Betsy made fried lemon and squid over arugula, with asparagus on side. Wine was the 2012 Knoll Loibner Gruner Veltliner Federspiel. Crisp, dry, minera lly, peppery. Good stuff. B+
With spicy pork, the 2013 Vollenweider Wolfer Goldgrube Kabinett. More Spat lese sweetness than Kabinett (at least by old standards) but there's enough acidity that it wears it well. Pears and tropical fruit, good length. B/B+
Friday we had mixed grill (steak and chicken sausage) squash and potato. Wi ne was the 2010 Baudry Chinon (Domaine bottling)/Some underlying structure (both acid and tannin) means this has a nice fruit, but I enjoyed this now. Cherry and herb, straightforward without being simple. good stuff. B+
Saturday herbed salmon , sweet potato, snow peas and a red cabbage slaw. Wi ne was the 2007 R. Haart Piesporter Goldtropchen Kabinett, which showed co mparatively simple and sweet. Pleasant enough,good length, but not the vibr ant wine I remember. I THINK this is just in a (surprising to me) shut down period, this bottle rates a B-
Sunday some friends and their dog were coming to dinner, we invited another couple who we'd not been able to join previous week. Then another invite - decided to invite them too. So dinner for 4 was suddenly a full fledged di nner party. But we kept is simple - one couple brought a spicy white bean d ip start, other two brought desserts (rhubard crumble and passover honey ca ke). My starters were salmon roe canapes and veal/chicken pate, served on p atio as I grilled.
Agrapart "7 Crus" Blanc de Blancs Champagne Crisp, snappy, I liked this a lot. B+/A-
NV Overnoy-Crinquand Cremant de Jura Rose Very popular, but not really with me. Nice berry fruit, but felt coarse an d short. B-/C+
2011 Rocca di Castagnoli Chianti Classico This was my defense bottle for a "I only drink red" guy. Softer style of Ch ianti, not a lot of grip or verve, but pleasant and inexpensive. B-2011 Cowan "Isa" Sauvignon Blanc Dark gold color, skin-contact. Light oxidative notes, deep flavors, would n ever guess SB but I like. B
After grilling - shrimp with a basil/parsley sauce, mushrooms (crimini and trumpet), and tomatoes - we moved indoors. . We also had rice with furikak e and salad
2007 Christian Moreau "Les Clos" Chablis Grand Cru Full, long, steely, dry, no sign of premOx, drinking well now. B+/A-2012 Pepiere "Briords" Muscadet Delicious. Great core of salinity and lemon fruit, long finish, all I want in a Muscadet. A-
1971 Sterling Cabernet Sauvignon Quite funky on opening, settles nicely, briary dark fruit and green herbs. B+/B1990 Jaboulet "Thalabert" Crozes-Hermitage A bit animal and earthy on nose, pleasant red and black fruit, resolved tan nins, good length. B+
Fun night.
Monday grilled trumpet mushrooms with a mirin/soy glaze, bok choy with oyst er sauce, and assorted leftovers, wine was the 2014 Edmunds St John "Bone J olly" Rose. Full styled rose, broad strawberry flavors, good acids. nice le ngth. I liked this, but didn't get quite the excitement that I usually get from first ESJ rose of the season (it might have been served a little too w arm). B
Last night feta-brined chicken, with roasted cauliflower and rice. Wine was the 2014 Edmund St John Heart of Gold. I think this might be my favorite H oG to date. Light, crisp, assertive, plenty of flavor. Peach and pear, lots of mineral notes. If you'd told me a few years ago I'd like a Vermentino/G renache blend this much I'd have scoffed. A-/B+
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.