Tuesday while I was on train to city Betsy called and said she needed a cup of dry white for a recipe. I gave her instructions on finding a bottle of cheap Gruner. When I got home and went for some seltzer, I discovered I gav e bad directions, a bottle of Nikolaihof had been opened rather than Weszel i, So we had some for an apertif Wednesday
2013 Nikolaihof "Im Weingebirge" Gruner Veltliner Federspiel. Dry, crisp. w hite pit fruits with pepper and spice, long. B+/A-Dinner was chicken breast in a citrus marinade, with a sherry sauce. Sides were quinoa, collards, and tomatoes, wine was the 2013 Clos de La Roilette (Coudert) "Griffe du Marquis" Fleurie. This seemed a bit withdrawn right no w. But I think the underlying material is pretty striking. Black cherry, sm oke, earth, with light supple tannins and an acidic backbone. For drinking now, B. Expect to be more in B+/A- range when it loosens up/
Thursday was my double nickel, and Betsy invited 3 couples to join us for a birthday dinner. We greeted them with the Nv Louis Chalvon "Grande Reserve : Brut Champagne. Simpler styled Champagne, green apple and a little yeast, but hey what do you want for $20? B-/C+
First course was (lightly) marinated salmon tartare over cauliflower and to pped with hardboiled egg. Couple of wines
1959 Grand Monteil (Bordeaux Blanc) This was a wildcard, and surprised me by not showing oxidation. Waxy, vanil la, with a slightly lifted nose. Melon, a little caramel. Despite fairly d eep color it didn't really taste old, but an extreme lack of acid kept it from being fresh. Held up over 2 days. A B-/C+ for actual taste, but happy to try this (I have 2 more)2012 Huet "le Mont" Vouvray Sec Much maligned vintage, but I think this is good if not a classic Huet. Ripe yellow fruits, honeycomb and wax, firm acids. Maybe not for the ages but t asty now. B+
Main was duck legs, with dairy-heavy mashed potatoes, and a salad
1995 Montus Madiran This bottle seems fully mature, dark fruits accented with tobacco and leath er, resolved tannins, good but not very deep. I've enjoyed more before. B2003 Chevillon "Pruliers" Nuits St George 1er Better than I remember the '03 Chevillons being on release, this isn't roas ted or pruney, but it is very ripe and a tad flabby. Popular at table, but for me lacking any NSG character - more like Cali PN. B-/C+
1998 La Chapelle de la Mission Haut Brion Not usually a second wine kind of guy, but this is red of the night for me. Graves dirt and tobacco, firm blackcurrant fruit, some floral elements. It 's got some grip but tannins are fine, this is easy to drink. B+/A-2009 F&D Clair "Clos de Tavannes" Santenay 1er A touch young, but nice acids despite ripe fruit profile, a little bit of g ritty tannin, very ripe black cherries. B
Baked apples with currants for the dessert eaters,. and a dessert wine NV Yalumba Museum Muscat Reserve (Rutherglen) I'm not usually a fan of these Aussie stickies, but had a couple from a mix ed lot and was tired of seeing this in cellar, and thought it might appeal to a couple of the guests. . Actually, despite the intense sweetness, there 's a real spine of acidity here. Caramel, toffee, figs. About an ounce is P LENTY for me, but it is better than I expected. B- for me, A for a couple o f guests.
Nice night.
Friday I shucked a few oysters, broiled some orange roughy with a citrus sa uce, braised some green beans with tomatoes, and opened the 2007 C. Moreau " Les Clos" Chablis GC. After a recent one of these that was showing oxidat ion, glad this was showing as it should. Firm, steely, large framed Chablis is flinty/chalky notes on finish. B+
Hound turned 13 last week (well, probably 12.75, but we celebrate on day we got her from Basset rescue) but Betsy has a concert in Brooklyn, so we mov ed her birthday tea to yesterday. Cloudy and threatening, so less dogs than usual, but those that came had a good time. Had a bottle of ESJ Bassetti r eady, but everyone opted for hot tea instead. Betsy needed 2 cups of wine for dinner recipe, this time I located the 2013 Weszeli Gruner Veltliner. R ipe white fruit, softer style of GV, a little short, B-
Dinner was chicken thighs with shallots and tomatoes, and a salad. Wine was the 2014 Withers rose. Bigger styled rose, red fruits and a little citrus peel, stands up well to the dish. 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.