Monday was wineless , Tuesday was artic char, brown rice with furikake, and asparagus; wine was the 2014 Couly-Dutheil 'les Chanteaux" Chinon Blanc. A pples, wool, a light waxy note, sec-tendre. Pleasant and typical bottle of Chenin. B/B-
Wednesday Betsy made an Asian-ish shrimp and napa cabbage stew, wine was th e 2014 Keller Trocken. I'm not always on Keller bandwagon but this is a pretty ser ious value at $17. Citrus and mineral, stony in all the right ways. Pretty much all I could ask for in dry Riesling at this pricepoint. B++
Thursday broiled some salmon to accompany vegetable leftovers and opened th e 2015 Brun/Terres Dorees "L'Ancien" Beaujolais Nouveau. My first BN in cou ple of years. Actually pretty enjoyable- fresh, fruity, fun. There's even a little earth and underbrush. Not seeking more, but glad to try. B/B-
Friday Betsy had a concert in city and I just cleaned out fridge of leftove rs and enjoyed remainders of the Keller and the Brun BN. Saturday we went t o a Nikolaus party (German outdoor holiday party). The mulled wine was bett er than most (not cloying), but I carried along a couple of bottles- one as gift and one as non-mulled non-warm sipper. Pretty pleased with the 2014 P avillon de Chavannes "Cuvee des Ambassades" Cote de Brouilly. Red and black cherries, anise, earth, plenty of fruit, lots of acid. Bright and fiesty. B+
Back home I had dinner prepped- just a few minutes to do broiled local mack erel, quinoa, and a claytonia salad. Wine was the 2010 Pepiere "Clisson" Mu scadet. Rounder and fuller than the Briords, but still with a vibrant acidi c core. Seashells, wet stones, and lemon. Acids stand up well to the oily f ish, very nice indeed. A-
Friday had been Betsy's birthday, I couldn't attend her concert so took her to dinner at St. George in Hastings Sunday night. She had oysters, ribeye steak frites, and spinach; I had Little Gem salad with horesradish/dijon dr essing and cured pork blade with carrots and potatoes. Wine was the 2006 Du jac Morey-St-Denis. I was a little worried this might be closed, and it did seem a touch tight, but I had double-decanted and by time we got to beef a nd pork (neither oysters or horseradish mustard dressing really scream "red Burg!:) it was showing pretty well. Fairly powerful, black cherry and a to uch of coffee and sandalwood, ripe but balanced. Some earthy notes towards end. Lovely rich red Burg. Hope the waitstaff enjoyed rest! B+/A-
Monday was tomato/olive/feta/peashoot pizza and a sumac/tahini slaw, but no wine. :)
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.