No wine Tuesday night (pulled pork, etc) in Georgia, but Wednesday I shopp ed at Whole Foods for a couple bottles while Betsy and her mom got produce. That night we had a seafood casserole with assorted sides, and the 2013 Pi ne Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier. This is a touch sweeter -sec-tende- than I remember earlier vintages (but we're probably talking 5-8 vintages ago, so memory might be off), but nice acids, firm peach and apple flavors, good fi nish. Good choice in supermarket wine. B-/B
Thanksgiving was the usual big spread- turkey, ham, dressing, beans, root v egetables, kale/brussels sprouts salad, corn, relishes, much more. A red I bought and a white my brother brought:
2013 Thivin Cote de Brouilly Red fruit, cranberry and cherry, some earth, pleasant but not really exciti ng. B
2011 Kistler "Kistler Vineyard" Chardonnay Big, lots of oak, decent acids, long finish. Not really my style but well- done and not buttery or fat. B/B-
Actually, I also tasted both together. I had opened the Chard for my sister
-in-law, checked for corkiness, than opened the Beaujolais. Poured myself a tasting pour, it was fine, poured for my dad, brother, and Betsy. Went ba ck to top off mine for a table pour, and grabbed the Chard my mistake. Oops . The mix was truly the worst of both worlds- the oak beat the hell out of the red fruit, making it seem thin. C :)
There was also a wine called New Age, neglected to note more, which was li ke an industrial vinho verde spiked with the syrup from canned peaches. C-
Friday Betsy made a quick bouillabaisse, we tried with leftover wines. I th ought the oak in Kistler was less apparent, Thivin hadn't changed much, the Pine Ridge wasn't obviously oxidized but seemed flatter.
Saturday we flew into Newark, I dropped Betsy at Columbia/Pres to visit her niece who had spinal surgery, then returned a few hours later to pick her up. Slow roasted some sweet potatoes, marinated salmon, so when we were hom e dinner took 15 minutes. Wine was the 2012 Bzikot Bourgogne. I thought this was oakfree on previous tries, but thought there was some here. Good acids, fresh, nice. B
Sunday I made roast chicken & vegetables with chipotle/adobo, cumin, etc an d similarly flavored mix of lentils, black barley, and quinoa, & salad. Win e was the 2012 Edmunds St. John "Rocks and Gravel". Fun fun wine. Bright, f resh fruit, some spice and herbs. With some air some floral notes, but it's still the fruit that rules. Some tannin underneath, but easy and supple. I 'm pretty sure I wouldn't have guessed a GSM blend if this was blind, this strikes me like a (excellent) Cru Beaujolais. B+/A-
Tonight yellow eye beans seasoned with smoked turkey wing, mushrooms w/spin ach, and broccoli. Wine is the 2012 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Goldtropfch en Spatlese. Rich, tropical, acids keep it from cloying. At first I thought a bit too sweet/rich for my tastes, but as I revisit more impressed. There 's some mineral notes, gunflint and smoke, and the acids really do stand up to the sugars. B+
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 p arty where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivi ty, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.