Wednesday Betsy made an Asian-ish shrimp and napa cabbage stew, wine was the 2014
Keller Trocken. I’m not always on Keller bandwagon but this is a pretty serious value at $17. Citrus and mineral, stony in all the right ways. Pretty much all I could ask for in dry Riesling at this pricepoint. B++
Thursday broiled some salmon to accompany vegetable leftovers and opened the 2015 Brun/Terres Dorees “L’Ancien” Beaujolais Nouveau. My first BN in couple of years. Actually pretty enjoyable- fresh, fruity, fun. There’s even a little earth and underbrush. Not seeking more, but glad to try. B/B-
Friday Betsy had a concert in city and I just cleaned out fridge of leftovers and enjoyed remainders of the Keller and the Brun BN. Saturday we went to a Nikolaus party (German outdoor holiday party). The mulled wine was better than most (not cloying), but I carried along a couple of bottles- one as gift and one as non-mulled non-warm sipper. Pretty pleased with the 2014 Pavillon de Chavannes “Cuvee des Ambassades” Cote de Brouilly. Red and black cherries, anise, earth, plenty of fruit, lots of acid. Bright and fiesty. B+
Back home I had dinner prepped- just a few minutes to do broiled local mackerel, quinoa, and a claytonia salad. Wine was the 2010 Pepiere “Clisson” Muscadet. Rounder and fuller than the Briords, but still with a vibrant acidic core. Seashells, wet stones, and lemon. Acids stand up well to the oily fish, very nice indeed. A-
Friday had been Betsy’s birthday, I couldn’t attend her concert so took her to dinner at St. George in Hastings Sunday night. She had oysters, ribeye steak frites, and spinach; I had Little Gem salad with horesradish/dijon dressing and cured pork blade with carrots and potatoes. Wine was the 2006 Dujac Morey-St-Denis. I was a little worried this might be closed, and it did seem a touch tight, but I had double-decanted and by time we got to beef and pork (neither oysters or horseradish mustard dressing really scream “red Burg!:) it was showing pretty well. Fairly powerful, black cherry and a touch of coffee and sandalwood, ripe but balanced. Some earthy notes towards end. Lovely rich red Burg. Hope the waitstaff enjoyed rest! B+/A-
Monday was tomato/olive/feta/peashoot pizza and a sumac/tahini slaw, but no wine.
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.
