Wednesday was hot, but by the river (in shade, with breeze) it felt pretty good at concert. We carried charcuterie (porchetta, pate, bresaolo made wi th cherry liqueur), kale salad, watermelon, green bean salad. Others shared cheeses, grapes, tomato/feta
2016 Domaine des 2 Anes “Premiere Pas” Corbieres (I thought this said ZANes till Fred corrected). Bright, chewy red fruits, crisp and light. B/B+2017 Triennes rose Bright, strawberries and herbs, good. B
2014 Jo Landron “Les Houx”Muscadet Bright acids, citrus, but a little simple/clipped. B-Friends came over Thursday, too hot to eat outside. We started with charcut erie and white anchovies, then had steamed lobster, caprese, and green sal ad.
2013 de Courcel Bourgogne Blanc Full, some oak, pear and a little vanilla. B2015 Bzikot Bougogne Blanc Crisper, apple and pear, hint of nut. B/B+
2017 Lapierre Morgon My first 2017 Beaujolais. I quite liked. Black cherry, cranberry, herbs and a flinty mineral note. A little cocoa with air. Fuller style, some tannin , good length. B++Friday Betsy made chapli burgers (garam masala, coriander, etc) with tamari nd ketchup and yogurt sauce
2011 Melini “La Selvanella” Chianti Classico Riserva Rather sharp tannin, riper fruit profile, black cherry and leather. B-Then local group arrived for Italian White night. We had charcuterie (bresa ola, fiocca, pate, salami) and cheeses (Ossau Iraty, Robiola, truffle Pecor ino, gorgonzola). When we moved outside as it got cooler I grilled some sau sages and pork belly confit
Blind wine #1 Guesses were Friuli/Alto Adige. Straw colored, light body, refreshing, citr usy. Good value B/B+
2016 Gini SoaveBlind wine #2 Medium to full bodied, peach/apricot, good length. B
2015 Feudo Montoni CatarrattoBlind wine #3 Deep gold color made some people guess it had some age. A nice (to me) bitt er note, citrus zest over white cherry, but more mineral than fruity. I tho ught this would have been great with an oily fish. One of 2 divisive wines. B/B+
2016 Occhipinti SP68Blind wine #4 Honied (though dry) full fresh. Another mackerel wine! Some disliked. B+
2009 Bea Santa ChiaraBlind wine #5 Light, citrus, bright but pretty simple. B-/C+
2016 Mazzei CodiceBlind wine #6 Hint of spritz, bright, tasty. Citrus and apple. B
2017 Terenzuola Cinque TerreNothing I went gaga over, but a nice assortment of wines.
One red , decanted a few hours before
1996 Marcarini “La Serra” Barolo Raspberry and cherry, orange zest, rose petal, a little tar. Not most comp lex Barolo but drinking very well, smooth with no raspy tannin. A-/B+Fun night with guys
Betsy’s sister and her husband came over Sat, some nibbles and then lobster, corn, heirloom tomato salad ($5.99/lb lobster this week).
2005 M. Bouzereau “Les Grand Charrons” Meursault First one of these to show oxidation, not extreme but definitely beginning the slide. And these weren’t that complex to start with B-/C+Break in the rain Sunday, so I grilled a butterflied chicken with vaguely N . African spices, some cauliflower, and corn, Betsy did beet greens and red cabbage slaw. Dinner on patio with 2017 Gros Nore Bandol rose. Strawberry and peach, nutskin, flowers. 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.