Saturday Betsy has afternoon appointments, and I was due to give out 3,500 pieces of candy to a horde of kids downtown. She decided to use slow cooker, made a variation on cassoulet. Flageolets, duck legs, homemade sausage, delicious. After we both got home we sat down (though neighborhood Trick and Treaters kept interupting) to the cassoulet and the 2007 Delas St-Esprit Cotes du Rhone, just because I had brought bottle upstairs to see lot numbers (DFL044R17) due to discussions re bottle variation here. This showed like previous bottles to me - sound wine, but pretty unexciting. Fruit-forward approaching grapey, sweet Grenachey fruit (though it's supposed to be mostly Syrah), not much depth or followthrough. Perfectly acceptable $8 wine, but lots of people describe a great value that I haven't seen in this. B-
I'm not usually a wine with lunch guy, but Sunday was a special occasion. A dear French friend now living in Singapore contacted me that her mother in law from Toulon and a friend were to visit NYC. Some emails ensured, they decided they would like to have lunch in the suburbs. I picked them up at the train station, and a nice group gathered for lunch. Some other friends of my friend Florence, plus a couple where the husband is a jazz drummer, who happens to be playing in Toulon later this month (I had asked him for jazz recs in city for them, when he said he was playing Toulon on the 27th I said come to lunch!).
We started with shrimp with cocktail sauce (fave of one US guest), then sat for beef tenderloin, scalloped potatoes with scallion, & curried carrots. Finished with some American cheeses and pumpkin pie. As much as possible I tried to not do French wines, but I didn't like my few convenient US whites, so did go French with the opener:
2001 Crochet "La Croix du Roy" Sancerre
Usually I'm more of a drink SB young guy, but every once in a while I have one with a little age that makes me say " oh yeah," this was an oh yeah wine. Good citrus/gooseberry fruit with some fresh mowed lawn notes, full mouthfeel with integrated acids, a bit of pleasant herbiness. Some wet stones, hint of earth. Not mindboggling, not especially long, but a pleasant face of mature Sancerre. A-/B+
2008 Lafran-Veyrolles Bandol blanc
Odile and Genevieve had lugged several bottles of Provencal wine to NY, we opened this one. Very floral, dry, quite herby on palate. Good acidity for the south, citrus fruit, quite nice. B/B+
1997 St. Clement Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa)
Ripe warm fruits, soft tannins, but initially marred by VA. It seems to mostly blow off, leaving a pleasant mature Cab, but the volatility never quite disappears, and I find it distracting/irritating. B-/C+
1999 Havens Bourriquot (Napa)
Dark berry fruit, a little horsey note well in the background, cedar, firm but smooth tannins. Earthy notes, good acids, nice structured midweight. B+/A-
2005 Muller Catoir Haardter Herzog Rieslaner Auslese (375)'
Floral, musky, herby. Ripe peaches, nectarines. Very nice wine for cheese/dessert, though just a bit more acid would push it into the exciting category. B+
Very nice lunch, with very nice people.
Luckily I tasted more than I drank, because after seeing our friends off I was due at a friend's home for a local election "meet the candidates" party/winetasting. I showed up to give support, I was already supporting this plank. Rob had arranged for Fred to show some "natural" wines, I skipped tasting most, as I had tried before. I did try 3, a slightly dull Roussane/Marsanee blend that I didn't bother noting name, and 2 a bit more interesting:
2008 Ch. Haut Lavigne (Cotes-de-Duras)
I had noted this said "Chateau Haut XXX" as it was poured, good acids, slightly grassy, fresh, light to midweight, good length for budget white. Based on all that, I thought it was a Bordeaux blanc. I noted later it's a Cotes de Duras, a new area to me. B
2007 "From the Tank" Cotes du Rhone
Bag in a box, $30-35 for a 3L. Fresh, black cherries and raspberries, light tannins, moderate acids, some Rhone herb and decent length. I love variety, and don't have any interest in a "house wine." But someone who just wanted to drink a glass or two of red each night could do a whole lot worse than this. Recommend to your enviromentally conscious friends who want a house wine. B
I went home, to finish next load of dishes from lunch. We eventually had a late dinner of roast chicken in bread salad (Zuni cafe). There were several open bottles, I tried a sip of several, but a full glass of a white that had been used for cooking, the 2006 Mount Langi Ghiran Riesling. Citrus, green apples, a whiff of allspice, good acids. Could use a bit more concentration and finish, but a commendable effort. B/B+
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.