Chateau Roudier Montagne-Saint Emilion 2003

 

This is the last of the trio of wines (well, actually, it was 4 since I got a bottle of Perrin Cotes du Rhone too) that I picked up to drink with dinner this week. 12.99$ at Trader Joes. I figured that I would like this one the least, since it's from a hot vintage...but I like it better than the Barbera. It isn't as good as the Fronsac though. Like the Fronsac, this wine is also backwoods Bordeaux. Montagne Saint Emilion is on the fringes (hence the 12.99$). This wine actually has a fair amount of acidity, despite how hot 03 was. A little bit of tannin there too. Lots of berries and chocolate on the nose, maybe a bit on the roasted side, or a little pruney. Lots of similar stuff going on in the mouth. Short finish. I guess I could sum this wine up as "you get what you pay for." It's okay, although I would say if you're stuck at TJ's, get the Fronsac for 3$ more...or the Perrin Cotes du Rhone for 5$ less (seriosuly, that wine fucking rocks for 7$). C+

Some other random thoughts. I really was digging Slayer while I was cooking tonight. And Between the Buried and Me. Between the Buried and Me is interesting. I saw them open for Dillinger Escape Plan years ago, and didn't really get them (funny, because I was there to see Dillinger, which is basically unlistenable for 99.9% of the population). I think they've matured some, because the songs I've heard from them recently are epic, instead of sounding disjointed and mismashed like in the past. Crazy musicianship, lots of cool melodic stuff, super heavy, super complicated. Anyways, a new favorite. Although they've got nothing on Mastodon. 

My Grandma knows that I'm going to Rome in 5 weeks, and she sent me this crazy book that my Grandfather got her in 1968 about Roman cooking for my birthday. Besides the fact that it even has the date my Grandfather got it for her, there's a lot of restaurants in the book that are still open. Restaurants don't last 40 plus years in the States typically. Anyways, what's cool is that Sarah and I have reservations for Easter Sunday (when all of Rome shuts down) at Checchino dal 1887, which is one of the only places open on Easter. We made them weeks ago, and it's in the book. Pretty fucking cool, if you ask me. I am stoked.