Is it too much to ask the NY Times food section, in general, and Frank Prial, specifically, to know the difference between the French words "clos" and "cros"? Apparently so, even if the subject is the vineyard owner and winemaker of one of the most famous vineyards in all of Burgundy.

This week Henri Jayer, a Giant in the world of Burgundy, passed away and Mr Prial published an appropriate sentimental obituary of a man who helped revolutionize a region, and who's wines were praised world-wide. Unfortunately, in describing his most famous wine, the Vosne Romanee 1er Cru "Cros Parantoux", he called it a "clos". Egad! So much for notariety! A sloppy and embarrassing error.

2003 Bourgogne Epineuil, "Cote de Grisey", Dom. de l'Abbaye du Petit Quincy
There comes a time when a Burgundy lover can no longer avoid his favorite regoin and must choose a bottle even from the most mundane of retailers, the big-box. And so, I broke down and bought a few different bottles at the local Carrefour (the French Wal-Mart) to see what I could find in terms of quality. I bought a Bourgogne rouge, a Cote de Nuits villages, and a Volnay 1er cru. A small sampling and the other night I opened this unassuming domaine bottled Bourgogne (I may be hooked but I'm not crazy!). For an '03 the color was all wrong. Orange-brown instead of purple. Something went wrong with this wine, either too much oxygen during vinification or bad cellar conditions since it's bottling. In the nose, very little juicy fruit BUT, at least it showed typical Burgundian flavors of cinamon, leather, orange, and dried leaves.... It kind of smelled like it looked. Brown. Nevertheless, the aromas it did have were enjoyable "Burgundian" and made me smile (I'm easy). In the mouth, it was dry, a bit bitter and herbaceous for the vintage. Finished with strawberry, and strawberry leaves. Fell apart after a couple of hours into a sour mess.

This wine was damaged, either by poor (careless) vinification or by its storage conditions. That being said, it did provide pleasure for about 30 min, not terrible for 7 euros. Hey, I'm a "glass is half full" kind a guy. On to bigger and better stuff!

2002 "Valtuille", Bierzo D.O. Bodegas Castro Ventosa . Here is one of the upper price-point wines from the producer of El Castro del Valtuille , and it comes from 100 year old vines. "Cepas Centenarias."

In the nose, at first, it's very oaky and only after some time in the glass can I coax out iodine and graphite. In fact it was almost like a medoc in the nose. Cigar box and flint. In the mouth this wine is more reticent and shows less juicy fruit than the "El Castro" (vintage difference, or 100 year old vines?) and instead shows more woody and mineral character. Lip smacking acidity and soft tannins with a moderatetly long finish. Why so much oak though? I would have preferred less oak and more of the intrinsic grape qualities. More research is necessary because these wines continue to intrigue me for their minerality, acidity and brambly fruit. 33 euro locally and I'm sure much more in the US, which lowers its attractiveness a bit.

2003 El Castro de Valtuille, Bierzo, D.O. Bierzo . Situated in the North-west corner of Spain (in the western-most part of Castilla y Leon) , this small viticultural region produces Spain's answer to red Burgundy. Here, instead of pinot noir, they work with the indigenous Mencia, a grape variety that makes exuberant reds with a nice dose of flint on the nose and palate. This monocepage wine is starting to get noticed, as evidenced last May in the NYTimes food section:

"EVERY once in a while an unfamiliar wine region rises and demands attention. Suddenly, that region and its wines begin to wallpaper your mind like a new hit tune, so that you can't get them out of your head. Most recently, I've been hearing the song of the red wines of Bierzo." (A.A., NYTimes)

My first taste of Bierzo was last year last year at a local tasting given by local importer La Buena Vida , where I met the winemaker of this wine, Raul Perez. While going through his different bottlings, Mr Perez was very excited to show me how his wines reflected each of their "terroirs". This wine, his entry level wine, comes from vines plannted in sandy soils, while his other wines have different degrees of schist and clay. Of course, this ability to reflect the attributes of each individual vineyard reminds one of what is seen up and down the Cote d'Or. I gather from our discussion that the mindset is the same as well.

Onto the wine! Immediately after opening it's shy and I was a bit concerned with some acetone and volatile acidity, but time in the glass proved to be the key here. Eventually, cinamon, grafite, and rose aromas intice you to come back for more. Floral and high toned, has good structure, and finishes with that wonderful blackberry and slate/flint characteristic I found in the "Petalos del Bierzo" from Descendientes de J. Palacios (a wine I previously tasted in an earlier newsletter). I love the snappy acidity that balances out the ripe, brambly fruit flavors. At 12 Euros, this is a great bargain and deserves to be snapped up by the case.

2002 Vacqueyras, "Montirius" Straying from the bought local theme but sticking with the Rhone, this wine was a very pleasant surprise. A wine made under the direction of bio-dynamic farming practices by Christine and Eric Saurel, this Vacqueyras had a deep reddish brown robe with concentrated strawberry (leaves?) and rhubarb aromas. A precise and laser straight wine with mellow but tactile tannis and great fruit intensity. Finishes with bright cherry, mint, and pepper. Great thirst quenching acidity. We had it with roast pork but it cried out for cheese! Medium bodied red that is drinking superbly today and is a beautiful and harmonius blend of syrah and grenache. I could drink this wine ALL day, and Valerie agreed. A wonderful "gift" from my cousin and retails for around 14 euros loacally (John you are free to enjoy something of mine at the same value) . Ask your favorite wine merchant to find this one for you.