Weekend with Loudoun and Ashley

My friends Loudoun and Ashley came to visit Atlanta from Charlotte last weekend, offering a chance for several great wines to be drunk. Friday night we had steaks at my place, while Saturday night we ventured out to Kyma for an evening of fantastic Greek food.

I had promised that I had a great wine picked out for Friday night, and I think Loudoun was quite excited when he arrived to find the 1993 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon opened in the kitchen. 1993 was a poor vintage in the Northern Rhone, but the Pavillon still garnered a 92 point rating from Parker. Nonetheless, it never really sold well from what I can tell, and a bunch showed up last year at one of my favorite stores in Atlanta, Hinton's Wine Store. When it was then marked down even further, I decided to buy it for a price that can't be beat for a Chapoutier Ermitage, with the intention of drinking it sooner rather than later.

The wine certainly did not disappoint. While it did not reach the heights of the 1995 (the greatest wine I've ever tasted), the wine was not off in any way. It had some of the typically peppery notes I've found in wines from Hermitage, but was very elegant overall. The wine did not fade during the night either, suggesting to me it still had some life left. No doubt I will be holding my bottle of 1999 Le Pavillon for good deal longer.

For a second wine Friday night, I went for something a little less serious, the 1999 Livio Sassetti Pertimali Rosso di Montalcino. I actually didn't realize I still had a bottle of the 1999 Rosso left, and was a bit worried it may be over the hill, as most people do not recommend aging these wines for close to 10 years. This wine was still good though, showing as well as could be expected, and very similar to what I would expect an older Brunello to be.

Saturday night at Kyma, we went with two of my favorite Greek wines from the wonderful list at the restaurant (almost all Greek wines, and very reasonably priced). First, we actually went with a white, the 2006 Amethystos from Domaine Costa Lazaridi. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Assyrtiko, this wine is a great example of blending international varietals with indigenous Greek grapes to create very nice easy-drinking wine.

For a second wine, we went with one of the more serious reds produced in Greece, the 2005 Skouras Megas Oenos. The Megas Oenos is a blend of Agioritiko and Cabernet Sauvignon, once again taking an international varietal and adding it to an indigenous one. The result is a very robust, full-bodies wine, that was quite enjoyable. A wine like this shows what Greek wines are capable of, and should be tried by anyone who wants to see the potential the country has to produce top-quality.

Overall, the weekend was fabulous, as to me there is nothing better than sharing great wine with great friends. Like when I get together with my family, a weekend with Loudoun and Ashley is a great time to break out some wines I've been holding onto, and for all of us to experience some great wines from a variety of places.