Friday with grilled porterhouses, corn, salad, and brown rice, the 1994 Ch. Talbot (St. Julien). Some cassis and black plum fruit, lots of cedary oak. Some rather hard/spiky tannins (more than I've noticed in previous bottles). This is ok as a steak wine, but by the time the tannins really recede I doubt there's much in the way of fruit left here. B
Saturday some friends were moving (just in-town). Last wee, , I reluctantly offered my help. Seeing the forecast was for 90s, I was quite relieved to find they had booked professional movers. But they invited us (and a few others) for dinner and a tour of the house. So we loaded up some wine and glasses and headed over. Nice huge old place, where we sipped:
2004 Pepiere Muscadet I've posted enough notes about this. Just stunning value at under $10. B+/A-
2003 Catherine and Pierre Breton "Les Galichets" Bourgueil You know, it's not "correct" to say this (June is officially "Diss the
2003 vintage across Europe" month), but I think I like this better than previous vintages. Really rich cherry & redcurrant fruit, hint of earth, nice wine, but it's the aromatic herb notes that make it quite interesting. Despite the digits on the label there's plenty of acidity, a nice wine that is perfect served chilled on a hot night. B+/A-
2004 La Brasserie Rosé This Vin de Pays, on the other hand, sucked. Canned cherry soda flavors, short finish, run away. C-
1999 Ch. Nenin (Pomerol) I had this with the skirt steak. I'd given it a couple hours of air. Medium-bodied, but with a deep Pomerol richness to the black plum and blackberry fruit. Some oak, but more dominated by secondary notes of leadpencil and coffee. I don't think this is a Pomerol for the ages, but drinking well now. A-
2003 Domaine de la Janasse Côtes du Rhône Rosé Someone else had brought this rosé. Rather simple, though a big improvement on the VdP. Easy cherry/strawberry fruit, a little flabby, hint of sweetness. B-
NV Cristalino cava Always a QPR favorite. Light, crisp, and straightforward. B (the Janasse CdR rosé was helped by adding a little cava- B for the cocktail).
Nice evening in a nice new old place.
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