Thursday I thought I had a speech at a college in Bronx, but turns out I di dn’t - great, cause now I can have wine with dinner (Hudson valley pork chops, collards, butternut squash, salad). The 2014 Camus-Bruchon Bour gogne rouge is an elegant/pretty bottle of Pinot. Red and black cherries, g ood acids without noticeable tannin, a little herb and dirt. B/B+
Friday some friends picked me up and we went to Riverdale to celebrate visi t of some old friends who had moved to Asheville NC. Started with smoked sa lmon with creme fraiche and radish, the NV LaMarca Prosecco. Sweet, simple, sucky. (others liked) C+
Dinner was kinda Moroccan spiced leg of lamb with potatoes and asparagus gr emolata
1988 Ch. Canon Double decanted about 5:30, served probably 7:45. Best showing yet. Nicely balanced, tannin in check, cassis and black plum with cedar and graphite. M idbodied, nice length. B+/A-2001 Ch. Pontifical Chateauneuf-du-Pape So there’s plenty of fruit left, moderately jammy, a little herb. T otally alive, but not sure why I held 13-14 years, didn’t gain any complexity. B-
2015 Pine Ridge Chenin-Viognier A little sweetness, peachy, easy and popular. B-Saturday lobster fried rice and sauteed spinach and mushrooms
2015 Peter Lauer “Kupp- Fass 18th” Riesling Grosse Gewachs Tangy, dry, sprightly. Light and tensile yet with a sense of power. Grapefr uit, green apple, flowers. A-2000 BV Coastal Chardonnay Part of a mixed lot of Chardonnay where I bid only on value to the Stony Hi ll SHV (and a little for a 3L of 84 Sonoma-Cutrer). Intended to be drunk ab out 2002-2003. No capsule, I thought artificial cork but it was actually ju st a wax top. So the shocker is that this doesn’t taste old/oxidize d. The bad news is it still tastes like BV Coastal- sweet, simple, oak-chip meets movie butter. C
Some good friends we hadn’t seen much of lately came to dinner on a rainy Sunday.
We started with lonza, beef terrine, smoked salmon, radishes (watermelon an d breakfast) with grass fed butter
1983 Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs Part of a lot where I was bidding on the other wines. Not mentioned in desc ription, but when I picked up had a big back label staying “special bottling in honor of the 1988 LA Dodgers World Series Championship.? ? So with the Dodgers in series again decided to open (not that anyone ca red), with a bottle of Champagne in reserve. Pleasant pop when opened, some mature nut and honey notes but not oxidized. Certainly not full fizz, but enough to give a mousse. Apple butter, hint of cherry, a little vanilla. A pleasant surprise. B-With Betsy’s carrot and ginger soup (Riesling would have been a bet ter match)
2016 Raimbault Sancerre Grapefruit and lemon peel, a little grass, decent f inish. B-/BMain was roasted poussin (recent D’Artagnan sale), celeriac/turnip mash, arugula/avocado salad
1999 Guy Castagnier Clos de la Roche Pretty classic Morey at peak. Red and black cherry, floral notes, a little spice and sandalwood. Not a blockbuster, but lovely balance, elegant with g ood finish. Great showing from a producer that used to be quite cheap. A-/B +2012 Ch. Beaumont (Haut Medoc) Midbodied, CS character, cassis and some green herb, some oak. Decent finis h, good luncheon claret. B/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 p arty where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivi ty, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency