A lot of accumulated notes
2007 Vallana Boca
With short ribs with potatoes, light bright and spicy, red fruit topped with flowers and spice. Fun, tasty. Good value. B/B+
2014 Karthauserhof Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Spatlese (#9)
Good acids, rich citrus and tropical fruit, easy to drink but could use some time I think Very good in an uneven vintage B+
2014 Corsin St Veran VV
Modest acids, quiet apple and pear fruit, acceptable. B-
2014 Thibert “Les Longeays” Pouilly-Vinzelles
Hint of oak, ripe Bosc fruit, a little nuttiness, balanced acids. B
Friday I was hosting local group, some last minute cancellations, but several friends joined me to taste Antipodean wines and munch of some delicious pastourma, forestier and grandmere pates, Lyon sausage, and cheeses
2000 Parker “Terra Rossa First Growth” (Coonawarra)
Rich, balanced, a pointe, a little eucalyptus but otherwise a good ringer for mid-modern Bordeaux. Fred nailed the wine (I had served to him a year or two ago, plus he knows I don’t have a lot of Aussie) B+
2012 d’Arenberg “The High Trellis” Cabernet Sauvignon (McLaren Vale)
Cassis and anise, a little tobacco, midbodied without any overt oak. Quite tasty. B+/B
2014 Paxton AAA Shiraz/Grenache (McLaren Vale)
Plum and raspberry, ok acids, a bit hollow. Only 12.5 % B-/C+
Saturday went to a little St Nicolas outdoor party, tried the Gluhwein, nicely warming but too clovey. I had carried my backup bottle from Friday, the 2003 Yarra Yering Dry Red #1. Tacky tannins, some ashtray over blackcurrant fruit, disappointing. B-/C+
2014 Bessin “Fourchaume” Chablis 1er
I’m becoming a Bessin fan. Citrus, wax, chalk, ripe fruit balanced by taut acids, long. A-/B+
Sunday we had some Santa Cruz friends visiting, started with gravlax, hummus, olives, and the 2012 Ultramarine “Charles Heintz” Blanc de Blanc. Very nice- apple, citrus peel, leesy/yeasty notes with an exotic overlay of ginger. Tasty and distinctive. A-/B+
Dinner was Ottolenghi cod cakes in tomato sauce, broccoli ,& Israeli couscous
2014 Vio Pigato (Riviere Lingure di Ponente)
Sweet and honied, nutty, ok but not what I’m looking for in Pigato. B-
1998 Knoll Loibenberg Gruner Veltliner Federspiel
Vibrant, minerally, nice core of pit fruit. Spicy finish. B+
2001 Sociando-Mallet
Not my original pick, but when I realized Roy and Polly made trip to celebrate 15th, ran to cellar. With an hour in decanter this showed beautifully- midbodied, cassis and black plum, some Sociando green tobacco leaf, good finish. Better than expected. 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.