Yesterday was a scorcher in NY (and will be even hotter today and tomorrow), but humidity wasn't bad yesterday and with a moderate breeze temps were great in the shade by river. I arrived early as the ensemble from a jazz camp friends were running were the opening act, and stayed way after the main act (Freddie Bryant Quartet) finished. I had carried shrimp salad and Morbier, also sampled others' garlic sausage, cheeses (including a great Tomme de Savoie), octopus salad, tortellini. And of course many wines were tasted:
Bubbly
NV Sebastien Brunet Vouvray
A touch off-dry, apple fruit and honey, light yeasty notes, quite pleasant. B
White
2010 Darting Durkheimer Hochbenn Riesling Kabinett
Fairly sweet, moderate acids, this seems a bit dull for some reason, I usually like this bottling but don't think this is a buy again. Quite drinkable, but too many other Rieslings I prefer. B-
2009 Martinsancho Verdejo
Nice balance of ripe tropical fruit and moderate acidity, clean, good with shrimp if not exciting. B/B-
Pink
2010 Chermette (Vissoux) "les Griottes" Beaujolais rose
Tasty, fresh, and fun. Cherries, peach blossoms, a little earth. B+
2010 Jaboulet Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone rose
Candied fruit, short, a bit flat. Maybe I would have liked better if it didn't follow the Vissoux. C+
2010 Enanzo Rose (Navarra)
For Grenache/Granacha this has good acidity. Full, red plum fruit, heartier style of rose that maybe would benefit from some meat, but ok as a sipper. Well-priced ($8). B-/B
Red
2009 Guion "Domaine" Bourgueil
This is really showing well. The usual Guion zippiness is here,but matched with richer/riper fruit than normal. I always like this, but some others are typically turned off by the green pepper accents, but that's really minimal in the 2009 and I think this would be more widely popular. B+
2005 Chateau de Roquefort "les Mures" (Cotes de Provence)
Herbal, slightly jammy fruit, seems a bit tired to me, others like more. B-
Fun night.
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.