Spicy shrimp on mint/arugula salad
2011 Knoll Durnsteiner Kellerberg Riesling Smaragd
Lovely, white nectarines and wet rocks, touch of citrus zest, dry but with enough fruit sweetness to handle the spice. A-
Berkshire Pork chop on the grill, potato salad,
2008 Raphet Chambolle-Musigny
I generally like ‘08s, but not this one. Thin and a bit shrill, clipped red fruits, some caramel in background. I pulled this from pro storage, but guess possible it saw some heat before. But really just tastes like wine that wasn’t that good. C+
So I opened another Burg
2011 Henri Boillot Rugiens Pommard 1er
Richer, black cherry and a little sandalwood and cocoa, nice balance, good length. B+/B
Steamed lobster, sauteed grey squash, corn, and green salad.
2018 Louis Michel Butteaux Chablis 1er
Well, this was a big ripe/sweet Chardonnay that actually paired well with lobster. But pretty far from my platonic ideal for Chablis. Lemon sorbet, sweet/Fuji apple, softshouldered. I think David B recently wrote about the VV version of this, which sounded like it had more of a mineral core. Good with lobster, but I wouldn’t rebuy. B-
Herb marinated bison flank steak, honeynut squash, and salad
2019 Clotilde Legrand les Terrages Saumur-Champigny
New producer to me, but I really enjoyed. Bright crunchy red fruits, green tobacco leaf, some tannin but drinking well. Bright, fresh, minerally. B++
Rigatoni with scallops and broccoli
2022 Pepiere Briords Muscadet
Not the zippiest vintage, but very appealing with ripe orchard fruits and that Briords saline/seashell character. Even a softer Briords has good acidity, and this is very deep and appealing. Not planning on putting away, but will enjoy these soon. 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.