloves) who offers historical and environmental trivia to match the visuals."
Terrific performances by everyone. I particularly liked Bruce Willis. Have always enjoyed Bill Murray, except in Lost in Translation. Didn't care for that movie one iota.
At any rate, last night Chloë brought out a DVD of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, another of Wes Anderson's films. You might know it but I had no idea of the plot:
"The film stars Bill Murray as Steve Zissou, an eccentric oceanographer who sets out to exact revenge on the "Jaguar shark" that ate his partner Esteban. Zissou is both a parody of and homage to Jacques-Yves Cousteau, to whom the film is dedicated. Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, Jeff Goldblum, Anjelica Huston, Owen Wilson and Seu Jorge also are featured in the film.
Was most interesting to have seen the two films, back-to-back. I particularly like seeing actors I've not seen in sometime: Willem Dafoe, Angelica Houston, Jeff Goldblum. I certainly liked Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris but didn't know him so it was fun to see him, retrospectively, so to speak. Since the weather isn't cooperating for cycling, at least this weekend, I'm hoping to watch The Dark Knight as I've not seen it. (In fact, I watched Brokeback Mountain for the first time on plane to Hong Kong in March. Only time I'd seen Heath Ledger. Shows how much I get out!) There was a trailer for The Dark Knight Rises before Moonrise Kingdom and Chloë "insisted" that I have watch the former before the sequel is released. Have to get used to being told what to do now that we are back. Don't know how we survived for three months on our own!
Cora Lee and Domineering Daughter just left to look at cars. Cora Lee's lease on her Smart Car is up in July and she hasn't decided what she is going to do. Time for a spot of breakfast now. Don't know if I'll be able to manage putting food together without The Sisterhood here to tell me what to do!
Cheers, Patrizzio!
Installation in the Rain: Blockbuster sequel to Singin' in the Rain!
Hi Mr Grizzle!
Will definitely try to wander down to GI on Monday. However, you need to slow down and relax! See you on Monday. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hi Dottore!
I like your prescription! Be careful, however, as the junkies will be on to you for generous helpings of meds! Hope to go for a ride, probably tomorrow, after skies clear. Any interest?
Cheers, Il Conduttore!
Hi Groggage!
Wondered why I had not heard from Ragin'! Please pass along fond regards to Gardenia and Neuron.
French restaurant sounds interesting. Cheers, Il Conduttore!
Trust you are well. I assume Stefano has passed along news of my bout with pneumonia.
Cora Lee and Domineering Daughter just left to look at cars. Cora Lee's lease on her Smart Car is up in July and she hasn't decided what she is going to do. I'm urging a one car/three bicycle family but I'm no fun. Time for a spot of lunch now. Don't know if I'll be able to manage putting food together without The Sisterhood here to tell me what to do!
Fondestos and Cheers., Patrizzio!
Snaps: I have been meaning to send these along for some time.
Stability in language is synonymous with rigor mortis. -Ernest Weekley, lexicographer (1865-1954)
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