Sunday we went to the 50th (and final) Memorial Day lawn party put on by a wonderful couple. A couple of wines floating around (more beer) but I stuc k to iced tea. By time we got home for dinner (duck breast over salad, side of pasta with pesto and peas) I was ready for wine and opened the 1998 Bac helet Gevrey-Chambertin VV. Tight at first, opens nicely. Black cherry, smo ke, spice, lots of Gevrey earthiness. Unusually Betsy comments several time s how much she likes. Great showing for a village wine from a modest vintag e. A-/B+
We were back and forth all weekend watching forecast for Memorial Day- canc el, downscale, or keep going with our party. We held off and Mon AM forecas t was for rain to end by noon. We declared ourself open, and then at 1 PM started getting calls as late afternoon thunderstorms were forecast. The he ll with it, let’s go. It turned out hotter and more humid than fore cast, but no rain. Slow start but by 4 people starting arriving in quantity .
Lots of food.
Betsy made potato salad, garlic-scape/white bean dip, melon salad
I was on grill duty and made” tandoori-esque chicken clams with fried garlic Poat dot (cambodian style corn) Baby back ribs Hot dogs
Others brought things to throw on grill including: Lamb (interesting cut, loin with tenderloin removed, excellent with a great marinade) Marinated flank steak Shisitos Mushrooms
Others brought a lot of great stuff such as guacamole, salads, slaws, risot to, roasted vegetables, deviled eggs, & pies
Wines included
2014 Baudry Chinon rose Still going strong, a little rounder than last year, red fruits, herby, a l ittle mineral. B/B+ (I had a 2015 of this to try, but it was apparently emptied without me)2015 Edmunds St John Bone-Jolly Rose Another lovely BoneJolly pink. Cherries and strawberries, citrus zest, a li ttle hint of herbs. B+
2014 Clos Roche Blanche Sauvignon #2 Nice match with the clams. Full, crisp, minerally, a great adieu to an old fave. B+2010 Mt Eden Reserve Chardonnay Big and full, pretty tight, pit fruits and spice. Best glass is last. Needs time, but I liked a lot (more than some others) B+/A-
‘2015 Thomas-Labaille "L'Authentique" Sancerre Crisp, bright, good length. B/B+1990 Stony Hill Chardonnay (magnum) Sawdust cork, dark color. A few people liked, for me this was quite tired a nd oxidized. Storage or the wine? C+
2013 Pepiere “Briords” Muscadet Citrus, smoke, saline, this is my “drink now” Brords while I age other recent years. B++1997 Nigl “Privat “Gruner Veltliner Full, rich, zippy with green fruit, white pepper. Quite lovely. A-/B+
There was also the remnants of a magnum of 1996 Trimbach “Cuvee Fre deric Emile” Riesling from Saturday that was still showing quite we ll (maybe better than Sat)
1962 Grivot “Boudots” Nuits St George 1er Mark brought this with little hope, noting poor fill and color. The nose wa s full of stank and decay, but there was still some fruit on palate, but do minated by a sweet balsamic note. Interesting to try, if not so appealing o n a “tasty” scale (B on former, C+/C on latter)1997 Gouges “Vaucrains” Nuits St George 1er Drinking quite well. I don’t drink many ‘97s but liked Jado t, need to add Gouges to that short list. Red and black cherry, cocoa, eart h. B+/A-
1982 Torres “Gran Corona” Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva Quite mature but still some .interest, dark fruits, smoke, leather. B1987 JL Chave Hermitage Mature and ready (I was surprised, as I was thinking I was drinking 1987). Medium bodied, leather, gamey notes, good acids. B+/A-
1964 Lynch-Bages Fully mature but holding on, pencil shavings and saddle leather over black fruit. A little short but that;s a quibble. First bottle of three was off, now I have hopes for the last one. B+/B2005 Clos Roche Blanche Cabernet Uh oh plastic cork. Hey, it’s actually ok. Black fruit accented wit h green herbs, a spicy twist on the finish. In a good place with light tann in, good acids, good fruit. B+
2004 Roumier Bourgogne A light pine needle note that is green but not particularly mean. Light, re d fruited, some earth. Maybe fading a tad on finish. B2007 Donkey & Goat “Recluse:” Syrah Meaty black fruit, smoke, game. Very good. B+/B
There was also a Texier Chat Fou that was drained without me encountering i t. Fun day with fun people, and we got lucky with weather.
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.