Friday was rabbit in mustard sauce, potatoes, and salad
1998 Nigl Privat Riesling
This is a wine I know well, this particular bottle came from a recent mixed auction lot. Other Austria wines in the lot were very youthful, this bottle was more advanced than I expected. Petrol dominates, ripe peach, some slight cidery notes. Not bad, but not what this wine could be There was another of these in same lot. We’ll see if a storage issue or just a bad cork. B- (C if you count disappointment)
2004 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Spätlese
Nice showing, green apple and nectarine, some lime zest accents, good stony finish. B+
Saturday skirt steak, sweet potatoes, and bok choy
2005 Ch. Jean Faure (St Emilon)
Ripe red fruit, slight roasted edge (though label says 13%), still some pretty firm tannins. Hold. B- for now.
I was holding a friend’s wines from a Heritage consolidated shipment, and he was holding some Flannery lamb saddles for me, so we invited them up for lunch, and another winegeek couple to fill out table.
Dick’s chips, olives, and smoked mussels
NV Olivier Lassaigne “Cuvee Bois” Champagne
I brought this back from France, we weren’t tasted on this one , but I thought a wine aged in an acacia barrel (they do one a year) would be interesting. I think we all enjoyed- lighter petillance, slightly creamy texture, sweet pear and apple with some toasty notes, B/B+
Scallops over leeks/beans/miso
1989 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc
I should have given more air, more reserved than a bottle a couple months ago. Lemon, grapefruit, waxy. B (B+/A- later that night)
2014 Fevre Bougros Chablis Grand Cru
Young, crisp, bright pear and apple with snappy acids and seashell minerality. Little smoky note. A-
Duck breast over arugula, garlicky spinach, potatoes
1996 Ch Calon Segur
I think this is just shut down, not showing much fruit or anything else. What fruit there is shows as cassis, some wood notes. I’ve enjoyed this more before, think just an awkward phase, but B-/C+
1996 Ch. Leoville Barton (375 ml)
Much more open, black raspberry and plum, some green (pine needle and herb) notes, good finish. B/B+
2002 Roumier Chambolle- Musigny
My last bottle of this, and an excellent showing. Ethereal, strawberry and black cherry, spicy, elegant, long. A-
2007 Dujac “Beaux Monts”, Vosne-Romanee 1er
Classic Dujac nose- stems and sandalwood. Long, intense, spicy, exotic. 2007s seem to be drinking so well now. thanks Paul! A-
We continued with the Burgs (red and white) into cheese course- Four Fat Fowls St Stephens, Challerhocker, Pleasant Ridge Reserve
Mark wanted to open one more wine.
Equipo Navazos La Bota de Pedro Ximenez 56 (375 ml)
Thick, motoroil meets syrup consistency. Intense, oxidative, like toffee/caramel/roasted plum in a blender with gingerbread spices. A bit of VA. Not my thing, but could see how it could appeal to others. C+ for me
Really fun afternoon.
Monday night no wine with karage chicken, rice, asparagus salad
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.