Friday we went up to Tarrytown for their "3rd Friday" events. We had an early dinner, as a friend was playing guitar in a band playing the later show on the street. We went to Chiboust, a nice bistro/bakery with a reasonable ($15) corkage fee. Betsy got steak, and I got duck cassoulet, which went very well with the 1996 Domaine Roux Père et Fils "Les Beaux Monts" Vosne-Romanée. Timing can always be an issue with Burgs, and I was worried for a while. This opened with a rather intense berry/cherry & floral nose, then seemed to shut down after just a couple minutes. Uh oh. Some determined swirling seemed to bring it back to life after a bit. Good acidity, black cherry fruit, lots of earth and mushroom aromas. Not a stellar Vosne, but nice for the pittance I paid at PC. B/B+
Saturday I made a vealloaf (Alan U's meatloaf recipe, but Betsy had ground veal in fridge), and opened a 1999 Chauvenet Nuits-St.-Georges (375 ml). Nice black cherry and black plum fruit, some smoke and stones. A little shorter than I would like on the finish, but a nice wine that makes me anticipate the 2001 750s a bit more. B+/B
Sunday I had a meeting that took most of the day, but made it home for dinner. Betsy made a recipe that has some emotional attachment for us (the first thing she ever made for me, way before we actually dated) - a dish that she calls "Chinese Chicken" (poached chicken with scallions and sesame oil, and hot peanut oil poured over top). I find this best with whites, and this time we went with Riesling, the 2004 Eugen Muller Forster Mariengarten Kabinett . Vibrant acidity holds up to the light sweetness, very limey with undertones of mineral and spice. Not deep, but fun, an da good deal at $13. B.
Even better QPR ($9)was the Loosen "Dr. L" QbA bottling. Peach and grapefruit with some orange zest, zippy & fun. Screwcapped, need more of this. As noted by Bruce H. and others here, killer value. B/B+
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. 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.