Thursday David and some friends joined us for dinner on a lovely night on t he patio. I grilled salmon, we also had tomato with basil, summer squash, p asta, and watermelon. And of course wine!
1999 Ayala Brut Champagne Oops, I thought I was opening the NV Majeur. "This seems much bigger and fu ller than I remember" Oh, now I look at label. Full, apple and citrus peel, a little bread dough but not especially yeasty, good length. B+1991 Guy Robin "Valmur" Chablis Grand Cru Not sure where this came from, think it was non-target part of a mixed lot. Low expectations, but this was actually pretty nice at first opening, thou gh a bit flabby for Chablis. Tasted more like a modest mature Meursault-lar ge framed, hazelnut, warm pear fruit, nice floral nose. Good for about 20 m inutes, then began to show oxidative notes, after an hour no thanks! B/B- o n opening, then C-
2009 Wirsching "S" Iphofer Julius-Echter-Berg Riesling Dry and steely, citrus and stones. Pretty austere on first night, much more approachable on day 2, with a gingery note. B+ on second night2003 Calabretta Etna Rosso A little barnyard funk, medium bodied, herby, not a lot of tannin but what tannin there is comes across as a little gritty. Good red fruits with some air, this isn't polished but a pretty solid wine. Quickly finished. No VA t hat I notice. B+/B
2013 Edmunds St John "Bone Jolly" Gamay rose I've written several notes on this so I'll just say again this is a lovely crisp rose in a rather full-bodied style. Down to a few bottles, better get more B++Last night I went to a local jazz jam session at a cafe, where Tim Ries (sa x player who usually tours with Stones) joined the Jay Azzolino trio. Great music, not as exciting as a food/wine experience. I tried a watermelon sou p, which tasted liked leftover melon/feta/mint salad that sits in fridge fo r 2 days. Jonathan smartly ordered beer, Marc's Fonterutoli IGT had clearly been open a couple of days. I tried the (vintage?) Jean Luc Colombo Cape B leue rose, tasting reasonably fresh, but was soft, sweet, and innocuous. C+ I also ordered a glass of the Faustino VII Rioja. I'm not totally convince d that was what I got, though she repeated Rioja when delivered- this was q uite dark, with tannic body, dark fruits, rather short. Didn't look or tast e like Crianza Rioja to me, but I've never had that bottling. C+/B- whateve r it was / 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.