A rare lunch at friends, lobster abounded. I had small glasses of three Champagnes
2006 Dom Perignon Brut Champagne I liked this more before, it was very good in a full bodied style, but seemed to lack a bit of snap. B+2002 Piper-Heidsieck ?Rare? Brut Champagne Now this is snappy and full, apple and lemon, just baked bread, great length. A-
NV Louis Roederer Premier Brut Champagne Next is a NV that was cellared for several years. Ripe apple, buttered brioche, lively. B+
With chicken paprikash on egg noodles, snow peas, salad
2007 Scherrer Pinot Noir Black cherry with a little mocha. I like this, but the alcohol clashed a bit with the paprikash (Betsy used 2 parts sweet to 1 part hot, so not real hot, but just enough to make the wine to seem hot). B2005 Chevillon Bourgogne Cherry, with a little blood orange and some damp earth. Medium bodied, good acids, just a touch of tannin. In a good place. B+/B
Fish tacos (with cabbage, chipotle sour cream, guacamole, salsa crudo, etc)
2014 du Collier Saumur blanc Full-bodied but racy, pear and wax, nice chalky finish. This seems young but delicious. B+/A-2010 Drouhin ?Folatieres? Puligny-Montrachet 1er Quite advanced, pear laced with sherry, too bad. C+
With salmon crudo, the 2014 Servin ?Le Clos? Chablis Grand Cru. This is pretty good Chardonnay, but maybe a disappointment for a ?14 Clos. Clean grapefruit and lemon, touch of beeswax, maybe a little light in midpalate. B
Sausage and white bean stew, sauteed spinach, and salad
2009 Domaine des Billards Saint-Amour Reserve Caveau This shows the big ripe style of the vintage, but is not the least bit ungainly. Rich red fruit, smoke, and mineral. Quite long. B+/A-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.