Great fun getting up in St. Andrews at 2 AM and driving through pouring rain to Edinburgh. A quick hop to Amsterdam, then on to JFK. A long immigration line, then out into the steambox of NYC. Car service home, I went to work for a few hours, then back home where Betsy had picked up some takeout bento boxes- sashimi, salmon teriyaki, chicken, salad, etc. I decided to try the NV (2010) Auge/ Brulees “Alterite”, a sparkling pink under crown cap. Floral, bright cherry fruit, mint - frolicking, frothy,fun. B++
While we dined a thunderstorm put on a show, and left cooler/drier air in its wake.
Saturday night on the patio we had duck breast over sorrel salad, with mashed potatoes & snap peas. Wine was the 2005 Pierre Amiot Morey-St.-Denis. Cherry, beets, midbodied, clean and easy, just a hint of oak. Pleasant, correct, but not compelling. B
Sunday I picked up Dave at Newark (here for a wedding), as we got home friends called to invite us for dinner. Dave is fond of them and agreed to go as well. I grabbed a couple of bottles, and we went over that evening for a lovely dinner on a wide porch gazing on the Hudson:
Starter was a gazpacho with shrimp and avocado, we toasted the recent grad with the
2000 Piper-Heidsieck Brut Champagne. Medium/light-bodied, brioche, pit fruits, this could use more depth and verve, more NV style than vintage. B/B-
Main course was pepper tuna steak over lettuce and fennel salad, squash. Since Dave will be back in UK for his birthday later this summer, decided to open a birthyear wine now. I double-decanted the 1988 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa) before we went over, I was a tad worried by a shoe-polishy VA note, but by serving time that had faded to nothing. Good solid black (currant and plum) fruits, earth, menthol, tar. Good acids, tannins still a bit stern, but not the monolithic tannins of some Dunns. ‘88 is a not-cherished year in Napa, but this showed well. B+
The 2010 J. Lohr “7 Oaks” Cabernet Sauvignon. OK, inexpensive Cali CS is not something I gravitate towards, and this is definitely in the sweet fruit with a bit of oak vein. But within that paradigm I found it relatively balanced- plush dark fruits, enough acid to keep it from overdosing on the sweet fruits, light tannins, decent length. B-
Monday Betsy sister’s family and Dave joined us on a trek to Sripraphai. Tom kai gai, frog legs with basil, watercress with squid and shrimp , drunken noodles, kao soy, Chinese broccoli with crispy pork, and the 2010 Donnhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett. Best showing of this yet- citrus and green apple, ginger and herbs, good acids, excellent length. A-
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.