Went to a 70th birthday party Friday in Ossining, small sips of a few wines (in plastic cups)
2021 Simi Chardonnay Oak chippy, theater butter. C2019 Rodney Strong Chalk Hill Chalk Hill An improvement. , sure it’s oaky and a little buttery, but it’s not cloying or artificial tasting. B-
2019 Meyer-Fonne Gewurztraminer 'Reserve' Quite sweet, overripe tropical fruit, musk, not my style. C+2021 Chermette Griottes Beaujolais Light, snappy, easy to like. B
2022 Dom. la Colombe Coteaux Varois (Provence) Rose Very pale, dry strawberry, peach, easy. B2022 Fazi Île de la Beaute (Corsica) Rose Ripe cherry, orange zest. B/B-
Home for some “inside out burgers” (I think basically cheese inside) with a tangy slaw
2021 Lapalu Cote de Brouilly Plenty of structure here, with tannins and acids supporting black cherry fruit, accented by herbs and coffee. Quite long. B++Some friends are leaving for several months to their home in Nova Scotia, we hosted a small goodbye dinner. Forecast kept changing, and sudden rain left us running to cover cushions etc while planning, we finally resigned ourselves to dining inside. But we at least started off on patio, with Torres chips and the NV (2005) Charles Heidsieck Special Edition Brut Rose. Bottled 2006, disgorged 2019. Sweet cherry, rye toast, round and supple, noticeable dosage but really a well balanced complex package. B++
Next I made a shrimp/avocado salad over Little Gem, served with the 2020 Picq Chablis. Ripe pear, lemon, some seashell minerality, like many 2020s I think could use just a bit more cut, but pleasant. B
Pork jantaboon with shiitakes and snow peas
1993 Cuchet Beliando Cornas. This is pretty thin and hard to peg as Cornas, but if you were just looking for a light red it’s interesting in a rather perfumed low intensity style. Cherries, beetroot, and smoked meat notes. B-2021 Dupeuble Beaujolais Cranberry and red cherry, some bacony notes, a bit of tannin, B+/B Fun night.
For Father’s Day we had Betsy’s sister’s family and her mother over. Lovely evening on patio.
Grissini with salami and /pickled radicchio Radish (with butter, with radish leaf pesto, and crackers with radish leaf pesto)
NV Grongnet Blanc de Blancs Champagne Crisp pear and green apple, lemon zest, chalky finish. Elegant mousse, bright finish, B+
Next, Betsy had made some pizzas for first firing up of the Ooni for the season - white anchovy/green olive, prosciutto/arugula, mortadella/gorgonzola/pickled radicchio
2022 Tiberio Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo Is it a rose or a really light red (label says rose). Cherries and Twizzlers, with a little anise edge. Bright, fun, and long. B+Grilled tuna on a pasta salad
1987 Kalin Cabernet Reserve (Kath and Cal had just had an anniversary, Cab wasn’t normally my first choice for a match but wanted an ‘87). Black fruit, green herbs, leather, cedar. A pointe and long. A-Monday Betsy and her sister were up at Mohonk, I grilled swordfish and drank leftovers. Cerasuolo was best match, but the Grongnet and Dupeuble were ok (Kalin not so much, though holding up).
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 party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.