Lots of wines to catch up on. Wednesday we tried the 2008 Zuazo Gaston "Vendimia Seleccionada" Rioja, a nice complement to a light "Moroccan meatloaf." Light, spice, good red fruits. B
Thursday was lamb with white beans, and the 2008 Montoni Nero d'Avola. A fine value wine - not as serious as the Vrucara, but a lovely example of balanced NdA. Ripe, full, with red plums and cocoa, not at all ungainly, overipe, or overextracted. B+
Friday's dinner was flounder, with the 2007 Xavier Flouret "Kavalier" Riesling Kabinett (Mosel). So apparently this Xavier Flouret is some kind of international negociant/brand, commissioning wines from across the world. Not my kind of thing, but when I saw this was made by Johannes Selbach and was $10, decided to try. Pretty dry, soft for Mosel, but nice clean fruit flavors of apple and lime. Pleasant enough if not compelling, I'm ok with this at that price. B-
After dinner I walked (lovely cool evening before rain started ) to Rob's house for our local wine group. Theme was Gamay. Before we started Fred wanted me to try a blind wine, I was pretty confident with my guess of a lighter Loire CF. Nope, it's from the Finger Lakes, the 2008 Lamoreaux Landing Cabernet Franc. Raspberry, good acids, a pleasant green leafy note. Not complex, but tasty. B
Gamay #1`Wines were blind, but first one wasn't for me. I had brought the 2009 Edmunds St. John "Bone Jolly" Gamay Noir. Red fruit, sprightly and delicate, Fred quickly (thinking it was Beaujolais) said "not 2009." It is, I said, though I neglected to mention it wasn't French. Widely popular. B++
Gamay #2 Ripe, a bit clipped, didn't seem like Beaujolais to me, there was just a hint of that geranium/potted plant think I find in Loire Gamay, but my guess was incorrect. So Rob says "well there's that appellation Macon-Cruzille where Gamay is used." and Fred says correct (I'm astounded, not knowing this appellation, and Rob's no geek).2009 Domaine Guillot-Broux Macon-Cruzille B/B-
Gamay #3 Short, a bit flabby, plain cherry fruit, I'm no fan of the 2008 Jadot Beaujolais-Villages. C+
Gamay #4 The next wine had nice (not over the top) ripeness and a nice midweight mouthfeel, great fruit with an earthy edge. I'm guessing 2009 Cru Beaujolais, off by a year, the 2008 Potel-Aviron Fleurie. B+/B
Gamay #5 Now this is loaded (for em) with that green/geranium thing, overwhelming what could otherwise be a nice light bodied high acid wine. This is Rob's, and that explains his previous insight into Macon-Cruzille, as this is the 2008 Guillot-Broux Macon-Cruzille B-/C+
Gamay #6 I also went Loire for the last wine, apparently correct this time. Light, a hint of spritz, high acids, bright fruit. The Le Petit Rouquin was a VdT, don't think vintage noted. B
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. 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.