Friday the president and past president of my board and their spouses were coming to dinner, Betsy was planning on coq au vin (well, hen in wine actually, can't get c*ck locally). But weather was unexpectedly springlike, and she called to say she couldn't do a wintry dish, was doing barbecued chicken on the grill instead. She mentioned a sauce,and I realized my Burgundy plan was down the drain. Grabbed some Syrah, and headed home.
Betsy's trio is in town rehearsing, and the pianist is staying with us. While I worked on setting table and some smoked salmon appetizers, Barbara made an absolutely delicious Southeatern Asian-ish appetizer of crabmeat and dressed julienned veggies in rice wrappers with a mango dipping sauce.
The salmon seemed to call for wine burg, so we went with the 2001 Françoise and Denis Clair "Les Murgers des Dents de Chien" St.-Aubin 1er Cru. Clean pure white fruit, barest hint of pineapple, light oak. Nicely balanced acidity, long minerally finish. Every time I have this wine I think I should cellar the rest for a couple years, but keep popping those corks. A- With the crab wraps, the 1997 Zind-Humbrecht Herrenweg de Turckheim Riesling. Just off-dry, better acidity than one would expect from a ZH Riesling in a ripe vintage. Full flavors, some slate and smoke over the fruit. B/B+
With the chicken, the 2001 Finca Sandoval (Manchuela). Another wine I keep opening, though I think it needs time. Blackberry and black cherry fruit, a light grilled meat aroma, with some earth and new oak nuances. Powerful wine, quite tasty. B+/A-
Also the 2000 Rocher Bellevue Figeac (St. Émilion Grand Cru). Purple verging on black, not showing much on the nose. Lots of tannin, doesn't budge over several hours in the decanter. Dark fruit lurking under the tannins. Is this just shut down? I'm guessing so. A B- today, but probably just an awkward phase. With the cheeses (Epoisses, Humboldt Fog, aged Cheddar, and Roquefort) and a gingerbread dessert, we also open a red and a sticky: The 1999 Drouhin Gevrey-Chambertin was a nice earthy Burg, perfumed nose leading to a palate of red fruit, damp forest floor, and light spicy oak. A-/B+
The 2001 Doisy-Védrines (Sauternes) was only my second 2001 Sauternes (excluding barrel samples at store tastings). Flowers, apricots, and citrus fruit blending into a delightfully complex wine. Nice balance of acidity and sweetness, if a harbinger of 2001 Sauternes we're going to be very happy. A-
Fun night, with me being the contrarian in almost every argument. :)
Saturday night Betsy made a tuna/mushroom pasta sauce,we mostly drank water with a few sips of leftovers from the night before. I did uncork the 1996 Arzuaga (Ribera del Duero). A bottle I never really intended to store till now, just kind of never got around to opening. Hmmm. A lot of gunk under the capsule, the cork pulls out a little too easily, and the cork seems stained all the way to the top. I got this from a reputable dealer, and it's been in cool storage since. One problem (other than TCA) with corks is they're not uniform, and cork failure can happen (I've not done a study, but seems to me that Spanish wines seem to more often have problems). There's a odd bretty nose to this, and the fruit is quite tired. I decide I'll drink water for the night,start to just dump down drain, but end up returning to bottle from decanter.
Sunday I revisit the Arzuaga as friends arrive for dinner.. The horse-poop nose seems to have blown off. Better, but still shows as a tired over the hill wine, but that cork makes me question whether it's the wine in general or the bottle. Tired red fruit, a C wine (D first night), but again- my bottle, or the wine?
While we're snacking on olives and smoked salmon, the 2003 Cairnbrae "The Stones" Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough). Gooseberry and herbs, a peppery edge and good finish. I don't like quite as much as first time I tried, but still a good value, and I'll go back for more. B+
Even though the main course is chicken and shrimp in a green curry sauce, at least one guest mainly drinks red. In addition to the Arzuaga (which 2 guests like!), I open the 2000 El Coto Crianza (Rioja). Simple clean berry fruit, some vanilla, soft easy and forward. B/B-
With dinner there was some Singha, but also a bottle of the 2002 Dönnhoff Riesling QbA (Nahe). Light sweetness balanced by good acidity, floral and mineral notes, long finish. Sensation of lightness even though there's a lot of body for a Qba. B+ 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. Dale
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