Memorial Day weekend brought gorgeous weather to NY. Sunday I went to a lovely lawn party where I talked to winegeeks while drinking beer, then went home to my bride who was returning from Maine. She carved up some double lamb chops, I grilled and we enjoyed with the 1996 Cantemerle. Solid cassis fruit with some plummy notes, cedar shavings. mostly resolved tannins. Very solid and typical claret, if not especially exciting. B
Monday we hosted a large cohort of friends, neighbors, colleagues, and families (if my count is correct, 56 adults, 18 kids/teens, and 3 dogs). I made chipotle-accented flank steak, teriyaki salmon, mango salsa; Betsy made a colorful slaw. the dry rub for the ribs. and the sauce for the poat dot (corn Cambodian style); Dave a cheesecake. Plus we purchasded some franks and sausages, and others brought a huge assortment of food: grass fed beef, more sausages, veggie/tofu kebabs, salads, dips, cakes, and pies. Weather couldn't have been nicer, lots of juiceboxes, water, and beer was consumed, but also some wine:
White
2007 Matrot Bourgogne
Some babyfat, ripe Bosc pear, earth. B
2007 Drouhin St Veran
Just lovely Chardonnay , white and citrus fruits, clean, long for level. B+
2009 Pepiere Muscadet
Seashore, lemons, underripe apricots (I had one recently and liked it), tasty. B+/A-
2008 Brocard "Kimmeridgian" Bourgogne
Grapefruit, chalk, maybe a bit short but tasty. B/B-
2007 Germain/Roche Neuves "L'Insolite" Saumur blanc
Wax, pears, chalk, honey, a little vanilla. Interesting and complex. B+
2008 Kris Pinot Grigio
Clean, peach and melon, medium acidity, maybe a little dilute. B-
2007 Casa Lapostolle Chardonnay
Sweet canned pears, rancid butter, A . Not sure if this just sucked or maybe some heat. C
A 2009 Clos Roche Blanche Sauvignon #2 was empty before I grabbed it.
Damn!
Pink
2009 Edmunds St John Bone Jolly rose
Strawberrries, melon, flowers, a hint of bitter herb. Tasty and quickly drained.. B+
2009 Cantalupo "Il Mimo" rosato
Fairly ripe, cherries and strawberries with a hint of Nebbiolo tar. B/B+
Taft Street Rose of Pinot Noir
No contemporaneous notes, but I thought this decent, just needed a tad more zip. B-
(strangely, a bottle of 2009 Baudry rose that I put in cooler seems to be MIA, never saw it open, but there's a label floating in the ice slush and no matching bottle!)
Red
1985 Jaboulet "Thalabert" Crozes-Hermitage
Meat, sweet black fruits, smoke, leather. Evolves quickly, some peppery spice and a little tarry note. Maybe a tad tired but nice showing for first 30 minutes or so, though after a while it began to fall apart and exhibit some dirty ashtray notes. But for first half hour, A-/B+
1999 Chandon de Briailles "aux Fourneaux" Savigny-les-Beaune 1er
Young, a bit tight, black cherries with lots of smoke and a little mushroom/earth. Good, but I should have waited on this. B/B+ with potential
2007 Puzelat " Pouille" Gamay (Touraine)
I get just a hint of the geranium notes I often get from Loire gamay, but not so much it bothers me. Raspberries, damp earth, green tobacco leaf. Good acids, very light tannins. B/B+
2006 Domaine des Croix "Bressandes" Beaune 1er
Pretty open, pretty black cherry fruit, a little oak, nice balance of ripeness and acidity. B+
2007 Rosenblum "Vintner's Cuvee" Zinfandel
Sweet candied, maybe a bit empty but quite popular. B-/C+
There was a 2008 d'Oupia Minervois drained in my absence, but I heard good things. I also missed the 2007 Delas "Esprit" Cotes du Rhone,but have had several times, no huge regret there.
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.