With coriander chicken with Brussels sprouts, the 2017 Lapalu Beaujolais-Villages. Just a hint of fizz, cranberry and cherry fruit, a little leathery note, fun. B
A fun ?fusion? dinner - Gravlax rice bowl (avocado, kombu, ikura, Japanese pickles, etc)?
2018 Caves Naveran ?Dama? Cava Just a hint of RS, apple, mint, at $20 no bargain for cava. B-/C+New Years Eve was just us with dry-aged steak from Blue Hill Stone Barns, potatoes in truffle butter, broccoli
NV Agrapart ?Terroirs? Blanc des Blancs Champagne Crisp, zesty, lemon over pear, nice chalky finish. B+/A-
1982 Ch. La Dominique Mature, not tired, soft resolved tannins, dark fruit with a little cocoa and cigarbox. B+On New Years we invited another couple- separate tables in separate rooms facing a doorway, air purifier between us, windows cracked with fans (I am SO tired of this). They brought shrimp deviled eggs, tourtiere, Linzertorte. We had salmon mousse, bluefish pate, potatoes with creme fraiche & ikura, roast duck, blackeyed peas, collard greens
NV Roederer Premier Brut Champagne Rich style, apples and almond, fine mousse, good value. B+/B
1983 Jaboulet ?La Chapelle? Hermitage Elegant, mature, midweight, quiet black fruits, roast meats, herbs. A-/B+1999 Jaboulet ?Thalabert? Crozes-Hermitage Plenty of fruit, a little smoke and bacon, slightly clipped finish. Others liked more than the La Chapelle. B-
Saturday was oysters, skate with brown butter, Japanese yams, mushrooms (pioppini and oysters sauteed with dashi), Swiss chard
2018 Goodfellow Dundee Hills Chardonnay This is a bit richer than a recent Ribbon Ridge, pear with a little oak note, some matchstick/sulfur, opens up, very nice length. B/B+Lamb stew, salad
1996 Edmunds St John Syrah This is the basic California, not the Durrell or any other vineyard. But nothing basic about the wine- warm black fruits, smoke, white pepper. Nice length! A-/B+Rice bowl redux during our Zoom call, with the 2019 Sadie Skerpioen. South African cult wine! :) This is a field blend, about 50% Chenin Blanc and 50% Palomino. I have almost no experience with table Palomino, and this didn?t taste very Chenin-ish other than a hint of wooliness. Very pale, very young. Interesting wine that developed over the evening. Good acids, citrus and honeydew, good finish. Interesting wine and I would love to see how it develops. B/B+ for now.
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.