Tuesday we had leftovers (duck breast, grilled vegetables, salad) and the 2004 Bachelet Bourgogne Rouge. No greenie meanies here, black cherry and raspberry,.juicy and fun. Some spicy/mineral notes, time has been kind to this generic Bourgogne. B+
No wine Wed with mushroom ragu, but Thursday Betsy’s newlywed niece and Betsy’s sister came for dinner. A toast with 2010 Roland Champion Special Club Champagne Grand Cru while we enjoyed radish leaf pesto, lox, and caprese. Ripe pear, toasted bread, straightforward with apparent high dosage. B/B-
Main course was quick (pressure cooker) shrimp risotto, leeks, and salad. Niece’s fave is Sancerre, so opened the 2020 Yves Martin Chavignol Sancerre. Ripe but taut acids, mineral, a touch of grass, good value. B+/B
Friday roast chicken, kale, & honeynut squash. The 2000 Ch. La Louviere was a bit oaky and glossy. I loved the ‘90 and ‘98 with some age, but don’t remember this degree of oakiness or density. Comes across as quite modern, still some structure,maybe the oak will integrate- maybe not. B-
Saturday was oysters, broiled flounder, corn, & broccoli, with the 2017 Marc Morey “Morgeot” Chassagne-Montrachet 1er. Lovely nose of citrus blossoms and lime zest, ripe white peach fruit with flinty stone. The fruit is sweet and ripe, but there is a core of acid. this is quite young but do I risk aging? B+/A-
Sunday I made the toor dal and rice, but the samosas, chili pakoor, & palak paneer came from Indian grocery. The 2007 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile is a bit stern and nervy, seems to have shutdown a bit , needs time, but really classically styled underneath. B for current drinking, plenty of A potential
Last night shrimp/corn/avocado salad, grilled peppers, burrata caprese, and the
2020 Boulay Chavignol Sancerre. Citrus, chalk, and herbs, rocky but with nice fruit expression, not super complex but really tasty. 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.