2020 La Spinetta Rose di Casanova
Ripe strawberry, moderate acids. Hitn of green, I like better than a previous vintage of this.B
With bucatini amatriciana Friday, the 1980 Col d’Orcia Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Red fruits, cigarbox/leather, good acids, nice length. Much fresher than recent ‘85 B+
We had a small dinner for my birthday one day late, 3 couples joined us for
Pate campagne
Oysters with regular and ramp mignonette
lobster/avocado salad
Japanese style beef stew with butternut squash
Coconut rice with green beans
Green salad
A bunch of runny/stinky cheeses (Epoisses, Delice de Bourgogne, Bobolink, etc)
Flourless chocolate cake
2006 Pierre Peters Chetillons Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Good, but not really what I expected. Fairly mature, some toasty slightly oxidative notes, sweet fruit, broad. If blind I wouldn’t have guessed Peters (or BdB). B/B+
2010 Boulay Comtesse Sancerre
Fresher than last bottle, grapefruit and lemon, chalk and a little lemongrass, delicious. A-/B+
1990 Laville Haut Brion
This needed time in decanter and tasted younger as it opened over a couple hours.. Nectarine, lemon, beeswax, complex with a long finish. Great acids for a warm vintage. A-
1998 Aldo Conterno Barolo
At least I think that’s what this was. Label had disintegrated (crate in floor, oops), clearly Aldo Conterno, pretty sure not a Riserva, with Premier Cru sticker records make me pretty sure ‘98. Tight, but several hours in decanter opened, red cherries, bitter lemon, herbs, tar. Moderate length, some loved. B+/B
1996 Ch. Lagrange (St Julien)
Still some tannin but approachable, black cherry, plum, with some vanilla oak notes. Sweet fruit but balanced, not the most complex claret, but satisfying in a straightforward manner. B+
2002 Caterine & Claude Marechal Savigny--Les-Beaune Vieilles Vignes
A producer I never see anymore, but always enjoyed. In a lovely place- elegant and ethereal, this is simultaneously weightless and powerful. Black cherry, sandalwood, smoke, bright and long. Stunning for a village wine. A pointe. A-
2007 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve
WTF? Ripe/kirschy, chocolate shake meets sweet liqueur. Sangiovese? More like AnyGrapeFromAnywhere. I usually like Fontodi. Was 2007 some freak vintage? Sorry to say I have another of these. C/C+
With mackerel grilled with ponzu, Japanese eggplant with peanut sauce, discard pajeon, & corn, the 2014 Artner Riesling (Carnuntum). Peaches, ginger, not quite as dry as the Austrian wines (from Wachau, Kamptal, etc) that I am used to, but a decent table wine. 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.