Roast chicken with root vegetables (carrot, parsnip, radish) and salad
2020 Clos de Roilette Fleurie Ripe but not hot, black and red cherries, soil, long persisent finish with a minerally tang. B+Teriyaki salmon, purple skinned potatoes, and broccoli with colatura di alici
2022 Pradeaux Bandol Rose Usually a fave, but this is dark, with almost pruney notes and a bit of heat on finish. B-/C+Some friends who spend summer in Nova Scotia came home, so we hosted a small dinner party so people could catch up. Lovely Sept evening on patio.
Oysters, smoked salmon, shrimp cocktail NV Charles Heidsieck Blanc de Blancs Champagne I believe 2012 base. Crisp, yeasty, with ripe tropical fruit, I enjoy but profile would not have screamed BdB if it had been blind. B Duck breast, escarole risotto, salad
2006 Bize Aux Vergelesses Savigny-les-Beaune 1er A pointe, silky texture, suave red cherry fruit, sandalwood, spice, B+/A-2020 Valery Renaudat Les Lignis Reuilly Light, crunchy cranberry, herby. B
2022 La Vielle Ferme blanc (mag) Betsy needed 4 cups of wine for double recipe, I didn’t have anything I wanted to sacrifice bottle+ of, so bought mag on an old dependable. It was fine for cooking, and had remembered decent acids for Rhone white, but palate was sweeter than I remembered, and a bit musky. B-/C+Over to Irvington for a Rosh Hashanah dinner, again on a nice night on a patio.
Matzah ball soup, challah, chicken with a herb/anchovy sauce, beets, salad
2022 Antxiola Getariako Txakolina Rosado Hint of spritz, light watermelon and strawberry, slight saline note, not a lot there but pleasant. B 2021 Bisson Pigato (Colline Genovesato) Rounder and more floral than the crisp Pigatos I’m used to, a bit oily in texture. B-Sunday a group gathered at Second Mouse for a cheese class (or wine and cheese class) led by the informative and charming owner Ivy.
NV Gosset Grande Rose I’ve done plenty of notes for this, and liked this one too! B+ Buchette aux Fleurs (a chevre with herbs and flowers) was very good, most people loved the match, I think I would have preferred a crisp Loire SB. In a logistical error we missed an Assyrtiko that was supposed to be paired with a sheep feta in greek honey and Loukaniko, but cheese and sausage were very good.
Brickstone Extra Dry American Champagne (Finger Lakes) I thought only old grandfathered labels could say Champagne, but I guess I was wrong. Appley/Cidery, moderate sweetness, clipped finish. C+
But not a bad match with Old Chatham Nancy’s Camembert (though Gosset went better).
A couple of Rieslings to go with the washed rinds
2001 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Very good showing. Apple pie with cinnamon, lemon pudding, plenty of petrol, long gingery finish. Excellent showing, I have a couple of these I should think about opening, though this has decades ahead of it. A-1999 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling (mag) In large format this was drinking quite well. More stones and petrol than fruit, but there’s some white peach and grapefruit to keep it from being too austere. Long finish. A-/B+
The Prum with the Jasper Hill Willoughby was probably my match of the night, though it actually went well with the Redhead Creamery North Fork Muenster too (better than the Alsace in fact)/
The Aarewasser (raw sheep milk raclette) actually did well with both the red Burg and the Alsace Riesling.
2014 Odoul Coquard Charmes-Chambertin New producer to me. Pretty red Pinot fruit, fairly expressive nose with cocoa and grilled meat accents, but palate doesn’t really have GC depth, modest finish. But good. BPleasant Ridge Reserve was delicious and good for standing up to reds
Mark wanted to show off an inexpensive Bordeaux that punches above its weight.
2016 Ch. Pitray Most complex of the 3 Pitrays, and I don’t think only from the extra couple years. Black plum, mocha, a little green herb, nice length. B+/B2018 Ch. Pitray Verging on roasted, but still a nice ripe wine without a lot of oak gloss. B/B-
2019 Ch. Pitray Dark fruit, more cassis than others, some cedar and herbs. BAn excellent Rodolph le Meunier Comte also went well with claret.
1998 Ch Magdelaine First pour was a bit volatile and roasted, seemed to calm down, but I’ve had this many times and think this was a slightly compromised bottle. By end you can sense the underlying depth, but the nose on this was never truly clean. B for this bottle (C+ when first poured)Challenhocker (a better version of Appenzeller) was one of my favorite wines of the night.
2000 Larrivet-Haut-Brion Ripe 2000 notes, but not at all hot or roasted. Black currant and cherry, mocha, mostly resolved tannins, fully mature. B+NY State Jake’s Gouda was nutty and complex. Osborne Mahogany Oloroso Solera BC200 Rare Sherry Apparently a really old Solera (apparently it was originally ABC then a Tsar bought all the A) than included some PX, fig and marzipan, some people really loved, but I’m still not a sherry guy, though this was fun to taste history.
The Rogue Smokey Blue was fun with the sweeter wines. Fonseca 20 yr Tawny Port Raisins, coffee cake, almonds. Rich. I’m not really a tawny guy but this was very good, B+/A-
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 party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.