No wine Monday (with sockeye and clean out fridge leftovers), Tuesday we dr ove to Portland ME where quartet starts the Seal Bay Festival. No wine with dinner (lobster rolls from truck at Ft William on Cape Elizabeth, highly r ecommended) so Wednesday I was ready. I had given Betsy a list of places to choose from for Wed and Th dinner, she chose (probably to please me) Drift rer’s Wife for Wed - wine bar attached to the Maine & Loire wine sh op. Shop/wine list is asll about real/organic/bioD wine, about half the sel ections seemed to be Louis-Dressner. I tried to select new things to me.
We started with delicious (dense and spongy in a good way) sourdough, then local iceberg lettuce topped with oil poached hake with a cider vinegar/ai oli dressing, as well as broccoli with sesame seeds, chevre, & basil aioli . Big portions, and delicious.
2016 Le Sot de L’/Ange “La Boutanche” Azay -le-Ride au Grolleau rose. Red fruited ,orange zest, bright acids, Betsy didn’t love at first but it grew on her. B+/B2016 Dupraz “terres Blanches” Apremont Citrus, floral, light, Hint of spritz. B For mains we had bluefin (seared with a tasty salty crust, nicely rare) ser ved with potato saladm and chicken breast with a nice crust, with sharp mu stard, sugar snap peas, and salad.
2014 Koehler Ruprecht Kabinett Trocken Pinot Noir Light, herby, tangy. B+/B2016 Pignard Beaujolais Villages Went well with both chicken and tuna. Raspberry and cherry, hint of cocoa, long fresh finish. B+
Very good dinner, too much food -big portions (we went for a LONG walk afte r), next time 2 appetizers and share a main, or vice versa. We were quite i mpressed by each dish, though if one issue it’s pushing the limits on salt use to me.
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.