Last night we went over to some friends to celebrate New Year's Day. The crowd other than us were mostly jazz musicians, a fun group. Before sitting down, we snacked on an assortment of charcuterie, sundried tomatoes, mozzarella dressing in parsely and oil, sausage bread, and more. With a couple of Champagnes:
NV Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Champagne
I've seen a fair amount of variance in these, this was a good QPR Champagne in a medium sized package. Citrus and pear, a bit of cookie dough, nice mouthfeel if maybe a tad short, overall I enjoyed. B/B-
NV Moncuit "Cuvée Pierre Moncuit-Delos" Blanc de Blancs Champagne (mag)
My contribution. I had planned to saber to irritate HH, but decided not to because I had to walk over and thought shook up and not iced wasn't best for mag. More delicate though it has a rather full presence on palate, fresh acidity, good length. Very nice. B+
We moved to table, where we had mushroom soup, then salad with octopus, then lamb shanks with polenta and green beans. There was also some cheese, and the evening finished up with Mennonite cookies (more like fritters, even I ate one -without the powdered sugar- because it was supposed to be luckty, though I had already covered my bases with hoppin' John and greens for lunch).
2004 La Roquette Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Nice, not over the top or jammy, mediumbodied CdP with red fruit, spice, and herbs. B/B+
2008 Di Filippo Montefalco Rosso
Medium bodied, light tannins, a bit disjointed. B-
2007 Massimo Rivetti Nebbiolo (Langhe)
Light to medium bodied, black cherry fruit, rather pleasant wine, though not sure I'd have guessed Nebbiolo. B/B-
1990 Terrabianca Campaccio Riserva
This was a recent "take a flier" purchase from Chambers St (for '90 Campaccio). When I got it home I saw the big red wax seal, and realized I actually had the much more expensive Riserva. But they said no problem -just keep it. Really showed beautifully- black cherry and cassis, cigarbox, medium bodied with good acids and mostly resolved tannins, nice length. In the past I've preferred the regular to the Riserva, finding R too oaky, but this has totally integrated. A-
2009 Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel
Full, ripe berry fruit, oak (chip?), a bit of heat on finish, very popular with others. C+/B-
2006 Mas del Rey Cotes du Roussillon
This was a bit modern but extremely well made. Black berry and plums, spice, and a nice mineral edge on finish. Good length, very nice. A second bottle of this was corked, but #1 B+/B.
There was a 2005 Mondavi CS I missed that was apparently favorite at other end of table.
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.