Beluga lentils with sausage and collards, and the 2019 Hirsch Kammern Gruner Veltliner.
Tropical and citrus, quite ripe, don’t think I’d have picked as GV. B-
For first night of Lunar New Year, Asian cinnamon beef with spinach and udon. Wine was the
1994 Lindemans St. George Cabernet Sauvignon. Man this is sweet. Cassis, blackberry liqueur, vanilla. Not fading, plenty of fruit, not hot, but not my style. Others would rate much higher I think. B-/C+
Day 2, Thai (lemongrass/ginger) mussels, sesame udon, long beans. 2018 Hirsch Gaisberg Riesling. BIg and ripe, but more nervy than the GV a few days before. Lemon, apples, but also some wet rocks. Muscular, but not OTT. B+/B
Sunday(Valentines), oysters with leftover Riesling and GV, then 5 spice duck breast, sesame noodles, green salad with pickled ramp ranch dressing. Wine was the 1999 Chevillon “Les Roncieres” Nuits St Georges 1er. Red fruited but msaculine, still a bit of tannin, good acids, quite long. Cherry, black cherry, espresso, soil tones. Drinking very well in a sturdy NSG style. A-
Our Monday Zoom group was doing BYO Mature Chardonnay. We had oysters, roasted scallops and mushrooms (maitake, yellow oyster, pioppini), snow peas, and salad. My wine was the 1993 Kalin LD Chardonnay. Deep color but fresh on palate, honied white fruits, a waxy note, quite floral. There’s plenty of oak but it’s well integrated. Keeps evolving. Long and delicious., A-
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.