Patrick was in town, a nice group gathered at Balanvera to greet him. Bacalao croquettes, arancini, boquerones, lamb sausage, blood sausage, skirt steak, dry aged ribeye, mushrooms, salad, potatoes, and a rumor of broccoli rabe.
NV Hugues Godme Rose (2013 base, 2018 dg) Snappy, crisp, cherry and orange zest. Nice wine, a surprisingly good companion to boquerones (and spicy lamb sausage. B+
2017 F. Carillon “Combettes” Puligny-Montrachet 1er Rich, young (too young), long. B+2010 Rollin “Sous Fretille” Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Classic, tensile, vibrant wine. Long minerally finish. A-
2003 Stony Hill Chardonnay I’ve had inconsistent luck with Stony Hill, but a lot probably contributable to storage. This bottle is in great shape, honey/lemon/tea with a clear backbone, quite fun. B+2001 Jaboulet La Chapelle Hermitage Ripe redder fruits, some new oak but integrating, nice richness. This suffered from being served with the lamb sausage, nice in theory, but turns out quite spicy. Not the wine’s fault! B+
1986 Pape Clement Nice wine that didn’t scream ‘86, full black fruits but not so much tannin, Graves tobacco over spices and espresso. Quite nice. B+/A-1985 Magdelaine Redder fruits, fruitcake, elegant. A-/B+
1982 Beychevelle Delicious with herbs and green tobacco leaf intertwined with black plum fruit, develops a smoky edge with air. B+/A-1982 Lagrange (St. Julien) My favorite part of this was the label. I’ve had a fair amount of 90 and ‘96 Lagrange, but this is an older label, with 2 Swiss Guard type pikesmen on either side of the chateau image. Nice label, but the wine is a bit lean and weedy, with a musty edge (though I didn’t think corked as some did). Apparently even ‘82 weather can’t compete with overcropping and dirty cellars. B-/C+
1982 La Dominque (primary and backup bottles both corked). Too bad a wine I like1982 l’Arrosee Red and black plum, cedary notes, fully mature, not a blockbuster but really quite suave. B+
1982 l’Evangile Black cherry and plum,cocoa, cigarbox, rich and long. A-1970 Pape Clement Smoky, leather, good dirt, with some pure cassis fruit still purring along. A-/B+
1970 Magdelaine Black cherry and plum, truffly mushrooms, Tangy finish with orange zest. A-Voting(minus one who wasn’t at table)
1982 l’Evangile 14 pts 1970 Magdelaine 9 pts 1985 Magdelaine 8 pts 1982 Beychevelle 6 pts 1986 Pape Clement 3 pts 1970 Pape Clement 4 ptsReally fun nice with good group
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.