No wine Tuesday (salmon with harissa, potatoes), but Wednesday Betsy’s sister and mother were with us. Appetizers were smoked bluefish canapes, along with hummus and olives. We toasted some progress with the Barbichon 4 Cepages (disgorged 6/2019, 70% PN, 15 % Chard, 8% Meunier, 7% Pinot Blanc). Peach and yeasty Parker house rolls.Fine mousse, tangy finish.Very good. B+
Main course was spaghetti Bolognese, with broccoli rabe, salad, and the 2017 Ricasoli Chianti Classico Brolio Riserva, Juicy, black cherry and blueberry, round, not what I expected . B-/C+
Dueling dry Rieslings Th, with red perch Nitsuke style, Chinese broccoli, trumpet mushrooms, and soba.
2019 Emrich-Schönleber “Mineral” Riesling Trocken
Tangy, zippy, nervy. Citrus and stones. Great value. B+/A-
2016 Nikolaihof Vom Stein Riesling Federspiel
Snappy, full, apple and ginger, but a little one dimensional. Good wine but not a value play. B
Roast chicken, root vegetables, salad, and the 1983 Ch. L’Arrosee. Soft, mature claret, black plum with citrus zest and cigarbox. Lower acids, no remaining tannin, some decaying leaf notes with time. Fun for now, but better not to hold. B
Roast grouper, Ottolenghi butter bean salad with pistachio duqqa, potatoes, & salad. The
2017 Pepiere Clisson gets dinged as not a great vintage, but I’ve consistently enjoyed.
Ripe but with an acid spine, oystershell and rocks, long finish. B++
Some friends over Sunday. Ron brought some salmon he had just smoked, we also had a smoked mackerel dip and 2 varieties of radish (French breakfast and Bacchus) topped with radish leaf pesto
NV Camille Savès “les Loges” Blanc de Noirs (Bouzy)
Just when I’m about to forsake BdN this beauty comes around. Pure and long, cherry and apple, smoke, flint. Elegant mousse, long. And unfortunately my only bottle. A-
Pork belly (Kakuni) with rice, Japanese pickles, and yu choy.
2001 Ch. du Vatican Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Corked
2005 R Leclerc Combes aux Moines Gevrey-Chambertin 1er
Some tannic structure still, ripe black cherry and kirsch, a little hint of merde, rather plush and low acid for 2005.B
2006 Pavelot “La Dominode” Savigny-les-Beaune 1er
Black cherry, forest floor, coffee. Well-balanced, long, complex.B+/A-
2016 Clos de la Roilette (Coudert) Griffe du Marquis Fleurie
Pretty tight at first, by end of night showing quite well,.spice and espresso over dark berries, lovely texture. B+/A-
With cheeses
1976 Staatsweingüter Eltville Steinberger Riesling Auslese
We certainly didn’t need another wine, but I had noticed this was a leaker, and better to open than to store.Dark color (Ron thought it was a red), but not especially oxidative, though there was a caramel note. Candied apricot, fruitcake, a little petrol, More like a BA.. Not a lot of depth.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.