Yesterday we invited some folks over for a backyard bash. Idea was to make this more wine-centric than our bigger parties, so invited friends from var ious wine groups, then supplemented with some neighbors when there were a f ew cancellation. Weather was warm and cloudy, we were outside for a couple hours till showers drove us in. I tried to spend less time in front of gril l than usual by preparing cold proteins in advance. I ended up only grillin g some corn for poat dot (Cambodian glazed corn)- most disappointing dish, local corn just sucked. We had lobster salad, pheasant salad, cold lamb, po tato salad, mango salsa, gazpacho; other brough melon, cole slaw, cheeses, etc. Jay brought a strawberry layer cake that got raves.
Lots of wine: White Mags
1997 Trimbach “Cuvee Frederic Emile” Riesling mature but not tired, striking balance, best bottle of this I’ve had. A-
1996 Thevene\t/Bongran “Tradition” Macon-Clesse Divided opinions, a few loved, I thought pushing overripe. Very honied, int eresting and not tired but not my fave. B-
750 white
2006 Vatan “Clos de Neore” Sancerre Some reports of tiring bottles, but this is quite young. Racy, full, minty, I really enjoy. A-/B+
2002 Cazin “Renaissance “ Cour-Cheverny In a nice place, demi-sec, floral, exotic, lovely. B+/A-
2002 Chidaine “Les Tuffeaux” Montlouis Divided opinions. Some loved, some thought near death, I thought interestin g with some light notes of oxidation. B/B-
2011 Egon Muller “Scharzhofberger” Kabinett beautiful, lithe, wins title for “ first bottle emptied.” A-
2008 Maximin Grunhauser (Von Schubert) Abstberg Spatlese - Too young, a bit closedt, lots of potential. B+
2007 Bonnard “Gaudrettes” Chardonnay (Cotes du Jura) Good, solid white pit fruits, earthy. B+
2002 Remi Jobard Meursault-Charmes 1er Another good showing of this. A bit of sulphur at first, but it blows off t o leave a pretty classic full-bodied Meursault. B+
1997 Drouhin "Clos des Mouches" Beaune 1er- Missing neck label, we didn’t know vintage till cork pulled. First pour s hows fresh and light colored, then within 15 seconds it begins to darken an d shows oxidation, I didn’t find this undrinkable at all, just tired, wit h a nice wine underneath. But not sure I would call it PremOx as 1997 was a vintage to drink young IMHO. C+/B-
2003 Gravner “Breg” Anfora In the interest of geekiness I wanted to love this. But more intellectually stimulating than tasty. C+
750 reds
2007 Foillard “3.14” Morgon Lovely, ripe, fresh fruit, great acids. A-/B+
1943 Ch. de Pez (reconditioned 1976) Old school claret nose, forest floor and a hint of barnyard, a bit sharp an d thin on palate compared to the ‘29 Poujeaux. Bonus points for a wine ma de in middle of WWII (bottle is bluish- glass shortages). B
1929 Ch. Poujeaux Excellent showing, better than previous bottle, midweight, plenty of fruit, complex nose. A-
1997 Breton “les Perrieres” Bourgueil Lovely, nice balance of ripeness and acids, just a hint of herbs. A-/B+
Fun afternoon/evening with a nice group.
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 objectivi ty, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.