Friday was Portuguese night for our local non-serious wine group. Alex put out a nice spread with linguica, a variation on Bacalhau com natas (using smoked whitefish instead of bacalhau) cheeses, salad and more.
2017 Niepoort Redoma Branco
Nice white to start. Good acids, citrus fruit, flowers, some seashell/salinity on finish. Kind of Albarino meets Muscadet (unsure of grapes). B+/B
2017 Filipa Pato “3B” Brut Rose
Dry, tart, bright with nice finish. B
Reds were blind
2014 LAB (Lisboa)
Short, soft red fruit, touch of vanilla and butter. B-/C+
2015 Quinta do Infantado Douro
Clean, fresh red and black fruit, medium bodied, I like, B
2012 Quinta do Infantado Douro (Organic)
(different label, apparently a specific parcel) , a tough beefier but well balanced,black plum and berry, some nice ferric notes. Fun. B+/B
2016 Chamine (Alentejano)
Sweet, short soft. B-/C+
2015 Esporao Reserva
Ripe and jammy, touch of heat, a bit clipped. C+
2017 Filipa Pato Baga FP
Black raspberry and plum, mocha, smoked meat. Nice balance. B+/B
1982 Offley Boa Vista Vintage Port
Decanted about 3 hours. OK, 3rd tier producer, a vintage most didn’t declare. But it actually showed fairly nicely, if not very complex. Candied cherry with some five-spice and citrus zest, just not super long and showing its alcohol a bit too much. Drink up B
Fun night
I had been to fishmonger before we were invited to friends’ for dinner Sat, so we just offered to bring oysters and our whole fish.
Home smoked trout, oysters, then sat for Betsy’s roasted bluefish
2015 Thomas Morey “Dent de Chien” Chassagne-Montrachet 1er
I’ve had the Murgers dDdCs St Aubin lots before, but never had this vineyard before. Glad I have now! Full and deep, pear with a touch of pit fruit, light citrus blossom notes over some light hazelnut/oak notes. B+/A-
2015 Michelot Bourgogne Blanc.
Full style, decent acids, nice enough quaffer B_
Lamb chops, rice, salad
2009 Fleur Cardinale (St. Emilion)
Quite ripe, jammy dark fruits, mocha and heavy oak notes. Not my thang. C+/B-
2015 Johann Michel Cornas
Spicy, dark berries, pepper. A bit tannic, but drinking well despite that. B+
Betsy had a concert Sunday, I had an all day meeting, but had enough time to cook before she returned with her mom and a friend. Scallop crudo, Arctic char with citrus, brown rice, sauteed spinach, mushrooms (Maitake, bluefoot, yellow oyster, shiitake), salad
2017 Gobelsburg Gruner Veltliner (Kamptal)
Just a hint of spritz, green apple and pea shoot, nicely balanced, good value. B/B+
2017 Manciat “Franclieu” Macon-Charnay
Clean fresh Chardonnay fruit (apple and peach), no noticeable oak, some floral notes, nice acid backbone, another fine value. B+/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.
