Terrific dinner last night at Elske, a new restaurant opened by some great folks who used to work at Blackbird and Publican. We drank an Arnot-Roberts 2014 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay, Trout Gulch Vineyard. Quite delicious: it combined the focus and structure of a Chablis with a sort of oily and savage wooliness I've tasted in some Jura Chards (and some Loire Chenins, too). For a meal this heavily driven by earthy and vegetal flavors, it was perfect.
Over the weekend, on the fence between an Enfield Syrah and a Clos Roche Blanche 2014 Touraine, Cuvée Pif, we went with the CRB, since this was their last vintage; and in fact we got the second-to-last bottle in this particular cellar. A blend of Cabernet Franc and Côt, this was bright, juicy, and also a little funky, with excellent verve and balance. Sorry to see it go.