Domaine Jean-Baptiste Ponsot Rully Premier Cru "Montpalais" 2019

I haven't tried many of Elden Selections' Premier Cru offerings,  they are of course more expensive, but I'm very glad I did because this is a lovely, lovely white burgundy wine.  Domaine Jean-Baptist Ponsot Premier Cru (2019), here .

"Gun-flint smoky minerality drives this ripe, old-vine fruit and elegant white flower complexity to great lengths. Extremely long finish, and the hallmark tension, even in old vine depth. Aging 12 months in barrels (20% of new oak barrels) and 3 months of assembly in mass."

sea and sun

Domaine Gilles Bouton Bourgogne Rouge 2019

Really enjoyed this one! "Generally considered the generic Burgundy wine, appellation Bourgogne, both red and white, can also be thought of as the model of what Burgundy wine should be. It is produced in almost all of the winemaking communes throughout Burgundy, and from the same grape varieties as the more specific appellations."

Domaine Gilles Bouton Bourgogne Rouge 2019

Cherubim. Flower.

Forest, Suggested

Sunrise, or maybe Sunset

Gong Fu Tea Service

I like having my morning tea gong fu style.  The tray has a built-in catch basin for spilled water (you 'wash' and discard the first steep or two).  The cup with lid is a gaiwan, used for brewing tea in multiple, small rounds.  The pitcher is a cha hai, for holding tea after brewing so everyone served gets the same experience rather than one person getting stronger or weaker tea than someone else.  Aaaaaand, tiny cup!

Birds in a Field, Vaguely

Apero Time

fuschia pine trees

Playing with some of my new colors

watercolor snacks box

Got my new watercolor snacks box - a book, a refillable palette with 12 colors, watercolors markers, pen, 3 brushes, and washi tape.

Which I promptly got messy.

And here's your closeup!

Julien Cruchandeau Hautes Cotes de Nuits 'Les Cabottes' 2019

Ooo, this is delicious! What a lovely red wine.

The vineyard is described as 'in transition' - "half of it is 60 years old; the other half a new plantation 6 years old. The two parts are fermented separately then assembled in to one cuvee. 2018 gave him lovely phenolic maturity, so he did a slow cold maceration. The result is enormous fruit and a wine accessible now. Beautiful Pinot Noir!"

No qualms about slapping that link up right here if you want to check it out: Hautes Cotes de Nuits - Les Cabottes - 2019.

nightscape

another tarot card

From a few days ago...

tarot card

wee cabin

Chanel magazine cover

Did a little study of the 2022 Chanel magazine cover: 

playing with pen and watercolor together

Decided to doodle with a pen and then watercolor it:

And then:

More experiments!

Saw someone use a cylindrical object to paint a circle for a landscape, so I tried something similar.

Then I flipped it over and tried working with a mix of those 2 watercolor crayons I have and regular watercolors.

simple flower for today

more experimenting

Got these:

And this

Which opens up into THIS

So I screwed around a bit

And then did this little quasi-landscape

experiment earlier this week

A couple days ago...

Sandy Beach, or, tonight's experiment

tonight's experiment

Here's the finished product, I think...

Star fields need stars...

WIP

I've no idea yet what this will be when done, if it's not done, but I was watching Star Trek: The Voyage Home, and struck by a star field.

Painted Tapestry

Recreating my friend's tapestry practice project (Tapestry Practice),

Green and Birds and Sky

Here's my watercolor experiment from the other night:

Blue Shostakovich

Julien Cruchandeau Aligote 'LeVillage' 2020

Still not a wine blog.  Really.  OK, for the record, Aligote is a white grape.

"From 50 year old vines in the hills above Nuits St Georges, this Aligote is fresh and spicy with green apple acidity.  Bright, crisp almost crunchy fruit and a deep, floral lingering finish carried out long by the limestone minerality."

I think that's accurate.  I like it, I'm not crazy about it, I think I'd like it more during summer, not winter, but it is fresh, crisp, etc.  Quite delicious.

Read more about this wine at Elden Selections. 

  

not a wine blog, i swear

BUT.  This is nice. Carmel Road, Montery, California. Pinot Noir.

Julien Cruchandeau Hautes Cotes de Nuits Blanc 2018

Holy cow, this is good: Julien Cruchandeau Hautes Cotes de Nuits Blanc 2018

As I mentioned in a previous post,  I am always curious about small local purveyers of whatever a product might be, in this case, the burgundy wines imported into the USA by Elden Selections, based themselves in the Burgundy region. I am trying Julien Cruchandeau and ordered 4 bottles, including this one!

Overview: "Very low yields for the appellation (30hl/ha).  Raised in 50% steel tank and 50% wood (with 10% new oak in the mix). Orange flower and honey, rich but fresh and open.  Long pleasant floral finish."

I don't know half of what all this means but I'm enjoying learning.  Meanwhile, like with most art: I know what I like.

Playing with Watercolors

I have some watercolor painting supplies, so, since I've been feeling the need for a tactile art, so, why not?

Watercolor 1 and 2:

and Goache:

Kombucha

So, every year I abandon my kombucha to fate and then buy a small scoby on ebay and start making it again.  This year I must not've cleaned my jar properly because I can see moldy green.  Tsk, tsk.

Stargate SG-1 fans, look at this!

Whooooaaaaaaa. 'Working' Stargate model.

Gratsi Old Country White

Tonight I am trying a white wine from Gratsi, Old Country White, which I found via Instagram, and is 'Old World Style', with less sugar.  Apparently sugar is bad for you, who knew.

I bought a sampler pack of red and white, and tonight I opened up the white.  This is a boxed wine, which some might look down on, but it tastes like a decent easy-drinking table wine type white wine to me, so, I shan't judge.

Julien Cruchandeau Les Valançons Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits

Please dont expect me to speak with expertise about French wine, it would be absurd of me to try. I am always curious about small local purveyers of whatever a product might be, in this case, the burgundy wines imported into the USA by Elden Selections, based themselves in the Burgundy region. I am trying Julien Cruchandeau and ordered 4 bottles, including this one, Julien Cruchandeau Hautes Cotes de Nuits 'Valencons' 2018. It's described as juicy and exuberant.

It's winter where I live, so try as I might, the room temperature I'm serving this wine at is a little cool and I think that affects the taste. I am warming it by holding it in my hands...but holding a wineglass in my hands prompts me to drink from it, so we'll see how well that goes.