On an incredibly pleasant evening before the Fourth, we had a picnic at a riverside concert. We had the 2002 Vega Sindoa Rosado (Navarra) and the
2001 Petaluma Riesling. The rosé had a soft nose of strawberries and cherry, with light strawberry fruit and moderate acidity on the palate. At $6 it provides decent value, but is not worth really looking for. B/B- The Petaluma Riesling was much better. Nice acidic backbone, tropical and citrus fruit, good finish. B+
We realized the next night would be our last night in our apartment, scene of some great meals. Alas, Betsy was too bushed from packing to cook, and it fell to me (a guarantee of non-greatness). My theory is when in doubt, grill. I feel victim to indecisiveness at store, and ended up with some small steaks and some really big shrimp. Surf'n'turf dishes demand two wines, so we started with the
2002 Leitz "Dragonstone" (Rudesheimer Drachenstein) Riesling Qba (Rheingau). I still find this wine one of the great bargains out there. White stone fruit and a little red berry, sweetness perfectly balanced by the acidity, nice mineral finish. B++ With the steaks (grilled and topped with a Cashel blue butter), a half-bottle of 2000 Franc Lartique (St. Emilion). I had bought this cheap St. Emilion on theory that a "rising tide raises all boats." Unfortunately, I never thought about leaky boats. Anonymous wine with some red fruit and some slightly greenish tannins. There's a little mineral to the short finish, I guess it's possible with a couple years cellar time this might smooth out, but I doubt it. C+ We spent most of July 4th hard at work packing, patching,and painting. Then Betsy had a wedding gig (who gets married on July 4th?), I preceded her to a party at some friends. Hot day, a little breeze from the Hudson helped a little, as did the 2002 JP Brun Terres Dorres Beaujolais Blanc. I heard complaints this was not up to previous vintages, but I think I actually like this a little better than the 2001. Great clean pear and apple fruit, nice acidity, some chalky mineral notes. Great $10 bottle of Chardonnay. B+. There was burgers and lamb, I tried a couple of the reds. The 2000 Ch. de Jau Cotes de Rousillon-Villages was a pleasant enough wine, with red berry fruit and a little smoke, B/B-. The 2000 Cline Syrah (California) was a good value (I think it's $8), with blackberry fruit and a little chocolatey oak. Some tannins, and showed a little softer than I remembered, but it might just have been too warm. B. While watching fireworks over the river, I switched back to a white, the 2002 Matua Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. I think this bottle might have been damaged, the gooseberry fruit had a sweeter almost cooked taste to it, and virtually no finish. Grade withheld out of concern for storage.
Saturday we spent moving (you know who your friends are when it's 98 degrees with 95% relative humidity, and they help you move). Our now-former neighbors grilled for us that night. I had found a forgotten bottle of NV Cristalino cava while packing (a leftover from a Christmas party, where it makes a decent Bellini/Mimosa base). It was easier to throw in fridge that pack, so I retrieved before dinner. For a $7 sparkler it's really not bad, dry and yeasty with some apple fruit. I don't know if I'd go as far as a NY Time stasting panel which recently picked as their favorite inexpensive sparkler, but I'd give it a B (with bonus points for value). Unexpectedly good match with some crab dumplings our Japanese neighbor brought. With the burgers and portobellos (and pork dumplings), the 1999 Jaboulet Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone. As always, dependable if a bit unexciting. Nice balanced acidity, light tannins, some spice on a nice body of dark fruit. B
Sunday after some more light moving and heavy unpacking, friends invited us to their place for dinner. I arrived, was handed a glass of white. Knowing their buying habits, I thought "Uh-oh, Kendall-Jackson 'Reserve' Chard." Wait a sec, this is better than usual. There's some oak, and a hint of that KJ residual sugar, but there's also some noticable acidity. Not great, but not bad. Then I go into kitchen and discover they've switched brands, it's the cheaper 2001 RH Philips Chardonnay. I'm glad they're saving money, I like it better. B. These friends had just returned from a month in Africa (combination photo safari and reunion of East African teacher volunteers), they regaled us with stories of monkeys stealing food while I frantically tried to keep their dog away from my steak. With the red meat they served the 2000 Frei Brothers Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley). Lots of black cherry fruit, lots of oak/vanilla, not my favorite style of PN, but not a bad steak match for outdoor drinking. But don't think I'd buy. B-
Knowing we probably hadn't totally unpacked kitchen, other friends stepped up to the plate Monday and invited us for dinner. The apertif wine was the
2002 Giesen Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough). Nice limey-citrus fruit with some gooseberry and herb, nice wine. B/B+ I had been told I could bring a white, and had the 1998 Mastroberardino Greco di Tufo. After opening (I managed to break their cheap corkscrew doing so, why don't I keep a waiter's corkscrew with me?), we served with a nice ceviche. Mouth-filling white wine, with herbs, tropical fruit, and toasted almond flavors. A little bottle age has given this a nice feeling of balance, with the acidity and creamy texture playing off each other. B+/A- I love red meat, but was a little daunted to see they were grilling steaks for main course. This week was a cardiologist's nightmare. But I'm too polite not to eat. :) They served the 2001 Joel Gott Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark plum fruit, soft, ok but no more. B-/C+
The next evening featured some exciting piano moving, then our first meal cooked in new home. After 5 straight nights of grilled red meat, Betsy made a simple pasta with black olives, mushrooms, and fresh mint. The 2002 Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio delle Venezie had a nice floral nose, with light apple and citrus fruit. Clean tasting and appealing. B/B+
Last night was supposed to be another riverfront concert, but a thunderstorm moved it to an inside venue. I have no desire to sit in a town social hall to see jazz, so we stayed in. With lemon roast chicken, salad, and baked potatoes, we had my picnic rosé, the Commandorie de la Bargemone (Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence). Very light salmon color, medium red fruit. Good balance of acidity, though a little more "umph" would have been welcome. Too many other good rosés out there to revisit this one, but worth a B/B-
My usual disclaimer: I'm a pretty easy grader, basically A is a very good wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Dale
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