No wine Friday -after work I drove to Portland ME (5 hr drive took 7 -damn the Bueker state!), parked and moved my stuff to Betsy’s car, then continued on to Brunswick, 4 hours at a motel, then up predawn to Rockland to get in line for the 7 AM ferry. A nice ride to Vinalhaven, then a day se ttling in and hiking. Saturday was our ‘date night”, and we drove to north end of Vinalhaven. Waited on dock, and a skiff took us acro ss to North Haven Up the hill to the lovely Nebo Lodge. We had fried green tomatoes with a chive remoulade, baby lettuce salad with feta, kale chips, deviled eggs, bouillabaisse, and halibut. Very nice loca vore restaurant.
The first bottle of 2013 Henri Bourgeois “Vigne Blanche” Sa ncerre was corked- when I questioned waitress took to bartender who confirm ed. Second bottle was clearly clean of TCA. Midbodied, citrus and apple wit h a little touch of grass. Moderate acids, nice flinty note on finish, not exciting but I was happy at $50 on a restaurant menu on an island. B
As Betsy was going to drive (after skiff back to Vinalhaven) I had as glass of Ferreira Tawny Port while she had lemon thyme sorbet. Woody notes, rais in, vanilla, a little fumey/volatile. B-
Sunday evening I was in charge of two grills to feed 20+ (musicians, compos er fellows, significant others) - teriyaki salmon and chicken. Lovely view of Penobscot Bay from grilling terrace. Betsy made a huge salad, Laura roas ted peppers and cauliflower, Muneko two types of rice. Lots of charcuterie, cheeses, berries etc as well.
2015 Dominique & Janine Crochet Sancerre New Crochet to me. Grapefruit, herb, good crispness but not very long. B/ B-2013 Sonoma- Cutrer RR Ranches Chardonnay Good to see nothing has changed here - still overoaked. I thought I had hea rd they had backed off a bit, but while not as buttery/fat as years past th e wood hangs heavy on this wine. Pear and vanilla with just a whiff of butt er. But more acid than I expected. B-
2014 Chartron La Fleur Bordeaux Blanc Don’t think much Semillon here, grassy/catpee SB with modest finish . B-2013 Jaeger-Defaix “Les Clous” Rully 1er Rich pear fruit framed with vanilla and hazelnut. Good finish, good acids, some herbal/floral notes with time. I think I liked a bit more thsn previou s bottle as following the Sonoma Cutrer the oak didn’t seem as intr usive. B+/B
2001 Finca Museum “Museum Real Reserva” (Cigales) Red and black cherry, vanilla, cocoa. Somewhat international but tannin res olved and drinking well. B2013 Les Dauphins Cotes Du Rhone Reserve Blackberry jam flavors, yet a bit diluted. Slightly rubbery, short. C
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.