1994 Paterno Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
I thought this might be dead, but while it was fully mature (and maybe past peak) it still had good fruit (cherry and dried cherry). A bit leathery, some earth, acidic backbone. B/B-
Some friends and their dog came for dinner Saturday. Dogs enjoyed marrow bones while humans had Ron’s home smoked trout, bresaola, mushroom/pea toast, an Ottolenghi “paella” (tiger shrimp, halibut, chorizo, artichokes- not authentic but damned tasty), salad.
NV Castellroig Cava
Apple and peach, light yeast notes, straightforward but my favorite $10 bubbly, B/B-
2016 Navarro “1ere Reserve” Chardonnay (Mendocino}
Not a lot of butter, but lots of vanilla-y oak. Didn’t love this. C+/B-
2016 Navarro Edelzwicker
Very floral (Gewurz meets Viognier, though don’t think blend has latter, think traditional Alsace grapes), off dry, could use more acid. B-
1998 Remírez de Ganuza Rioja Reserva
Black plum, blackberries, coffee, and vanilla. Decent acids. Table really enjoyed, I admit it tastes ok, but I want Rioja to taste like Rioja not modern St. Emilion. C for typicity,
1996 Thunder Mountain “Star Ruby- Bates Ranch” (Santa Cruz Mountain)
(Sunday was our “gotcha” day for Ruby the Basset, but Betsy was leaving Sun AM so celebrating a day early) Red table wine, unsure of blend but tastes like basic “Bordeaux blend”. Cassis, black plum, mocha. With air some eucalyptus notes. The oaky notes of youth have integrated, this isn’t superlong, but a nice example of mature Santa Cruz red. B+
Sunday I had leftovers/thawed stuff- chicken, eggplant, paella, salad
2014 Ch. Yvonne Saumur-Champigny
High acids, juicy black cherries, some uncured tobacco leaf. Fun if not compelling. 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.