Wednesday was a lovely evening for a concert/picnic, and we were joined by the river by alt.food.wine friends visiting from Arizona as well as other friends. Some assorted salads, cheeses, a pate, and fruit.
2005 Cantalupo "il Mimo" Rosato (Colline Novaresi)
This has been one of my favorite rosés for last several years; I see no reason to change. Good acidity, pure clean light red fruit, a hint of tar and minerals on finish. Don't look here for profundity, but for good solid value. B+
2004 Borgogno Grignolino d'Asti
It was a warm day, a little warmer than I would want to serve a bigger red. But just the day for a lighter lightly chilled red. Beaujolais? Loire? How about a Grignolino. Good acidic core, raspberry fruit, almost imperceptible tannins. A little spiciness. Pleasant little wine, great for picnic. B
2005"Con Class" Rueda
Light and clean, if not compelling. Melon and tropical fruit edged with a hint of lemon. Fine for what it is. B/B-
2005 Catalina Sounds Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough)
This has a nice grapefruit and kiwi fruit base, decent acidity, but maybe not a lot of jalapeno or grass. None of what I think of as that herby/jalapeno Marlborough typicity. Still, I tell Ken the good thing about NZ SB is even the ones that don't blow you away are usually quaffable. Then he tells me that this is priced much more like Cloudy Bay than Giesen or Babich. Hmm. B/B- , with a C+ for value.
Nice evening, even if the hound and the louder than usual music made conversation harder.
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.