I was supposed to fly to Medford OR to attend Betsy’s quartet conce rt in Ashland Sat. Got up at 3 AM, got to Newark, everything was looking go od as I boarded for first leg to Detroit But deplaned after an hour, ground hold in Detroit. It became apparent I wasn’t going to make OR befo re they needed to leave, so eventually made it to Sacramento (after 8 hours in Minneapolis airport) and Ubered to meet 4tet in Williams. Too tired for wine. Up next AM to drive to Mendocino (staying in lovely guest house in r edwoods), excellent concert that day in Mendocino, then to Noyo Harbor Inn in Ft Bragg for dinner. Nice room with view of harbor and seals, I had shr imp/octopus/chorizo skewer on saffron rice, with duck/mushroom rigatoni, tr ied Betsy’s Brussels sprouts and steak as well.
2015 Fathers & Daughters Sauvignon Blanc Ferrington Vineyard Slightly musky canteloupe notes, round, florl, not quite zippy enough for m e, but pleasant and popular. B/B-2014 Lula Pinot Noir Unsure of any vineyard designation, just had a tiny taste Ripe, cola and ki rsch, not really my style , others liked. B-/C+
2001 d’Angerville “Champans” Volnay 1er I had brought this as our anniversary is this week. A little miscommunicati on with (nice) waitstaff, I had asked it to be chilled for a few minutes, t hen opened and out at room temp. When I asked for it to be brought out with our mains, the cold bottle (they had taken out of ice, and put into fridge ) was then uncorked. Pretty tight and tart at first. Opened towards end, bl ack cherry with a little coffee and earth. Pretty tasty by end (from a hail year). B/B+Monday we went to Mendocino cafe, dinner was shrimp/cabbage dumpling, saute ed calamari, petrale sole, rockfish. 3 WBTG (vintages unknown)
Navarro Rose- soft, strawberries, a little flat, I wondered if this had bee n opened a while (or was older vintage) Scharffenberger Brut -crisp, tart , a little thin, but good with food Hendry Albarino - interesting, though I’d not have picked as Albari no blind, not the saline minerality I get in Galician Albarino. Peach, gree n apple, clean.
On way from Mendocino to Sacramento we stopped at Navarro. Nice tasting, kn owledgable guy. Discussed smoke taint, filtering, etc. I bought the 2014 l ’ancienne PN (unfiltered version), which I thought nicely balanced. Also enjoyed the 2017 Edelzwicker (Gewurz PG Riesling) which was soft but with a nice spicy note, off dry. The 2017 SB was good in a round sort of wa y, but the Pinot Gris left me cold. The Navarrouge (Zin/PN I think) was ok fro $18 tag,
No wine Tuesday at a sushi place in Sac.
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.