Unauthorized

When in Paris, I try and eat at L'Ami Louis twice, so I returned for lunch to essentially repeat the previous evening's gluttony. The meal was splendid, as always, but the wines were different, except for the Champagne. It was impossible to resist ordering the brilliant 1996 Cristal again, a vintage that easily rivals the splendid 1990. The 2001 Calvet-Thunevin is a joint venture of the famous St.-Emilion winemaker, Jean-Luc Thunevin and the Calvet family. Tasting like pure Syrah, it is an inky/purple-colored, rich, concentrated, fleshy red boasting loads of intensity as well as fruit. However, as delicious as it was, it was dwarfed by the monumental 1999 Guigal Côte Rôtie Château d'Ampuis, a young but promising offering from one of Côte Rôtie's finest vintages.