With herb crusted rack of lamb, roasted potatoes, and kale salad, the 2003 Joguet “Clos de la Dioterie” Chinon. Hard to believe this is a 2003 European wine, no roasted notes at all. Cassis and floral notes, balanced acidity, barely noticeable tannin. Fresh, but with some mushroomy mature notes. Drinking very nicely. B+/A-
2013 Brunet “Arpent” Vouvray Sec
Bosc pear, a honied note (though fairly dry), just a hint of Chenin wooliness. Tasty if unremarkable, B-/B
2010 Yann Alexander Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Betsy loved this. Crisp, lemon and oranges, good length. Not super complex, but pretty fun. B+/B
With pasta with sea scallops and broccoli, the 2015 Bettigna Vermentino (Colli di Luni). Very floral, all honeysuckle and apple blossom, sweet peach fruit, good but needs a little more zip to counter than fruit, B/B-
Sunday had a few friends over, started with some charcuterie (lamb pate, bresaola), some white anchovy canapes, and some endive leaves with shrimp.
NV Andre Beaufort Grand Cru Rose Champagne
I’m generally a Beaufort fan, and the others all loved this, but for me the dosage was too high, giving a Koolaid note to the cherry fruit. B-/C+
2007 Foreau (Clos Naudin)Vouvray Brut Reserve
Now this was lovely and a pointe. Green apple and Anjou pear, lemon zest, and a nice stony finish. B+/A-
Betsy had made a lovely carrot soup, heavy on the fresh ginger
2015 Caspari-Kappel “Ellegrub - Von Alte Reben" Riesling Spatlese Trocken
Stony, big, substantial (enough that I wouldn’t have thought Mosel), drinks like a good Smaragd. B+
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Main was duck legs with mustard and panko, sweet potato mash, and mixed mushroom (mostly maitake and pioppini, with a few lobster and shiitake)
1997 Jadot Clos St Jacques Gevrey-Chambertin 1er
I’m not a fan of 1997 Burgundy in general, but Jacques Lardiere worked some magic, I’ve had consistently good to great showings from Jadot. And this is one of the better ones! Lovely black cherry fruit accented with smoke and mocha, balanced acids, a firm tannic structure still but without any abrasiveness. Develops through the night, with earth, chocolate, and mushroom notes. A-
2014 Wind Gap Pinot Noir (Sonoma)
Lighter styled, cedar, spice, bright cranberry fruit. B+/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 party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.