Friday we had friends over for dinner, they were supposed to bring their st andard poodle, but Lucy is wearing an “Elizabethan collar” and felt to o embarrassed. So just the people came, bearing appetizers of sopressata an d Bocconcini. We opened the NV Laurent Dauphin Brut Champagne. Round and s oft with a sweet edge, acceptable for under $25 Champagne. Others liked mor e than I did. B-
Dinner was a salad nicoise variant with a lemon/anchovy dressing- belly tun a, potatoes. heirloom tomatoes, green beans, eggs with anchovy, black olive s, radishes, and basil, perfect for summer on patio. A couple of roses:
2012 Bedrock “Ode to Lulu” rose New to me, quite nice. No indication of cepage, but says vines planted betw een 1880s and 1920s. Very pale, good crispness, a crunchy ferric note over strawberry fruit. Nice! B++2012 Costes (Bergerac )rose Also refreshing, light, I prefer the California but this is a good pink for $10. B
I think Ron would stroke out if I did a whole meal without a red, so:
2009 Domaine des Coutures Saumur-Champigny this light chillable CF is just the ticket. Fresh and bright, black raspber ry fruit, light tannins, easygoing. B/B+Saturday was a friend’s 50th bday party. Nice crowd, good food (salads, g rilled meats, grilled veggies, etc), asst wines:
2012 la Colombe ( Coteaux Varois) rose Strawberry, simple, inoffensive. B-2012 Ravines Riesling Smooth, pretty dry with ginger, citrus peel, Granny Smith. Nice. B
2012 Roagna Dolcetto d’Alba I’m not a big Dolcetto drinker, but this was really quite nice- I’d buy this. Modest tannins, balanced acids, plenty of black plum and raspberry f ruit, a nice earthy edge. B+2010 Pure Cabernet Sauvignon (VdP d’Oc) blackberry, currant, round, coarse, a bit short. B-/C+
1963 Warre’s Vintage Port Decanted in afternoon, then returned to rinsed bottle (minus about 3 heapin g tablespoons of sediment). Showed very well- dried dates and fig, nutty, spice, lighter styled but quite charming. B+/A-Fun couple of nights.
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 pa rty where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivi ty, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.