2002 Lavradores de Feitoria "Tres Bagos" Douro
I ordered this at a Portugese/Brazilan restaurant with no other information than the fact it was a Dirk Niepoort project. Nice ripe wine,medium body, a little oak, crowdpleaser. It was at $35 on list, same price as the QdCrasto Tinto, so assume it retails for $13-15, decent value at that price. Too bad rest of evening wasn't a good value (post on FLDG) B
Friday I grilled some wild salmon with a rosemary/butter baste (a Chef Carey idea, and per his suggestion I burned some of the rosemary stems under it) , served with grilled Japanese eggplant and salad. Warm enough out I decided to go white rather than PN, so the 2005 Francois & Denis Clair "Les Murgers de Dents de Chiens" Saint-Aubin 1er Cru. Long name, good wine. Lots of body for a $20 Burgundy, rich appley Chardonnay fruit with some hazelnut. Carrying some baby fat but nice acidity for the vintage. Develops aromas of pears and spice. I like. This could age, but my current plan on white Burgundies is to drink young till we know for sure pre-ox issues are solved. Will consume over next couple years. A-/B+
At an anniversary party for friends:
2006 Castello di Ama Rosato
Bigger style of rose, ripe strawberry and cherry fruit with some acidity. Good finish, but I'd prefer a little more acidic verve. I loved one older vintage of this rosato, but most have been (slight) disappointments. B-
2006 Luzon (Jumilla)
Party pleasing style, big ripe red plum and berry fruit with a hint of oak. Gets a little coffee note. Could use a bit more backbone, either acidic or tannic. But good value. B-/B
2006 Lamothe de Haux (Bordeaux Blanc).
Grass and melon, a little OJ edge. A bit flat. I think I preferred 2005. B-
2006 Taljanic Zlahtina (Croatia)
I assume the Croatian guy at party brought this. First sip I thought light but with good crispness (but an odd aftertaste). Started paying attention. Oops. Lightweight, but carrying a rather heavy dose of odors, some quite offputting. There's grass, manure, almonds, and a hint of rotting apples. Not for me, thanks. C
This party was nice, but a sign of the dangers of potluck. Betsy made a nice Thai chicken salad (larb gai), that we served in papadum. But hosts made bruschetta (and I think a cake), and the other guests brought either chips, green salad (1), pasta salad (2), or wine. By time we got plates only dregs of the salads remained. One lesson for pot lucks is one should be sure at least somebody is bringing a main course! We stopped for pizza (sausage, onion, and mushroom) on way home, and had with a simple $7 wine:
2004 Quinta de Cabriz (Dao)-fruit-driven, a bit grapey, black cherry emerges with air. Maybe a whisper of oak, light tannins, nothing memorable but nice little balanced wine for the price. Nice for a glass with pizza, then used the rest as a starter for a new batch of vinegar. B
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 party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.