At Christmas (eve) dinner I opened two wines to accompany the prime rib and salmon. Copious Argyle Brut (and a lone bottle of Domaine Carneros) had preceded them, so notes are a bit abbreviated:
2009 Doña de Penas Godello nose: minerals, melon, citrus, sulfur palate: medium-light, a modicum of oak, clean acidity
1993 Prince Florian de Merode Corton Clos du Roi nose: fresh raspberry, pencil lead, a hint of meat palate: medium body, fleshy, fine tannins
Both wines were a big hit with the non-geek crowd and the Merode got several oohs and aahs from my one winegeek cousin. It's pretty big and still fairly primary, and I'm glad that I've got more of it.
On our last day in North America for a few months, we celebrated my mother's 84th birthday early and had a dinner of Dungeness crab with salad and bread. With that meal, we had:
NV Pierre Peters Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Le Mesnil nose: modestly toasty, green apples palate: creamy and rich with a fine mousse
NV Veuve Fourny Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Vertus nose: minerals, apples palate: racy, crisp acidity, solid fruit
An interesting contrast exists between these two wines, both very fine BdB: the Peters seemed downright rich in contrast with the leaner Veuve Fourny, whereas the non-dosé Veuve Fourny was less leesy and toasty. Among the non-winegeeks, my mother and her sister (both octagenarians) went for the non-dosé whereas Jean preferred the Peters. I loved them both.
Mark Lipton