Betsy had time to cook on Saturday and we had several couples - old friends
- for my belated birthday dinner. We started with assorted canapes- crab, s moked duck, smoked salmon- and a couple bubblies (and one white for the bub ble-avoider)
NV Bremont "Cuvee Prestige" Champagne Brut White fruits, floral, herb, light yeast notes. Full, crisp. Really nice. B+ /A-
2011 Raventos i Blanc "de Nit" rosado So pale I'd hesitate to call if rose if that wasn't how it's sold, but it d oes taste like a pnik- strawberries and cherries, with a little mineral and citrus peel. Good value. B+1993 Kalin Stealth LD Chardonnay Taut, young, fresh pear fruit with light overlays of hazelnut and wet rocks . Nice showing. A-
Dinner had an out-of-nowhere Puerto Rican theme- a truly off-the-charts pe rnil (slow cooked pork shoulder with crispy skin), rice and beans (borlotti , not more traditional), and sauteed greens.
2012 Schafer Frohlich "Kupfergrube" Riesling Grosses Gewaches Big, powerful, full, but balancing acids. Dry, but the sweetness of the pit and melon fruit makes it a good match with the spices in the pork. I'm a f an. A-2000 Trimbach "Cuvee Frederic Emile" Vendange Tardive Just off dry (but still sweeter than most CFE VTs), apricot and honey, blos soms, rich. Drinking well, no oxidation, but not sure this is holding a l ot in reserve. B+/B
interesting perspectives on next couple, I think I was only one to prefer t he Drouhin
1987 Drouhin Beaune-Greves 1er Pretty, graceful, elegant. Good acids, black cherry accented by sandalwood and spice, in a great spot. A-2002 Champy "les Caillerets" Volnay 1er I thought this good PN without being very Volnayesque. Riper cherry fruit, full-bodied, modest acids, some tannin. Others liked more than I did. B
1988 Ch. Canon Mature, cassis and plum, leather, a hint of tobacco and of iodine. With ab out 90 minutes in decanter this was drinking very well. B+Fun night with some of my favorite people.
Sunday Betsy had a mediation class in city, I took the train in to join her and my niece for dinner at Recette in Greenwich Village. Great food, some dishes included: bacalhau fritters on lamb sausage ragu Hamachi with an uni foam Marrow toasts w onion & trout roe spot prawn crudo with caviar (and fried heads on side) snapper crudo with bottarga and citrus sauce Spaghetti with shrimp & sea urchin in a spicy tomato sauce langostines and fried tete de veau, with lemon verbena flan
I had carried along the 2004 Pernot "Folatieres" Puligny-Montrachet 1er. J ust drinking very well- apples and peach accented by a squirt of lemon, flo ral, with a bit of chalk. Medium-bodied, excellent length. A-
Nice dinner with nice company and very good service (and good stems and goo d attitude towards BYO).
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.