Roast chicken, potatoes, and Brussels sprouts
2013 Chevillon Nuits St George VV
lovely balanced middleweight, black cherry, anise, smoke. Nice texture, good length, no hurry but drinking well. B++
Roast cod with tomatoes and basil
2011 Ch. Montelena Chardonnay
Lemon, toast, green apple. Quite structured, needs to loosen up a bit. B- for now
Friday over for a dinner party for Alex’s 60th. He cooked, and did a beautiful job
As we gather, foie gras on toast, and caviar on blinis
NV Paul Laurent Rose Champagne
Sweet cherries, a little biscuit, pleasant but not something to look for. B-
Alex decided to fuse two of his favorite soups. Butternut squash made with lobster stock,garnished with the lobster meat and creme fraiche.
2019 Huet “Le Mont” Vouvray Sec
Big wet rocks being polished by little river stones. CItrus, wax, but mostly those rocky mineral notes. I loved this despite knowing there is more to come. A-
I had dropped a couple of reds before Thanksgiving, went over a couple hours before dinner and decanted.
Stuffed quails with foraged mushrooms
1961 Marchesi di Barolo Barolo
Best showing of this yet. Black cherry fruit, a touch of soy sauce, but plenty of herby/spicy notes along with undertones of mushroom and cocoa. Not the most complex, but really good. B+
1961 Barale Barolo
Glad the Marchesi showed well, because this was corked. Too bad, as it seems to have held on well. Damn.
2004 Giovanni Rosso “Serralunga” Barolo (magnum)
Still some tannin, but drinking well. Black plum and cherry, a light mocha note, some tar. Young but approachable. B+
There was also a green salad (Betsy figured out the secret ingredient was CBD oil), a selection of Vermont cheeses, and a cake. Some friends had prepared a parody/pastiche of the opening song from Hamilton, I was able not to blow my part. Fun night with a great guy.
The following night we had friends over for Betsy’s birthday. We started out with assorted canapes made with baba ganoush, hummus, and gravlax
NV Pierre Peters Cuvee Reserve Champagne
I didn’t check code but this is likely 2011 base disgorged in 2015, but shows great. Granny smith, lime zest, whole wheat toast. Nice length, B+
Some oysters with ramp mignonette
2020 Pepiere “La Pepie” Muscadet
This was a the cooking wine, but added as a contrast to the Macon. Citrus and nectarine, nice saline finish, quite enjoyable. I’d buy every year except there is Briords. B/B+
2020 Heritiers du Comte Lafon Macon-Village
Peach, canteloupe, and lemon meringue pie. Moderate acids. I liked ok, but Betsy loved, so I’ll get more. B for me.
I made lamb shanks in a mustard/mint sauce, broccolini with lemon and parmesan, and potatoes with truffle butter. One couple brought green salad with pomegranate and walnuts.
1959 Ch. Lascombes
Fairly low expectations (mid to upper shoulder fill). But this drank quite well. Red berry fruit, but mostly tertiary notes of leather, tobacco, and sandalwood. Holds well over dinner, this was fun. B+B,
2001 Ch. Troplong-Mondot
Certainly powerful, and some liked a lot, but I found this a bit monolithic and international. Black plum liqueur, mocha, big tannin with low acid. B-/C+ for me, but as noted some really liked.
Nancy brought wine poached pears, cookies, and ice cream for dessert. Nice to have Betsy surrounded by love.
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.