With grey sole in a caper butter sauce, sauteed tomatoes, potatoes, and a s alad with figs, the 2011 Bosco Falconeria Cataratto. Deep golden color, lem ony on both nose and palate, good freshness. Will buy again. B+/B
With teriyaki salmon, pasta with tomatoes, sauteed mizuna, 1991 Jadot “Cl os des Couchereaux“ Beaune 1er Cru. A little ashy at first, fruit came o ut with some air, red fruit with some sandalwood, but a little short and pr obably tiring. B/B- With chicken sausage, squash, & caprese, the 2011 Leitz Rudesheimer Magda lenenkreuz Riesling Spatlese. Pear and lime, sweet with a mineral core, ne eds a bit more nerviness. B
My birthday was coming up but Betsy can’t cook that night, so we invited
3 couple of old friends for dinner Sunday night. Half of them are avoiding gluten (!!!) so I was thinking about rice, and we came up with a rather Asi an accented menu. Nobody is a winegeek but me, but they gamely tried everyt hing.While Betsy was prepping for sitdown courses I greeted people on patio. I p ulled some teriyaki chicken wings off grill and shucked couple dozen oysters while we tried a bubbly and a Chablis
NV Bernard Bremont “Cuvee Prestige” Champagne Brut Full, classy, sassy. Big with bread dough, honey and citrus, plenty of acid backbone here. A-
2008 Brocard “Valmur” Chablis GC Quite tight, though with the oysters you could get some of the saline/seash ell mineral notes. Full bodied, good acids, shy. Better on day 2. On day 1 , B-, day 2, B+We move inside for spinach/tofu/miso Napoleans, with a couple more wines
2002 Huet Vouvray Petillant No premOx here, very fresh. ,Apples and lemon zest, baked bread, soft petil lance, good length. A-/B+.2002 Remi Jobard “Les Charmes” Meursault 1er cru Full, hazelnut, ripe pears, not as good a match with the slightly spicy dis h as the Huet. B+
Main course was bo ssam with all the fixings (Koreanstyle pulled pork with sauces, rice, etc in lettuce wrapes) and, Brussels sprouts with kimchee and bacon
2001 Edmunds St John “Bassetti” Syrah The day before the hound had her birthday tea party, but only 4 dogs attend ed this year, and it was too early for wine. So this night we toasted Lucy (after blacking out the “ti” in Bassetti). Drinking quite well, with a nose of smoke and bacon. Deep dark berry fruit, nice balance, in the groove . A- 1992 Jadot “Chouacheux“ Beaune 1er Clipped, pruney with some maderized notes, not sure if this is cooked (drop of seepage at top edge of cork) or just OTH. C-1996 Chevillon Nuits St George VV Lots of soil notes on top of a base of dark fruit, some tea and herbs, medi um bodied, mature and giving. B+
1994 Zillliken Saarburger Rausch Kabinett Riesling This really IS a Kabinett. Light sweetness, good acids, time has brought a pleasant smooth mouthfeel. Ginger, apples, peach blossoms. Good finish. B++One of my gifts was a puffball mushroom the size of my (big) head.
Monday grilled slices to make base of some “pizzas”, with various toppi ngs (broccoli/olive/feta, gorgonzola/tomato/onion, and tomato/basil). The r eds all showed oxidation, but the Huet, Zilliken, & Brocard showed well.
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.