Thursday I shocked Betsy by cooking main course in microwave. A whole tilap ia done in style of classic Cantonese steamed fish, accompanied by rice wit h oyster mushrooms, bok choy, and snow peas. Wine was the 2011 Weinbach "Cu vee Ste. Catherine" Riesling. There's just a little RS, white peach fruits, honeysuckle, quite full bodied. Good match with the food, even if my perso nal Alsace ideal is more Trimbachian. B
Friday Betsy and I hopped a train to the city and took a drizzly walk up to Peking Duck House. Jane was visiting from NC, and Jay and Diane joined us for dinner. A nice group, and I have to say I was very pleased with PDH. A nice table by window with plenty of room, the shrimp and pork dumplings wer e fine, while the duck, fried seaweed with dried scallops, and green beans were truly excellent. It's always a treat to watch the guy carve the duck. Corkage was per person not per bottle, making it even more reasonable. Fun group, and a nice assortment of wines
2011 Rhys "Bearwallow Vineyard" Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley) Very fun to try this, thanks Jay. Coffee and a hint of cola over ripe red f ruit, drinking quite nicely thank you, nice length. There's nice structure, ripe supple tannin, fun wine. B+2009 Donnhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Kabinett Surprisingly vibrant acids for 2009, but this seemed closed compared to a c ouple of years ago, though it works well with the seaweed and dried scallop . I think I'll let mine rest a bit more. ?
2005 Donnhoff Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg Spatlese This was the one I expected might be closed, but it's open and drinking wel l. Big, full, balanced, quite long. B+/A-2010 Drouhin Clos des Mouches Beaune 1er (rouge) My WOTN, thanks Jay. Classy and classic, perfect interplay between bright b lack cherry fruit, ripe tannins, and uplifting acids. I am happy that I hav e a few of these. A-
1999 Guy Castagnier Clos de la Roche I had quickly double-decanted this before getting on train, but missed the TCA at that point. Sad.2010 JM Vincent "Beaurepaire" Santenay 1er Earthy and a bit too funky at first, I liked better on revisit. Snappy acid s, lots of herbal notes, smoke. B/B+
2007 Alysian "Floodgate" Pinot Noir Dark, dense, blackberry and cola, I think this is very well made but not a style of PN that I'm really used to. Probably better with a steak,. B-1983 Ch. L'Evangile Good showing, full and elegant, black plum with cigarbox and leather notes. A-/B+
1990 Ch. La Louviere I was delighted to see this old favorite. Very muted at first (Jay said it shut down after the double-decant), but once it gets it's sealegs back it g oes very well indeed. Cassis fruit with plenty of Graves tobacco, lovely mi dweight mature claret. B++ 1994 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese Open and easy to drink, moderate acids, but seems heavy and a bit dull. I l ove 2001 and younger S-O, but my limited experience is they hadn't hit thei r stride in the 90s. B-Fun night, especially nice to have my wife with me on train back.
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 pa rty where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivit y, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.