Last night we headed to some friends for dinner. We took along the Basset Hound, to play with her friend the Springer Spaniel. We tried her off leash, she promptly took off at a run and went 30 yards through neighbor's yard into kitchen, where she ate the catfood. Luckily, nice people thought it was hilarious. We dragged her back to proper yard, had a vegetarian dinner (Asian stirfry, kale, asparagus, rice, and Caprese salad prepared by Jim's son. A nice group sat out on another gorgeous night and had a great evening with some nice (moderately priced) wines:
2006 Clos Roche Blanche Sauvignon #2 (Touraine)
Light grass, gooseberry and lime, a little lemon zest. Good acidity, nicely balanced. B/B+
2005 I Greppi "Greppicante" Bolgheri
Decent modern mini-SuperTuscan, fleshy, ripe, some oak, a bit anonymous. B-/B
2006 Foris Pinot Noir (Rogue Valley)
Light, fresh, cherry soda and a little strawberry. Light tannins, medium acidity, touch of oak, not bad. Betsy is always glad to try a Foris as I think winemaker is distant cousin of her dad or something. B-
2006 Louro Do Bolo (Rafeal Palacios) Godello (Valdeorras)
Stone fruits and citrus, orange zest, minerals, nutty edge, nice acidity and concentration. B+
OK, so an assortment of Bs, no great wines, but great people and great evening.
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.