Wednesday we headed up to Maine. A few days in south central Maine (lake co untry), in a lovely house next to a lake (surprise!). The first night oue h osts greeted us with a lovely dinner of salmon, farro with tomatoes, salad, & broccoli rabe, we also enjoyed the 2013 Colle Stefano Verdicchio di Mate lica. Bright, crisp, lemony with a little nutty edge and good length. B+/B
Oops! So I packed up a box of wine to share. I was in a real hurry, looked and had 10 bottles (and space for 2 stems for later in week when we are in a different space in Portland). When I got to ME realized I had not emptied box first, so had 3 bottles of one wine, the 1992 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese. Betsy was cooking Thursday night- char s ui pork (she had marinaded butt in NY), rice, chard, and salad (we also did a compartative tasting of 24.30, and 36 month old Parmiango that Lily and Steve had brought back from Italy, with plums), The Auslese paired well with the pork- moderate sweetness, balanced acids, light petrol notes, pit fruits and lemo n zest, not especially long or complex but in a really nice place and a g ood dinner wine. B+
Friday we spent most of day hiking, returning to help with grill night- sa usages, mahi mahi, squash, eggplant, king trumpet , eggplant, Morrocan stry le flatbread, tomatoes. The guacamole wasn't grilled (though tomatillos wer e broiled). Not dream match, but opened the 1970 Ch. de Pez. Uh oh, the co rk is sunken and crumbly (I didn't bring a Durand), I end up punching throu gh and using a coffee filter. Actually color is good, and wine tastes quite alive. Cassis, smoke, and tobacco, a bit soft on the acid front, but pleas ant. Final sip is showing ashtray and caramel, crascking up, but good showi ng before that. B
Saturday we started with Lily's homemade gravlax and zucchini basil soup o n the deck, with the NV Andre Bremont "Prestige" Grand Cru Brut Champagne. This probably has about 4-5 years in cellar under its belt, and it shows we ll from it. Complex, fresh, fine mousse, tarte tatin in the oven aromas, sm oke, full yet lively A-
We moved inside with the 2007 Huet "Clos du Bourg" Vouvray Sec with Steve's fresh fettucine with tomatoes and balsamic, mushrooms with shrimp, and finally a blueberry custard cake. The wine seemed to be in a dumb period, with muted flavors, and I worried re premOx as there was a hint of oxidation, That fad ed and last sip was best, but I'll leave my other bottle alone, Others like d, but for drinking now C+/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.