Christmas Eve went to sister-in-law's for a Feast of the Seven Fishes. A gr eat spread, a mix of the traditional and the not so traditiona. Appetizers were potato chips with salmon roe,Thai squid with chilies and cilantro, fri ed shrimp wontons, a salt cod spread (an Istrian dish similar to brandade), and fried calamari with chipotle aioli. Sit down courses were crab salad o n Boston lettuce, capellini with anchovy sauce, and a Catalan fish stew. Ge lati followed.
I was driving for the Christmas party on the streets after the late service , so had to only sip (and occasionally spit):
NV Tullia Prosecco Never seen this before, but pretty solid- good crispness, hint of sugar, ci trus and flowers, not especially long but who needs long apertifs? B/B-
2012 Max Ferd. Richter Mülheimer Sonnenlay Riesling Kabinett Feinherb Crisp, light, fun, minerally, easy. B/B+2012 Ca Rugate "Monte Fiorentine" Soave Classico. Medium bodied, white peaches and nuts, a little floral note. B
1997 Valentini Trebbiano d'Abruzzo I was using host's rabbit style opener, as soon as worm started in it pushe d cork in bottle. Obviously not a tight fit, this was oxidized, sad. NR1989 Goggiano Barolo I didn't have high expectations, but was still disappointed. I violated my "producer, producer, producer" mantra on idea anything 1989 Piedmont would impress, but was wrong. Maderized, muddy. C-
1970 Ratti "Marcenasco" Barolo With the Valentini and Goggiano out of running, I ran home (2 minute drive) . This was upright, was an unneeded backup for SOBER last week, so quickly double-decanted. Not best way, it needed more air, but did ok- pretty typic al 1970 for my experience. Mature, cherry and tea, some tar, gets better wi th air but don't think this needs any more time. B+2007 La Lecciaia Brunello Ripe black cherries, moderate acids, a little oak, others liked a lot, I li ked ok. B/B-
Got back from city at 3:15, so I slept late Christmas, went into work for a bit, then came home to help Betsy prepare for our Christmas meal. By time guests started arriving I had ready some smoked salmon canapes, boquerones with an olive relish, and some vegetarian hors d'oeuvres.
The greeting bubblies were:
NV Bernard Bremont "Cuvee Prestige" Grand Cru Champagne Medium to full, bright, apples overlaid with herb, smoke, and sourdough, lo vely. A-
2004 Bonnaire Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Champagne Seemingly a tad heavy on dosage, nuts, green apples, not loving this. Prefe r the NV Bremont. B-Main course was a lovely goose, with potatoes (cooked in the fat, of course ), mushroom risotto, spinach with feta, beets with kale, & broccoli. A vari ety of wines to suit different tastes:
2002 Remi Jobard "Charmes" Meursault 1er Cru Served because at a previous dinner one guest had called her favorite wine of all time. She loved it again, and so did I. Full, rich, balanced acids, long, pretty classic Meursault profile. A-2007 Damien Laureau "Le Bel Ouvrage" Savennieres Funky and exotic style of Savennieres, lots of sweet fruit though I think t his is basically dry, not typical but good. B+
1997 Jadot Clos des Couchereaux Beaune 1er (mag) In general not a fan of 1997s, but Jadot seems to have done uniformly well. From magnum this still has plenty of black cherry and raspberry fruit, wit h some spice and cocoa. A bit lower acid than my Beaune ideal, but good for 1997. Nice if not profound wine. B+/B1986 Ch. Meyney A little funky, cassis and saddle leather, just a hint of cow patty. Picks up weight, sturdy, going strong. B+
1979 Ch. du Tertre A bit shrill at first, calms down, cassis and cigarbox, medium framed. Not best bottle I've had of this but nice. B+/BReally fun dinner with a nice group, Some singing of Christmas carols, some card-playing, mostly just good conversation.
Friday dinner was just Betsy, her mom, and myself, with boiled lobster, sau teed greens, and barley. I went non-traditional with the 2010 Pepiere "Clos des Briords" Muscadet. Non-traditional was fine. Fresh, balanced, stony wi th some white pit fruits, long saline finish. Happy place. B+/A-
After dinner I used pressure cooker to make goose broth, and sampled leftov er wines from Christmas Day. The Savennieres showed much the same. The du T ertre and Beaune were cracking up, but the Meyney showed well- just a hint of oxidation, but a mature yet brawny wine still.
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.