On Independence Day I happily picked up Betsy at LGA, and had a quiet afternoon before heading to friends for a dinner party. Jim grilled ribs in the rain, along with some corn I had slathered with a chili-lime butter before rewrapping husks. Other contributions were a nice layered dip (guacamole, bean pesto, cheese, etc), a beet and orange salad, and a peach pie. Several wines sampled:
2005 Terres Dorees (JP Brun) Beaujolais Blanc (my supply of American whites is exceedingly small, I figured we could toast Lafayette). Ripe Bartlett pear fruit, bright, light, lovely. Some flinty/chalk. Very tasty, fine value. B+
2004 Frei Brothers Merlot Reserve ( Dry Creek Valley) Sweet , sweet, with black and blue berries, some chocolate, short finish. B-/C+
2003 Casa Lapostolle "Cuvee Alexandre" Cabernet Sauvignon Lots of oak and tannin, but a good core of cassis fruit. A bit of herbiness, but not over the top. If the oak was reined in a little on this I think I'd like it, though the tannins could use a couple years. B
1999 BV "Rutherford" Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa_ From the problem period, and this reeked of TCA. Oh well.
2005 Clos laChance "Ruby Throated" Cabernet Sauvignon (Central Coast) Worried about the BV, I had brought a backup. Softer side of Cabernet, but nice fruit and good length for a $12 CS. Red currant and plums, good finish, a little cocoa. B
A fun rainy July 4th. Dinner was spiced up by reading the Declaration of Independence and playing Wise and Otherwise, a game where you try to complete folk sayings (faced with "When a c*ck ruffles his feather", I put down "make coq au vin", which garnered no votes as the real answer, but felt was more satisfying than the original ).
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. 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