Heatwave broke and Wednesday was quite pleasant- 80s, breezy, low humidity. Betsy made a pesto/spinach/pea pasta salad, I made a fluke ceviche and got some oysters. Nice time with friends down by river (though shucking is easier on a counter than sitting on ground), with some nice wines:
2010 Pepiere Muscadet Crisp and classic, saline and shells. B+
1997 Luneau-Papin “ L'd'Or” Muscadet Still plenty of life, but on the soft side for LP. Full, good length, lemon and rocks, nice match with the oysters, but needs more zip to be outstanding. B
2011 Baudry Chinon rose Lovely, strawberry and lime zest, great acids, minerally. B+/A-
2011 La Source rose (Coteaux d’Aix en Provence) Light, herby, a bit lacking in length or complexity, but pleasant and easy. B-
2010 Lunotte Sauvignon Blanc This is same producer (new to me) who made the Bulottes bubbly I liked last week. Great stuff. Good acidity, rich and full, reminds me a bit of white Bordeaux more than Loire SB. B++
2011 Lunotte Gamay Fresh bright fruit, light, lively, earthy. There is a little bit of this weird potted plant aroma I seem to get mostly in Loire (as opposed to Beaujolais) Gamay, but that others don’t seem to get- something genetic I guess. That detracts a bit, but I still like. B
NV “Montagnieu” (Peillot) Bugey Brut Beautiful citrusy bubbly for a hot day. B+
2010 Litaud Macon-Vergisson Very ripe and full, more tropically Meursaultish than Maconish, a little much for me but popular with others. B-
Thursday was flank steak in a kecap manis marinade with a gumboesque stew (tomato, mushroom, and okra). Wine was 2001 Graillot Crozes-Hermitage. Round ripe black fruit, a little meatfat and olive, tannins pretty much resolved, this isn’t too long. Gets a bit smoky. On night 2 it has passed on, but first night B
Friday was lobster rolls (a Jasper White recipe) and caprese, wine was the 2007 Fevre “Bougros” Chablis GC. Beautiful full and deep, I’d say could use time except Fevre is a PremOx poster child, so just drinking these young. Minerally, fresh, and long.B+/A-
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 party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.