Some friends joined us for meatless Monday; I made a curried cauliflower soup and roasted root vegetables (parsley root, turnip, and carrot) while Betsy made steamed tofu with Chinese broccoli.
NV Janisson-Baradon Brut Selection. Sweet and appley, others like but I prefer drier and crisper. B-/C+
2013 Ch. Ste. Michelle Gewurztraminer
Sweet, canned fruit salad, a bit short. It actually has decent acids for a Gewurz, but I find boring. C+
1998 Knoll Loibenberg Gruner Veltliner Federspiel
This is more like it! Peach and lemon, peppery, great food wine. Maybe not quite as young as a bottle last month, but still pretty vibrant. Holds well throughout evening. B+
2011 Maison Bleue “Jaja” . Herby, young, spicy red fruits, good finish. B/B+
Last night I made a turkey ragu over pasta, with braised fennel, sauteed broccoli rabe, and a watercress salad. Wine was the 1996 Fonterutoli (Mazzei) Chianti Classico. I don’t have a lot of Fonterutoli experience- people I respect used to always say ‘Buy the 3 Fs” but I mostly just did Felsina and Fontodi. Surprisingly dark for aged Sangiovese, this is comparatively a burly wine. Black cherry and plum, moderate acids, a bit of tannin, with some mocha and violets. This must see some new oak. Plenty of fruit left, not my fave style of Chianti, but it has held well. B
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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.