Thread: TN: Sella Lessona

On Jan 3, 7:13*am, DaleW <Dwmi...@aol.com> wrote:
> When Betsy said she was making duck breast for dinner, my thoughts
> turned to Chambolle. Then she mentioned it was duck breasts with
> chiles and lemon, and Burgundy no longer seemed so wise. So went
> downstairs for an inexpensive Syrah, but somehow came upstairs with
> the 2001 Sella Lessona. Medium bodied, sweet cherry fruit, with soil,
> leather, and tar tones. This is more mature than I would have
> imagined, not at all over thehill, but the tannins seem integrated and
> the flavors developed. Balanced acidity, nice length. Not super-
> complex but interesting and fun, B+
>
> The duck breasts were actually fried, spiced with a Sichuan pepper/
> salt mixture, topped with lemon, scallion, and chile. Sounds like a
> total wine killer, but actually didn't clash much (it helped the chile
> was mild, and the sichuan peppercorns were toasted with the salt,
> seemed to integrate them). We also had rice, carrots with dill, and
> salad.
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.*

I see you reviewed this wine 2 years ago. Must have bought several
bottles. The one I had this past year seemed very tired and the
storage was good until I moved it across the country.

DaleW wrote:
> When Betsy said she was making duck breast for dinner, my thoughts
> turned to Chambolle. Then she mentioned it was duck breasts with
> chiles and lemon, and Burgundy no longer seemed so wise. So went
> downstairs for an inexpensive Syrah, but somehow came upstairs with
> the 2001 Sella Lessona. Medium bodied, sweet cherry fruit, with soil,
> leather, and tar tones. This is more mature than I would have
> imagined, not at all over thehill, but the tannins seem integrated and
> the flavors developed. Balanced acidity, nice length. Not super-
> complex but interesting and fun, B+

Dale,
I've had several bottles of the '01 Lessona in years past and it's
always been a top-notch performer. The bottles I've had were possibly
mature, but certainly fresh and lively, too. Perhaps the additional
year or two of storage has made the difference, or maybe the cork was
just a tad less tightly sealed than some others. In any event, it
sounds like the wine wasn't a disappointment. Interesting sounding duck
preparation, too. Did Betsy use D'Artagnan breasts, or something more
local?

Mark Lipton
>
> The duck breasts were actually fried, spiced with a Sichuan pepper/
> salt mixture, topped with lemon, scallion, and chile. Sounds like a
> total wine killer, but actually didn't clash much (it helped the chile
> was mild, and the sichuan peppercorns were toasted with the salt,
> seemed to integrate them). We also had rice, carrots with dill, and
> salad.
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

On Jan 3, 9:52*pm, Mark Lipton <not...@eudrup.ude> wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > When Betsy said she was making duck breast for dinner, my thoughts
> > turned to Chambolle. Then she mentioned it was duck breasts with
> > chiles and lemon, and Burgundy no longer seemed so wise. So went
> > downstairs for an inexpensive Syrah, but somehow came upstairs with
> > the 2001 Sella Lessona. Medium bodied, sweet cherry fruit, with soil,
> > leather, and tar tones. This is more mature than I would have
> > imagined, not at all over thehill, but the tannins seem integrated and
> > the flavors developed. Balanced acidity, nice length. Not super-
> > complex but interesting and fun, B+
>
> Dale,
> * *I've had several bottles of the '01 Lessona in years past and it's
> always been a top-notch performer. *The bottles I've had were possibly
> mature, but certainly fresh and lively, too. *Perhaps the additional
> year or two of storage has made the difference, or maybe the cork was
> just a tad less tightly sealed than some others. *In any event, it
> sounds like the wine wasn't a disappointment. *Interesting sounding duck
> preparation, too. *Did Betsy use D'Artagnan breasts, or something more
> local?
>
> Mark Lipton
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > The duck breasts were actually fried, spiced with a Sichuan pepper/
> > salt mixture, topped with lemon, scallion, and chile. Sounds like a
> > total wine killer, but actually didn't clash much (it helped the chile
> > was mild, and the sichuan peppercorns were toasted with the salt,
> > seemed to integrate them). We also had rice, carrots with dill, and
> > salad.
>
> > Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> > wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> > drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> > promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

It certainly wasn't a disappointment, showing maturity but not tired.
I entered in CT, and notice a couple of my "favorite tasters" (Slaton
and 14Frimaire aka Cliff) also found it maturing a bit faster than
expected. Hey, if I don't need to cellar longer that's a bonus!

The duck breasts came from freezer- one D'Artagnan magret, one Lola
from local farmer's market. She cut time a bit on Lola as it was
thinner. Since it's sliced, we both got some of each breast

This is the Kylie Kwong recipe. We used a green chile that was rather
mild, made wine match possible

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/535749