Friday started off with a somewhat hairy drive taking Betsy and 3 friends t o airport (of course, flight listed on time, they then had a 5 hour delay). Back to work, then home to the dog for dinner (sausages and leftovers). Op en a bottle of the 2011 Costes Bergerac rose, nice for the price- strawberr y, orange zest, a little clovey herb notes. I like enough to reorder. B
Then over to Marc’s for our local tasting group. He had an assortment of munchies out, plus the 2004 Blain-Gagnard “La Boudriotte” Chassagne-Mon trachet 1er. I’ve liked before, and tonight is not different. Good acidit y, full ripe fruit - citrus and pear. Wood way in background, good stuff. B
+Theme was loosely SuperTuscan- Toscano IGT, or really any Tuscan wine that wasn’t labelled Chianti, Brunello/Rosso di Montalcino, Vino Nobile dM, et c. Wines were blind
#1 - soft and easy, fleshy (is there Merlot here) , easygoing. Nothing comp lex, but fairly tasty. B 2006 Vitccio “Bere” #2 big, a bit overbearing, fair amount of tannin and a bit of oak. somewha t modern (Cabernet?). B-/C+ 2009 Guado al Tasso “Il Bruciato”
#3 - not blind to me. I double-decanted before leaving, it seemed very adv anced/pruney, so I brought a backup wine. By time served it was definitely showing maderized notes. C- 1985 Avignonesi “ Il Grifi”
#4 I was bringing this to cover for a guest from UK, Not showing very Merlo t-y, fairly classic Sangiovese notes of dried cherry and leather, nice leng th, not very big. Nice mature Tuscan. B+/B. 1990 Terrabianca Campaccio
#5 - This has cab/merlot flavors, but more acidity than most Tuscan cabs. C assis and a bit of herb. B 2008 Le Cupole
#6- modern,lush, just a hint of oak, round round round. B-/C+ 2008 Il Colo rino di Casanova
#7 very Napa Cab-like, rich black fruit, a bit clipped. B- Tenuta San Guid o “Le Difese”
#8 my backup for the Grifi. Black cherry, herby, a bit of smoke. Good acids , some firn tannin. Young but very tasty. A- 2004 Montevertine
#9 served a bit cold, but showing lots of class. Nicely structured, a bit t ight, but I like this. A-/B+ 2006 Montevertine
Good night with the guys.
Since Betsy was in NC for a girls’ weekend, and the hostess’s husband h ad fled to NYC, I invited him and 2 of the other guys left stag for guyz ni ght. Started with hummus, olives, salami and the 2002 Remi Jobard “Charme s” Meursault 1er Cru. Beautiful (and ready) Meursault, sweet fruit and ha zelnut but also good minerality. On the big side. Quite fresh, no hint of o xidation Of course, the randomness of premOx means that other bottles still at risk, but nice if first shows well. A-
Dinner was manly- quail wrapped in bacon, green lentils with walnut oil vin aigrettte, sauteed mixed mushrooms, green beans in duck fat, and spinach sa lad.
2005 Thenard “Clos St. Pierre” Givry 1er Quite tight and closed. Gradually emerges a bit , some tart raspberry and c ranberry fruit, some earth. B/B-1998 Coudoulet de Beaucastel More advanced than other recent bottles, showing a little tea and hint of p rune. Certainly very drinkable, but other were livelier. Off bottle B-/C+
1999 Carlo Giacosa “Narin” Barbaresco Quite popular with the guys, I found it a bit unrefined for Barbaresco. Som e rough tannin, but good black cherry fruit with a bit of tar and floral no tes. B-1997 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Holding well for level, rounder cassis fruit, a little mocha and leather, d ecent finish. B
Guys seemed to be less critical of the wines than I was.
Who cares if winter, I can double-down on the pinks. With chicken breast in parchment with squash, tomato, peppers, and herbs, the 2011 Vacheron Sance rre rose. Oops, first bottle foully corked. Second is correct- pale salmon color, fresh strawberry fruit, a bit of chalk. Tasty bottle of pink, but I liked the Costes as much, at about half the price. B
Monday night a garbanzo/spinach sautee, bulgur with mushrooms, and avocado in a soy/lime dressing, the 2011 Edmunds St John “Bone Jolly” Gamay Noi r. Just a hint of stink as unscrewed, but whatever it was blows off quickly . Sweet raspberry and red currant fruit, smoke, a little spicy note. Medium bodied and full flavored, extremely enjoyable. A-/B+
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.