Wednesday I went to concert by river with trepidation- the temporary locati on has little shade, and it was a hot day. Luckily, clouds rolled in, and I didn’t stroke out. A fun teen jazz ensemble opened (a friend’s talente d son basically led on bass), and then a tentet led by Jay Branford really put on a show. Only tried a few wines this concert:
2012 Baudry Chinon rose- whoo hoo, cult pink CF (at least in some circles). Rounder/fuller vintage of this, still good cut and a slatey mineral edge, fresh strawberries, such fun! B+/A-2011 Eminence Road Riesling (East Seneca Lake) =pretty dry, ginger and pi t fruits, quite nice. B
2010 Knebel “Von Den Terrasen” Riesling- dry, lemon and white peach, hi gh acids, good with food, a touch shrill without. B/B+Thursday we hosted a family dinner before Betsy’s mom headed back to Cali fornia. Betsy was in city at a rehearsal till 6, so I was main cook (her si ster brought salad and made ice cream sandwiches that were a huge hit). In my desire to please maybe I made too many dishes. Started off with a trio o f cold salads- celeriac remoulade with mussels, lobster with citrus and tar ragon, and caprese. Then we had skirt steak, pasta with littlenecks, and a green salad. A little leftover Baudry pink with the steak, and a few whites
2000 Ellner “Prestige” Brut Champagne Fuller/toastier style (aspiring to Krugness), just baked brioche, apple, va nilla. I could have used more crispness. B2011 Brunn Gruner Veltliner (liter) Cooking wine. Light, sweet apples, maybe a hint of green pea, but no white pepper. Decent and cheap. B-
2011 La Chablisienne “ Fourchaume” Chablis 1er Green apple and lemon, a little chalk. Good Chablis typicity if not a lot o f premier cru gravity. BFriday I was alone and just had leftovers, with the 2011 Barou “Un Autre Monde” St. Joseph. As far as I know this is the basic St Jo. Fleshy, dark fruits, pepper. I think I liked the 2010 a bit more, but this is a good bu y. B+/B
Saturday was grilled sausage (D’Artagnan’s Mediterranean chicken, the rare D’Artagnan item I wouldn’t buy again with broccoli and the 2012 C antalupo “Il Mimo” rosato. I used to buy this regularly, but haven’t seen in a few vintages. Full, fleshy, shows a little heat (only 13.5, but seems higher), a little rose petal, but nothing else I’d think of as Nebb iolo. B-
Sunday Betsy was playing River to River Festival so I dined alone, and for once just didn’t feel like cooking. I picked up a “ Orecchiette Calabr ese” (broccoli rabe and sausage) from local deli, and matched region wit h the 2008 A Vita Ciro Rosso Classico., More tannic than I remembered, but good acids, red fruits and flowers, good length, B+/B
Monday was a sucky day, with a flash flood coming into main floor of my off ice, and a sinkhole trapping my car for hours till a back way out was clear ed. But good thing was storms delayed Betsy’s flight, so she made dinner. Green puttanesca (green olives, basil, spinach) over pasta with a salad an d the 2011 Clos Roche Blanche #2 Sauvignon Blanc. Ah, classic CRB. I was a little underwhelmed by a bottle of the #5, but this is pretty classic Toura ine SB- some citrus, some apple, plenty of minerals, could probably find so me grass or catpee if you tried really hard. But mostly it’s balanced, fo od-friendly, refreshing. B++
Tonight I had leftovers (green puttanesca and steak) with the 2012 Schloss Gobelsburger rose. Watermelon and strawberry, good acids, nothing complex but satisfying rose. 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 pa rty where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivi ty, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.