Betsy made fried lemon and squid over arugula, with asparagus on side. Wine was the 2012 Knoll Loibner Gruner Veltliner Federspiel. Crisp, dry, minerally, peppery. Good stuff. B+
With spicy pork, the 2013 Vollenweider Wolfer Goldgrube Kabinett. More Spatlese sweetness than Kabinett (at least by old standards) but there’s enough acidity that it wears it well. Pears and tropical fruit, good length. B/B+
Friday we had mixed grill (steak and chicken sausage) squash and potato. Wine was the 2010 Baudry Chinon (Domaine bottling)/Some underlying structure (both acid and tannin) means this has a nice fruit, but I enjoyed this now. Cherry and herb, straightforward without being simple. good stuff. B+
Saturday herbed salmon , sweet potato, snow peas and a red cabbage slaw. Wine was the 2007 R. Haart Piesporter Goldtropchen Kabinett, which showed comparatively simple and sweet. Pleasant enough,good length, but not the vibrant wine I remember. I THINK this is just in a (surprising to me) shut down period, this bottle rates a B-
Sunday some friends and their dog were coming to dinner, we invited another couple who we’d not been able to join previous week. Then another invite - decided to invite them too. So dinner for 4 was suddenly a full fledged dinner party. But we kept is simple - one couple brought a spicy white bean dip start, other two brought desserts (rhubard crumble and passover honey cake). My starters were salmon roe canapes and veal/chicken pate, served on patio as I grilled.
Agrapart “7 Crus” Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Crisp, snappy, I liked this a lot. B+/A-
NV Overnoy-Crinquand Cremant de Jura Rose
Very popular, but not really with me. Nice berry fruit, but felt coarse and short. B-/C+
2011 Rocca di Castagnoli Chianti Classico
This was my defense bottle for a “I only drink red” guy. Softer style of Chianti, not a lot of grip or verve, but pleasant and inexpensive. B-
2011 Cowan “Isa” Sauvignon Blanc
Dark gold color, skin-contact. Light oxidative notes, deep flavors, would never guess SB but I like. B
After grilling - shrimp with a basil/parsley sauce, mushrooms (crimini and trumpet), and tomatoes - we moved indoors. . We also had rice with furikake and salad
2007 Christian Moreau “Les Clos” Chablis Grand Cru
Full, long, steely, dry, no sign of premOx, drinking well now. B+/A-
2012 Pepiere “Briords” Muscadet
Delicious. Great core of salinity and lemon fruit, long finish, all I want in a Muscadet. A-
1971 Sterling Cabernet Sauvignon
Quite funky on opening, settles nicely, briary dark fruit and green herbs. B+/B
1990 Jaboulet “Thalabert” Crozes-Hermitage
A bit animal and earthy on nose, pleasant red and black fruit, resolved tannins, good length. B+
Fun night.
Monday grilled trumpet mushrooms with a mirin/soy glaze, bok choy with oyster sauce, and assorted leftovers, wine was the 2014 Edmunds St John “Bone Jolly” Rose. Full styled rose, broad strawberry flavors, good acids. nice length. I liked this, but didn’t get quite the excitement that I usually get from first ESJ rose of the season (it might have been served a little too warm). B
Last night feta-brined chicken, with roasted cauliflower and rice. Wine was the 2014 Edmunds St John Heart of Gold. I think this might be my favorite HoG to date. Light, crisp, assertive, plenty of flavor. Peach and pear, lots of mineral notes. If you’d told me a few years ago I’d like a Vermentino/Grenache blend this much I’d have scoffed. A-/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.