With Artic char and spinach, the 2018 Edmunds St. John Bone Jolly Gamay rose. Strawberries and raspberries, a little herby, good minerally finish. As always, a re-buy. B+
Friday we went to dinner at Betsty?s sister?s with some old friends who moved away a couple years ago. A nice al fresco dinner, Betsy brought appetizer of open face sandwiches with ricotta, preserved lemon, tomato, avocado, poppyseed, and we did a comparative feta tasting (Greek vs French vs Bulgarian)
2016 La Bettigna Colli di Luni Vermentino Fruit blossoms,.sweet pit fruit, moderate acids, good. BMain was Chicken tagine, couscous, and salad with feta
1959 CVNE ?Vina Real? Rioja Reserva Especial (375) Slightly lifted nose, cocoa and leather over red fruits. Mature but not tired. B/B+2012 CNVE ?Imperial? Gran Reserva Needed some air, full black cherry and plum, with vanilla and herby (anise/rosemary/dill green) notes. Pretty nice Rioja straddling between traditional and modern. B+
2017 Raul Perez ?Ultreia Saint Jacques? (Bierzo) Peppery Mencia, black raspberry and earth, but really the pepper is most noticeable. Some tannic structure, good acids, fun. BWith some broiled perch, I opened a bottle left as a host gift. 2017 90+ Lot 2 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough)
- grassy, rubbery, reduced and flawed, but you can tell there is poor fruit under the poor winemaking. C-
So I opened the 2014 L?Ecu ?Orthogneiss? Muscadet. Riper end of muscadet, but quite tasty and rich, with pit fruits, lemon zest, and chalk/limestone finish. Also good with oyster starter next night. B+
Sunday we had a few oysters, then grilled dry-aged Ribeye, with sweet potatoes, salad, and asparagus. The 1985 Leoville Poyferre (St. Julien) showed very well, beautifully balanced and ready. Black currant and cherry,. Earth, smoke, and mocha morphs into classic cigarbox. Enough tannin and acid to give backbone, best I?ve ever had of this bottling. A-
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.