As Dale has noted in passing, the wine importer Joe Dressner died earlier this week after a 3-year long battle with brain cancer. Over the years I have interacted with Mr. Dressner on a few occasions, but I would never characterize him as a friend. Regardless, I have great respect for the wines he brought into this country, so over the past few nights we have toasted his memory with a few of his imports.
2004 Luneau-Papin Muscadet SeM L d'Or nose: minerals, lemons, salt palate: rounded, medium body, firm acidity, lush
This wine was opened on Andrew's 7th birthday as a birthyear wine. It's great now, but I'll be interested to see where it's going. Thankfully, no hint of oxidation yet as that's very offputting for Jean.
Tonight we celebrated high-profile publications from both our groups with a bottle of bubbly:
NV Pinon Vouvray Brut non-dosé nose: modestly yeasty, tart apple fruit palate: crisp, clean, fine mousse
Just as appealing as our previous bottle, this wine puts many nominally Brut Champagnes to shame. Great QPR.
Mark Lipton