Betsy was away, I had a hanger steak salad, with the 2001 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco. Just the normale, drinking beautifully. Black cherry accented with dried cherry, rose petals, dirt. Medium bodied but with long finish, a bit of tannin remaining, good acids. Delicious. B++ (and drank fine on night 2)
Dog was bored with me, so invited over 2 couples. Garlic scape white bean dip Oysters Shrimp Pork tenderloin, brown rice, zucchini with za?atar, green salad
NV Barbichon ?Reserve 4 Cépages? Brut Champagne (dg May 2017) Bright, snappy, nervy. Pears, chalk, toast. B+/A-
2017 Pepiere Clisson Muscadet 2017 is supposed to be a so-so vintage, but I really enjoyed this. Maybe a bit broader than some vintages, but there?s plenty of tangy acidity, a wealth of limestone/seashell minerality, and a long finish. B+2014 Vincent Ledy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Porets Saint-Georges Vieilles Vignes Ok, disclaimer, this might be heat-damaged, though no obvious notes. I had a shipper behind my desk area that I thought was empty. It probably sat at room temp (58-76) for a year. Then AC went out at office, and office was VERY warm for couple weeks (supply chain backlog, one day probably close to 90 in office, though in styro). I went to move and found 3 bottles in shipper (other 2 cheap Riesling, I think this was stuff I meant to take home last year). Oops. This didn?t have any clear signs of damage, but was more fruit-forward and juicy than I expected. Black plum and berries, a touch of cocoa, this could pass for a Cal PN, but unsure if representative bottle. This one B-
The last night before Betsy returned., clams on udon, grey sole, sauteed arugula, green salad, and the 2017 Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet. More open than a recent Sauzet 1er, with pear and pit fruits, peach blossom, a touch of oak. Ripe but balanced. B+/B
No wine Monday or Tuesday, but on a lovely breezy Wednesday we met friends at the park concert. Betsy made 3 salads (shrimp/corn, avocado/cucumber, and zucchini/pecorino/almond/basil), others shared smoked salmon, more salads, dips.
2017 Joseph Colin Sur le Sentier du Clou St. Aubin 1er Cru Pear, Granny Smith, and almonds, fairly full but bright acids, good minerally finish. B++2014 Ch. Yvonne Saumur-Champigny Good a little chilled, snappy acids, raspberry with tobacco leaf and herb. Pretty good, but not ?the next Rougeard? for my tastes. B/B+
2020 Montoni Nerello Mascalese Rosé di Adele Pale but with some body, red cherry fruit with herbs and citrus zest. Bright and fun. B/B+2020 Thibaud Boudignon Rose de Loire. Soft and easy, a little boring, folks always seem to like this more than I do. B-
2012 Joel Gott Dillon Ranch Zinfandel Unsure if this was ever good, but someone made a big mistake aging. Volatile, hot, cracking up, disjointed. C-I was standing talking to some friends and this vaguely familiar guy walked over and said he needed to thank me. Had to jog my memory, but he is French, and a friend of a French contingent of my friends. At a concert in 2019 (nothing 2020 due to pandemic), we had shared some wine. We were talking about Burgundy, and he was telling me about a producer he liked, had bought a lot at domaine, very well priced. Jacky Truchot. I had explained current Truchot-Martin pricing, he had sold 5 bottles of the Clos de la Roche that he paid pennies for for $2K each (he?s holding some of the ?lesser? cuvees). He said his wife will never question his wine expenditures again. :)
Fun night, perfect weather, company, and music. .
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.