Ch. Bonnet '05 Entre-Deux-Mers: Bottled in screw cap, this is a clean, crisp SB and at $12 good QPR. 88 pts
Garaudet '01 Beaune 1er Cru "Belissand": On day one this wine had a little trouble keeping up with a pheasant stew with wild rice, but on day 3 it was beautiful with a chicken dish. 89 pts To go against the pheasant we opened the
Ceretto '99 Barbaresco Asij: This wine had no trouble with the meal and seemed to fit the grape's profile nicely. Nebbiolo is big wine and I enjoy it when I drink it, but only 2-3 times a year. 91 pts
Got lucky when a friend called and said he wanted to drink his '83 Mouton Rothschild before it was too late, so I said come on over and I'll fix dinner. A quick NY strip later and we had opened and decanted his wine and while we fixed supper we enjoyed
William Fevre '05 Chablis "Champs Royaux": Not a lot of minerality or flintiness, but very nice Chard with most of what you want in a Chablis.88pts Then...
'83 Mouton Rothschild: Decanted 2 hrs (it needed more) and it continued to open up in the glass. What can I say, classic Bdx, and in the glass it just got better and better (92 pts) so while we waited for it to wake up we opened
'99 Leoville Poyferre, St. Julien: Right out of the gate this was opened for business. Not a show stopper, but it held up well to the competition. 90 pts.
'01 Blanc de Lynch Bages: Not sure why I bought this wine, but was expecting more. I guess the name justifies the $$. 87 pts.
Paitin '04 Barbera d'Alba Serra Boella: Picked this up in Willmington, DE about a year ago at Moore Brothers. Wish I could get more, it was fabulous and only $17. 90 pts.
'96 Clos de Marquis, St. Julien: Just a nice mid-weight Bdx 88 pts.
Corsin '04 St. Veran: Another Moore Brothers selection and very noteworthy. This seem more like a nice village Burg, on point and singing with the crab cakes. 90 pts. My wife had fixed gnudi with a black truffle sauce and mashed potatoes w/more truffles and we poured
Latour '02 Chorey-les-Beaune: This light weight Burg was about right for the delicate gnudi and allowed the truffles to shine. 87 pts. Then we served a ceasar's salad with NY strip and
'01 Haut-Bages Averous, Pauillac: recently given a "Decanter Award" I was expecting a little more out of this second label, but just a very nice wine. 90 pts.
Dom de la Fruitiere '04 Jardin de la Fruitiere, VdP Loire Atlantique: Nice easy drinking blend, 12% ABV 85 pts.
Cht. de la Ragotiere '05 Muscadet S&M Sur Lie: This was the black label and should be as good as the '04 was but will need a little time, 6-12 months and probable keep 3-4 years. 89 pts.
Duboeuf '05 Chiroubles: Like most '05 Beaujolais this is beautiful stuff, and great QPR. 88pts.
Dom des Corbillieres '05 Touraine Sauvignon: last night with oysters, this might just be the best accompaniment ever with oysters-on-the-half-shell, and nice QPR to boot! 88 pts, but 90 pts w/oysters!
Rust en Vrede '99 Estate Wine: This Bdx blend was showy with fully resolved tannis, but a heavy dose of oak that seemed to detract a little from the wine, but went well with the short ribs. 88 pts.
That's all for now!