Thursday was scallops with a wine/chive sauce. Cooking wine was the 2014 Los Navales Verdejo. Citrus, grass, light and easy. B/B-
Dinner wine was the 2012 Sandhi “Sanford and Benedict” Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills)
Medium-bodied, pear fruit with some floral and citrus notes, oak obvious but not overwhelming, nice rather balanced wine. I paid $30 on a closeout and was pleased, I'd buy again at that price. B+/B
Friday I went up to Briarcliff where Mark was hosting a dinner with some older Mt Eden wines.
I was greeted with smoked salmon canapes and a couple of Champagnes:
2008 Pierre Peters “Les Chetillons” Champagne Bllanc de Blancs
Crisp and bright, white fruits and bread dough, good finish. I think I was only one who preferred this to the Vilmart. B+/A-
2007 Vilmart “Coeur de Cuvee” Champagne
Pears, vanilla (oak?), sweet edge, but long finish. B
John was doing chef duties this night, started us with a nice plate of shrimp and avocado. Delicious dish, and a great match with the Chardonnays.
2008 Mt. Eden Estate Chardonnay Reserve
Structured, minerally, good acids. Really nice. B+/A-
2007 Mt. Eden Estate Chardonnay Reserve
Soft, a little lactic/cheesy note, shorter. B-
Next 2 were very similar, despite 7 year age spread
2000 Mt. Eden Estate Chardonnay
Young, a little softer acids than the ‘93, apple/pear, integrating oak. mineral, balanced. B+
1993 Mt. Eden Estate Chardonnay
Crisp, bright, minerally, with pear and a little citrus. B+/A-
Mark brought out some Peter Luger bacon on greens
1995 Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon
Fresh red plum and currant fruit, some bell pepper, lively. B+
1987 Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon
Pretty divided opinions here (don’t think anyone especially liked, just different opinions on what was wrong). I thought there was just a hint of madeirazation, some bell pepper, quite short. B-/C+
1982 Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon
Young, good but a bit simpler than the ‘80. B+/B
1980 Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon
Very pretty, elegant, cassis with some mushroom and earth. A-
Duck breast with couscous made for a nice main
1978 Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon
Ripe, some oxidative notes, I didn’t think this was dead but more advanced than it should be. B/B-
1977 Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon
Dead and stinky. Storage issues.
Mark decided to throw a blind wine into the mix to make up for the compromised wines. Spicy nose, lots of kirsch but not in an overripe way. Pretty, earthy, floral. . I got lucky with my first guess, CdP. Mark confirmed quietly but others kept guessing, more New World. Once he told group CdP, he asked me vintage- my luck ran out, I guessed ‘90, missing by a mere 31 years. Some (like me) liked a lot, others much less. Never had heard of producer. 1959 Charles Vienot Chateauneuf-du-Pape. A-/B+
1975 Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon
Pushing it , very mature, black fruit, green pepper and a little tobacco.. B
(I think the 78, 77, and 75 came from same source, pretty sure had seen some warm storage)
1974 Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon (magnum)
Full, very ripe, a bit funky, I liked but very divided opinions. B+
Mark brought up a tawny to finish. And what a tawny.
Whitwham Millennium Port
bottled by Dirk N. in 2002 from a cask believed to date to late 19th century. Raisin bread, nuts, cinnamon, good acids, great long finish, quite a treat. A-
Saturday was mushroom/madeira soup, Swiss chard with pinenuts and tahini/yogurt dressing (Jerusalem cookbook), snap peas, and leftover “ricearoni” (Friday night she had made a combination of brown basmati and orzo). Wine was the 2014 Enderle & Moll Pinot Noir (this was sold as the “Basis” but not listed on label that I see, assume it just means base). Beautifully tart cherry and raspberry, green leafy notes, some spice. Fun little wine. B+
Sunday was shrimp , tomato, and corn, along with kale and feta salad, wine was the
2014 Hippolyte Reverdy Sancerre. Citrus, a little grass, typical and ready to drink. 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.
Usually ages nicely. IMHO.