Tuesday Betsy had a girls' night, I made do with leftover food and wine (both the 99 Giacosa normale and 08 Lafouge blanc were still quite lively after 2 days).
Wednesday she was teaching a meditative chant class, I was home and made stirfried chiclen breast with red pepper, and opened the 2008 Baudry "Les Grezeaux" Chinon. Lighter and less fruit forward than the excellent 2009, this has midweight raspberry fruit framed with green tobacco leaf. Interesting and complex if not the wow wine of some vintages. A glass late Thursday (I had dinner at office before a meeting) was a bit too spiky/green, but a minor quibble. On night one, B+
Friday I was happy to be home with Betsy, where she was making linguine with clams and ovenroasted tomatoes. I opened the 2010 Clos Roche Blanche #2 Sauvignon Blanc (Touraine). Usually a slamdunk favorite, but this seemed like a slightly dull version, with some time some distinct oxidative notes appeared. This was a recent putchase from a supremely reputable store, I'll put this down to the vagaries of cork.
Saturday we went a semi-underground supper club, theme was Italian, good food (proscuitto/melon, cannellini soup, heirloom tomatoes with burratta, osso buco with rosemary polenta, tiramisu). Several wines tried
NV La Marca Prosecco
Light, fresh, lively if not complex. B/B-
2009 Michele Chiarlo "Le Orme" Barbera d'Asti
I think this is pretty huge production, but it's really not bad. Fruit forward but with lively acidity, easy to drink. B
2008 Pietrantonj Montepulciano d'abruzzo
Apparently oldest winery in area, and organic. I wanted to like this, but it came across as flabby and dull. Some tannins, little apparent acidity, slightly tired black fruits. C+/C
1986 Cantalupo "Collis Breclamae" Ghemme
Great overachiever from an iffy Piedmont vintage. Rich red fruit, earth, leather, and tar notes, some air brings out floral aromas. Still a bit of tannin, but nice balance and good length. That said, I thought it began to crack up a bit after probably less an hour, but that was ok, as it was great while it lasted (and bottle was pretty empty). B+/A-
1996 Marcarini "La Serra" Barolo
This one I had double-decanted in afternoon. Hours later still quite tannic, but solid core of red cherry fruit, accented with baking spices and smoke. This needs more time, I'll eventually love I think, but for drinking now B/B+
2008 Antinori "Peppoli" Chianti Classico
I remember buying quite a few vintages of this probably 1997-2000, but don't think I've tried in quite a few years - this was a host gift that had been sitting around a couple weeks. Moderate acids, black cherry fruit, a hint of vanilla, probably better "red wine" than "Chianti" 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.