WTN: Brunello, Syrah, cheap bubbly, etc

Last night we went to some friends' house for dinner, joining hostess's sister, her husband, and 2 other guests. Very pleasant evening, with good company and good food. Salami and olives, followed by Betsy's sundried tomato and basil palmiers, then salad, spicy but not hot lamb vindaloo, couscous, and green beans. Lots of wines sampled:

NV Sciarpa Prosecco
light, crisp, easy. B-

NV Gruet Brut
a little yeasty/doughy note, flowers, ripe apple. .B 

NV Gloria Ferrer Brut
This seemed short and sharp, apple cider with a touch of maple. I remember liking this better. A non-wine-person brought this, and I wonder if it had seen some warmth. This bottle, C/C+

2008 Drouhin "Laforet" Bourgogne Blanc
Green apples, clean, but maybe a little too green/tart. A little on the thin side, but hey it's cheap. B-/C+

2006 Montes Alpha Syrah
Big, thick, oaky, with blueberries and black plums. Very popular, except with me, C+/B-

2002 Cep Syrah (Sonoma)
Medium bodied, black raspberries and blackberries, earth, mushrooms (maybe I'm influenced by name!), resolved tannins. Not real long, but satisfying. B

2003 La Rasina Brunello di Montalcino
Ron got this from Pat Carey as a winner in our Haiti raffle, I'm lucky enough to be here for this! Ron said it was tight at opening, but after 2-3 hours in a decanter this was showing nicely. OK, maybe a bit round for BdM, but in the context of the vintage good acidity. Ripe black cherries, a touch of vanilla, some 5-spice and leather. Modern, but not over the top. Nice lusher style of BdM, my WOTN. B+/B

2005 Lavia
I believe this was Spanish, but I didn't see from where. Low acid, ultra ripe, jammy red fruits. Comes across heavy and ponderous to me, but fairly short finish. C+

Fun night with fun people

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.  

[David M. Bueker]

2008 Drouhin "Laforet" Bourgogne Blanc
Green apples, clean, but maybe a little too green/tart. A little on the thin side, but hey it's cheap. B-/C+
  

Yup! It's a good party Bourgogne.

Do you know if they do a Vero Blanc?

I haven't seen a Vero blanc in a while, but they definitely did the first few Vero vintages (2002 on). I think I liked it better than the red in vintages I tried.

Hmm, CT lists the Vero blanc for 2002-2005, but not since (I know I've seen 06 and 07 rouge).

This is J. Gilman's note on the 04:
he idea behind this wine is to provide a consistently excellent blended Burgundy in the twenty dollar range that would serve as an introductory wine for those unfamiliar with Burgundy. The 2004 is a blend of wines from Puligny-Montrachet, Rully, Montagny and perhaps another village or two (spotty memory), and the wine is quite lovely. The nose offers up notes of peaches, pears, spring flowers and soil tones. It is odd to taste a well-made Burgundy and find an amalgm of different soil tones in the same wine, but the overall balance is quite fine, and for newcomers it should prove to be quite attractive. On the palate the wine is fullish, focused and juicy, with good balance, and a nice, long finish