Tuesday I braised cod in a kimchee-flavored broth (recipe called for chip otles in adobo, I wanted to use up some pureed kimchi instead) with greens. Wine was the 2012 Knebel Riesling QbA. Don't see any trocken designation o n this, but it's a pretty dry wine. White nectarine, ginger, just the tinie st hint of petrol. Good acids, nice for level. B
Wednesday was my birthday, we're having dinner party this weekend, but for actual day Betsy made an all-out dinner for 2- rack of lamb with a mustard crust, salad with smoked duck and walnuts, root vegetables,and beet greens . Wine was the 1983 Ch. Beychevelle. Fully mature, elegant mature feminine claret. Round fruits, lots of tobacco, some earth and mushroom. Very nice f or a couple hours, then begins to crack up a bit. Drink up, and enjoy. A-/B
+Last night we had some old friends and some new friends for dinner. Spirite d conversation and good food. I made some smoked salmon and crab salad cana pes, and put out some dense beef prosciutto, olives, etc. Couple of whites:
2013 ColleStefano Verdicchio di Matelica Citrus, green apple, saline, snappy acids, nice and long. B+2005 Fevre "Montee de Tonnerre" Chablis 1er Full, long, some gunflint and mineral over nice pear and citrus fruit. B+
A beet/citrus/duck salad to start. Betsy had roasted a couple of chickens a nd made a thyme accented jus, with roast potatoes and broccoli. Reds:
2002 Lafarge "Vendanges Selectionees" Volnay Hard and acidic at first, blossoms nicely, full black cherry fruit, cocoa, earth. Nicely balanced acids, just a touch of tannin remaining, long and l ovely. A-/B+2008 JP Brun/Terres Dorees Moulin a Vent Juicy, full, red fruited, smoky, nice. B+
2011 Jadot Clos des Couchereaux Beaune 1er PnP. Tart, tangy,I thought this needed more airtime. Better on day 2, but I still didn't really enjoy, a bit clipped, not what I expected. B-/C+Friday was some Columbia River king , simply grilled with herbs, with squas h, leftover broccoli, and root vegetables. Another good bottle of the 2013 Arnot-Roberts "Luchsinger Vineyard" Rose . Strawberrries and herbs, juicy but with minerality, very good. B+
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 p arty where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivi ty, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.