Had some friends over for dinner tonight. Supposed to be 2 couples, but one person got sick, so that couple bailed, we ended up with just 4 of us. Which ended up being nice, good friends sharing a lot.
Nancy and Ron brought a couple dozen Bluepoint oysters, we had fun shucking (once I got back into the groove), with traditional sides plus a very cool sauce of dashi with pepper-infused daikon. Wine was the 2005 Pepiere (Marc Olliver) Muscadet. Definite saline/seabreeze notes, good fruit, but the salinity and mineral notes dominate. Excellent length and depth for a under-$10 wine, B+.
Betsy had made coq au Riesling as well as a broccoli rabe/pea saute, we had a couple of Rieslings with it:
2004 Francois Baur "Herrenweg" Riesling
Bigger styled Riesling, some petrol, honey notes (though totally dry), citrus fruit with floral overnotes. Good acidity, lots of body, bracing. B+/B
2006 Reichsrat von Buhl "Armand" Riesling Kabinett
Sweet, ripe, peaches, Rainier cherries, and citrus. Tasty, but could use a little more depth. B
We also had a red, as Ron is primarily a red guy. I haven't had many Brazilian wines, but enjoyed the 2004 Salton "Desejo" Merlot. Definitely "internationally" styled, but I have no expectations for Brazilian reds, so that's ok by me. A bit of toasty oak, round red berry and plum fruit, ripe but balanced. A nice wine, I'd happily drink again. B/B+
Good night, good wine, good friends.
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.