WTN: Another lockdown weekend- Bdx, Burg, Loire, Veneto, GV

With chicken with fennel and sweet potatoes
2018 Contra Soarda Vespaiolo (Breganze)
Good acids, long finish, but there is something about the taste profile here that turns me off. Apricot meets musk meets blue cheese. No that’s not it. I really can’t drink this. C-0

2018 Hirsch Hirschvergnugen Grüner Veltliner
This I can drink. Light, hint of spritz, green apple with floral/appleblossom accents. Easy, fun. B/B-

Scallops with corn and chorizo in a buttermilk sauce, and the 2012 Francois Carillon “Les Referts” Puligny-Montrachet 1er
Young but delicious. Apple, pear, citrus blossoms, some integrated oak, damp earth, long finish. A-

2018 Domaine de Reuilly Reuilly
Tangy, mineral, just a hint of grass, bright. B/B+

Ribeyes, squash, and trumpet mushrooms on the grill, Betsy did salad and a great potato/sorrel gratin, we gathered with relatives in NY and CA on a family zoom call.

1988 Ch. Gruaud-Larose
Black fruit, still a bit of tannin, a little barnyard and a lot of leather. Good acids, nose develops some cigarbox and fruit fills out, pretty satisfyingly classic if not a showstopper. B+

Fun night, but then got call in middle of dinner that Bill, probably my #1 volunteer for the last 25 years, passed from COVID that AM. Not unexpected, but still. This thing sucks.

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.

[David M. Bueker]

Hirsch does not get enough play.

Thanks for the notes on the 88 Gruaud - I have a few 88s I had forgotten about (like Mouton Baronne Phillipe and Clerc Milon I had better get into.

Not surprised that the Loire was Reuilly Rieully good....

I think the '88s finally shed the toughness in last 10 years, though for the most part they will seldom be elegant

Similarly, many 86s have mellowed to a degree I had hoped for but feared to really expect.

In fact I just pulled one that is probably sliding down the far side of the hill. We shall see.

PS - it was a La Gurgue, from Margaux .

Opened nicely with some decent cedar note sin the nose, not too hard, fruit adequate. Decent little claret, obviously on the slow downward slide after the peak. Rumours of it's demise were exaggerated.

[Jenise]

So sorry about your Bill, Dale. New York must feel like a war zone.

Re the food, the description "Scallops with corn and chorizo in a buttermilk sauce" is pretty darned enticing. Is there a recipe you can refer me to?

Thanks Jenise

it's from Bon Appetit
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/pan-s ... o-and-corn

[Jenise]

Thanks!

Liked your note on the Carillon "Les Referts." I haven't had any wine from Carillon in forever but have a high respect for the quality of that producer's Premier Cru wines.

Liked your note on the Carillon "Les Referts." I haven't had any wine from Carillon in forever but have a high respect for the quality of that producer's Premier Cru wines.

Carillon? Carillon? Certainly rings a bell.......

Dale - tried the scallop recipe and it is great! The pepper adds just the right amount of heat to it. That's a keeper.

PS - I made sure to get smoked chorizo as I wanted the smokiness in the dish and it worked well.

[Jenise]

Bill, did you use buttermilk? Not sure if it's appreciated in Canada--here, it's mostly a suthun thang.

As it happens, the trouble and strife was making buttermilk biscuits so we had some. Not sure how much that adds to the end result though.