was looking for a particular wine, and found a case of mixed stuff that I s hould have taken home a while ago, mixed a few into this week’s lin eup.
With flounder, couscous, & spinach, the 2005 Pernot Bourgogne Blanc. Funny, having had quite a few PremOxed village and 1er wine from mid-2000s to hav e a Bourgogne with life to it. Pear, lemon, and a little hazelnut, good rip eness and good acids. It’s maybe fading on the finish, but could pa ss for a mature Puligny. B+
2002 Huet Le Haut Lieu Vouvray (375 ml), Oxidized. Damn. NRWith lamb leg, barley, & salad, the 2004 Groffier Bourgogne rouge. Only a h int of the greenie meanies, but kirschy and a little tired. C+/B-
2013 Knoll Ried Pfaffenberg Steiner Riesling Kabinett Stony, citrus and apple, a little severe at first, opens with air and I enj oy. B+/BWith roast chicken, green beans, mushrooms, couscous, the 2002 de Montille Bourgogne rouge. Last de Montille I bought for a while due to 9/11 comments . Cherries, raspberries, a little smoke. Nice balance. Drink up, and enjoy. B+
Some friends invited me to dinner, their dog was confused as I arrived houn dless. I had brought crab salad canapes, they made Tuscan swordfish, bok ch oy, & salad.
2013 Domaine de l’Harmas Cotes du Rhone Raspberry, strawberry, clean and straightforward. B/B-2014 Pepiere “Clisson” Muscadet Classic full leesy Clisson style, zippy enough for the crab but with enough body for the swordfish - wet stones, citrus, a little herb. B+/A-
1993 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne I've had three bottles from same lot. One was what I look for in mature whi te Burg, lovely and complex -if maybe a bit ripe (B+). Another at a steakho use was oxidized and advanced. This didn't show oxidation but didn't feel a s lively as the first bottle- white fruit, a little nutty, a bit stolid on palate. B-2006 Havens Black and Blue Sturdy, still some slightly rough tannin, big dark fruit, cassis and black plum, fairly low acid. B-
Saturday I met friends at Aberdeen for a Chinese New Year dinner: Pork shu mai, Shrimp dumplings, Eggplant stuffed with shrimp, Jalapeno stuf fed with shrimp, seafood/tofu soup, squid with scallions, ginger/scallion lobster, soft shel l crab with black bean sauce, ginger/garlic chicken, rice with shrimp and v egetables. Mostly Champagne
1999 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rose I was very happy with way this showed. Strawberry and cherry, brioche, and orange zest. Full, a great foil for the food, some chalk and flowers on nos e as it gets air. A-/A1995 Bruno Paillard “Nec Plus Ultra” Champagne I thought this oxidative and tired at first, but liked better on second go round. Heavy nutty note, green apple, bread. I liked better with air but ag reed with Cathleen it didn’t deserve its hefty pricetag. B
1998 Gosset “Celebris” Champagne I had trouble getting a handle on this. There was something weirdly cheesey on nose at first, then it cleaned up, then it started tasting oxidized. Ne ver loved, at its best a B. Not sure a correct bottle.1995 Ch. Loudenne (Medoc) Some sturdy tannin, but soft ripe plummy fruit, a very pleasant claret. B/B
+Sunday I picked up Betsy and violinist at LaGuardia, went home, and then he aded to her sister’s for a SuperBowl party. Chili with fixings, cal amari with chipotle mayo, gauc, salad, cheeses, etc.
2015 Van Volxem Alte Reben Riesling Minerally, tart, smoke, white peach. B+2013 Losen-Bockstanz Riesling Kabinett sweet , peachy, simple. B-
2005 Edmunds St John Bassetti Syrah Betsy’s first night back since we lost the hound, so I opened one o f Lucy’s traditional birthday wines (the other is Mulderbosch Faith ful Hound) for a toast to departed friends. Lovely showing- rich dark berry fruit, smoke, a little coffee, and just a hint of an animal note. Young bu t so tasty. A-No wines scheduled this week as we try to deal with a few extra holiday pou nds.
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.