Where's The Lamb?

Yes, eat and drink better at home. Our friends, Bob and Kathy raise sheep. I've always maintained that American Lamb is best, well, with the possible exception of French lamb from Pauillac in Bordeaux. The best American lamb we've  had come from the Toveys. Contrary to most people usually choose the wine, then the food. In this case, Kathy prepared exquisite lamb shanks. Bob and I had the difficult task of choosing the wine. The pair of Oregon Pinot Noirs seemed like they might be a little light for the shanks. The French Rhone wines, a Gigondas from Bernard and a Cotes du Rhone from St. Cosme definitely would have been a great choice, but we couldn't resist a pair of Glencorrie Cabs from the 2006 and 2007 vintages. Same vineyards, same vintner, two radically different wines.
The 2007 with a higher percentage of Gamache fruit, was lighter, fruitier, more forward, easier to drink, but not as complex and serious as the 2006 which had a higher amount of fruit from Stillwater vineyard. They both blew us away in their own ways - a fabulous pairing. As I said, better to eat and drink at home!

Larks - Send It Back Twice

Larks in the Ashland Springs Hotel in Ashland, Oregon has a locovore blackboard full of locally grown veggies and an appealing menu. We were looking forward to a great dinner, excuse me "supper", between plays at the Shakespeare Festival. Got off to a good start with a glass of Chehalem Chardonnay - fairly full bodied with nice balance between fruit and acid. Great on its own or with food. My wife had Raptor Ridge Pinot which was a little flat and acidic, but went well with her tasty salmon. Unfortunately, I had a new first! Had to send my fish back twice, then left without eating dinner. For details see my Yelp review. Moral of the story? Eat and drink better at home.