Our plan for Easter was to visit Betsy's sister's open house, then return home to work on dinner for friends. However, Betsy was feeling wiped when she got in Saturday night, and by Sunday AM she had a terrible cold. We debated canceling dinner party, but decided she would rest, and I'd be in charge of cooking.
I did drop by sister-in-law's to drop our contributions. While there, I sampled some wines. One red was pretty awful, but I can' t remember name, other wines were better:
2000 Bel Air (Haut Medoc)
Softer Bordeaux, ripe blackcurrant fruit and a little lead pencil. Fairly giving (not sure how long before this had been opened), light tannins, pleasant if not especially long Bordeaux.B
2005 Renaud Macon-Villages
Plenty of fruit, ripe and round. Seemed to have a very light oxidative note. Went back to bottle to see if I had noted vintage wrong, the ripeness made me think 2003, and it seemed overmature for an '05. But it indeed it was an '05. Pleasant enough Chardonnay, but drink up. B-
2005 Carl Loewen "Leiwener Klostergarten" Riesling Kabinett
Crisp apple fruit with a definite overlay of lime, nicely off-dry, sweetness totally balanced by acidity. Good length for a $13 wine, a little hint of slate and petrol. I like this a lot for price. B+/A-
Before I left the party, Betsy called to say Alexandre was sick and their family wouldn't be joining us for dinner. Handily, there were other friends at party that were happy to be invited.
As folks arrived, they were greeted by the Basset, some hummus that Betsy had rallied to prepare, and the 1998 Charles Ellner "Cuvee Prestige" Champagne. Rather full-bodied Champagne, hint of yeast over big apple fruit, some earthy notes. B+
As Betsy and I have divergent views on what meat most represents Easter, we had both ham (orange marmalade/mustard glaze) and lamb (garlic, rosemary, and thyme). We also had roasted root veggies and a broccoli salad. A rose for the ham, 2 Bordeaux for the lamb:
2005 Domaine de Longval Tavel
Strawberries and cherries, bright, a touch of herbs. Not a lot of complexity, but a pleasant wine that handles the sweetness of the glaze well. B
1986 Ch. Meyney (St Estephe)
Still a bit tannic when first decanted. As fruit blossoms tannin seems less evident, but this is no delicate claret. Good cassis and black plum fruit, some cedar shavings and tobacco. 22 and going strong. I'd call this mature, but in no danger of fading. Develops a nice little herbal edge with time, I enjoy the dregs while doing dishes. A-/B+
2003 Lilian Ladouys (St Estephe)
Red plums and raspberries, noticable but ripe tannins, a bit of damp earth. Better with rarer parts of lamb than without food. Good for under $20 Bordeaux. B
Since I had thought Alex was coming (only person in Dobbs Ferry who loves cheese more than I), had a rather big cheese spread- Roaring 40s, Camembert, St Nectaire, Torta del Cesar, and a Swiss cheese the guy at Fairway offered as they were out of Hoch Ybrig). We kept with reds, plus a 375 of the 1999 La Rame (Ste Croix du Mont). Pineapple and apricot fruit with a little candied orange peel, sweet with some botrytis notes. Others are very enthused about this, I find ok for level, but rather simple despite the noble rot notes. 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.