Wednesday we had grilled tuna, asparagus, quinoa, salad, and the 2014 Pav illon de Chavannes "Cuvee des Ambassades"Cote de Brouilly. Plenty of tangy acids, good black cherry fruit, a touch of licorice and spice. Holds well a nd seems fuller on next day. B+
Thursday we met 4 friends at Saint George in Hastings (it was both Restaura nt Week and BYO night). We started with the NV Pardiac Blanc des Blancs (Ju ra) from the list. Crisp, pleasant apple flavors,fresh and easy. B/B-
I started with escargot (and tried Betsy's chicken liver mousse); both my b lanquette de veau and Betsy's steak frites were tasty.
Pipeau (St Emilion) I didnt write down, and now can't remember if 2011 and 2012. Whatever it wa s was very primary, with upfront tannins, but good tangy black plum fruit, B
1986 Gruaud-Larose Very tight when opened at home, was worried that an hour in decanter wasn't enough (still tight when returned to bottle), but by serving time it showe d well, though it improved through night. Definite barnyard (gave me a chan ce to lecture re Cordier funk), big cassis fruit, leather, and cigarbox. Ta nnins still present but not obtrusive, long finish. A-2007 Chave "Offerus" St Joseph I wondered if this was corked at first, thought I got some TCA but no sign when I went searching. But seemed ponderous and a bit clunky, with a cough syrup edge on finish. Sound bottle? C+/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.