riday we had several friends over. We started with canapes (pork with pipia n sauce, caprese, avocado) and the 2006 Henriot Brut Millesime Champagne. F uller style but not heavily taosty- pear, citrus, just a hint of baking din ner rolls. B+
Dinner was bouillabaisse, and a variety of wines were poured
2015 Commanderie de Peyrassol Rose (Cotes de Provence) Bright, strawberries and melon , a light herbal note. Fresh. B+2014 Pepiere “Briords” Muscadet Another great showing of this. Taut, stelly, crisp, saline. Long finish. A-
2014 Terres Dorees (JP Brun) Beaujolais Blanc Clean apple meets pear Chardonnay fruit, medium acids, nice. B/B+1975 Ch. St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma) Moving some stuff for mature CaliCab dinner last month, I discovered this h ad a sunken cork, and torn capsule revealed pretty saturated cork. High sho ulder. Not something to take to a group dinner, but I stood up and have a s hot Fri. Some funk on opening, but cleans up, plummy fruit with just a hint of a roasted note, lots of leather, better than I expected and quite popul ar. B/B-
2001 Lafarge Bourgogne Tart cherries, good acids, earth, drinking just fine (pretty good for 15 yr old Bourgogne from a tough vintage in CdB!) B2014 Lapierre Raisins Gauloises Glug, glug (ok, I guess it’s supposed to be glou glou). Juicy, fres h, slurpable. B+/B
Saturday some old friends were in town from Asheville, and we hopped down t o Riverdale to see them. Starters were Betsy’s deviled eggs with ik ura, and a nice pate. Couple Proseccos:
Mionetto Prosecco Apple cider/applesauce, sweet, quite short. Heat? C+
LaMarca Prosecco Sec tendre, fresher apple flavors, ok. B-
Dinner was “chicken bouillabaisse”
1998 Bois de Boursan Chāteauneuf-du-Pape. Kirsch, earth, leather, a little garrigue if you look for it. Fully mature, drink up. B2015 Bieler & Pere Rose ( Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence ) Light colors, light flavors, but snappy acids go well with food. B/B+
Sunday Betsy played at local church while I butterflied and roasted a leg o f lamb, then we went to her sister’s big annual Easter open house. Besides the lamb there was salmon, an assortment of savory pies (Italian Ea ster, quiches, tarts), vegetables, charcuterie and cheese, salads, etc.
1982 Fleur Cardinale (St Emilion) Double decanted for sediment before I left home. TS fill, good cork. Black plum, currants, but fruit is beginning to fade. Cigarbox, leather. With tim e the cigarbox gets a little ashtray-y, but still a nice St Emilion that wa s probably better 10 years ago. B/B- \ 2001 Les Fiefs de Lagrange (St Julien) Double decanted for sediment before I left home.; What a nice showing for a 2nd wine. Cassis and blackberry, a light (nice) edge of bell pepper, some pencil shavings. Moderately framed, ready to go. B+/B2013 Bois de la Salle Julienas OK Gamay, cherries and a little spice, but on light and short side. B-
2013 Frontera Pinot Noir Whoa, beware the Chilean PN. Sweet, empty, short. Candied non-Pinot like fr uit. C2014 Sierra del Mar Pinot Noir On sweet side, but not as vapid as the Chilean PN, modestly sized, a little vanilla. C+/B-
2013 Sean Minor Pinot Noir (think Sonoma coast). Ripe red fruit, a little vanilla and cola, pretty rip e but not OTT. B/B-2013 Petite Petit Petite Sirah from Lodi. Kirsch meets cassis, sweet fruit approaching jammy, , some tannin, might have been better if I tried with lamb, some people re ally liked. B-
1998 Ch. de Fieuzal First wine I sampled when I arrived, one taste and I realized it had been o pened probably a week before- VA, oxidative notes, not a representative sam ple2013 Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Screwcapped magnum, but actually a pretty wine. Light, fresh cherries, don ’t look here for complexity but a good straightforward value. B/B-
(vintage) Ruffino Orvieto Pretty simple, but inoffensive- touch of sweetness, pear fruit, easy. B-/C+
NV Montand Brut Champagne- Lighter styled, apples, a little brioche. B-
Went home, relaxed and did some chores for a while, then had a late supper- salmon, kimchee, rice, and spinach. Wine was the 2014 Brun/Terres Dorees “L’Ancien” Beaujolais. Cranberry, raspberry, smoke, a nice sappy Gamay with good finish. B+
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.