No wine Monday (“loaded” miso soup), Tuesday I made a riff on trout amandine with rice, broccoli, and salad. Wine was the 2013 Henri Boillot Bourgogne Blanc. Fuller richer style of BB, could pass for a village Meursault, yet strangely I was pretty unexcited by this. Pear, tropical fruit, some hazelnut, but not much verve. B-
Wednesday Ottolenghi “chicken with caramelized onion and cardamom rice” except she substituted lamb and used edamame rather than favas. Also some spinach, and the 2013 Edmunds St John “Rocks and Gravel” , Young but showing nicely, crunchy red raspberry fruit, good acids, some rocks and gravel! B++
Thursday was squid, mussels, and zucchini on angel hair pasta, with a side of salad and blue cheese dressing. 2 wines split cooking/drinking duty
2014 Collestefano Verdicchio di Matelica
Minerally, good acids, lemon and slightly unripe peach (but in a good way!) Get more. B+
2014 Agerre Txakolina
Spritz, saline, lemony fruit, fresh and easygoing. B/B-
Friday leftover lamb and rice, plus some great Moroccan carrots
2013 Billards St Amour
Larger scaled Gamay, some tannin, but fruit is strangely muted. Closed? Fruit scalping? Not showing much, I usually like Billards but for now C+/B-
Saturday I shopped while she reheae, then Betsy made dinner while I took her sister to JFK. Came back to clams and broccoli rabe on pasta, and green beans in an onion/anchovy sauce.
2014 Patrick Piuze “Terroir de Chichee” Chablis. Green apple and nectarine, chalk, flinty. I don’t know enough about Chablis terroir to know if this is true to Chichee, but I like. B+/B
Sunday NYC Opera lives! (well, in a smaller fashion). Betsy had all day/evening rehearsals, so
I took the opportunity to make liver and onions (which she hates). Also some beets and cabbage, wine was the 2012 Ar. Pe. Pe.Rosso di Valtellina. Very fresh, light to medium bodied, perfumed, roses and mushrooms over cherry fruit. Elegant style of nebbiolo. B+/A-
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.