I was supposed to fly to Medford OR to attend Betsy’s quartet concert in Ashland Sat. Got up at 3 AM, got to Newark, everything was looking good as I boarded for first leg to Detroit But deplaned after an hour, ground hold in Detroit. It became apparent I wasn’t going to make OR before they needed to leave, so eventually made it to Sacramento (after 8 hours in Minneapolis airport) and Ubered to meet 4tet in Williams. Too tired for wine. Up next AM to drive to Mendocino (staying in lovely guest house in redwoods), excellent concert that day in Mendocino, then to Noyo Harbor Inn in Ft Bragg for dinner. Nice room with view of harbor and seals, I had shrimp/octopus/chorizo skewer on saffron rice, with duck/mushroom rigatoni, tried Betsy’s Brussels sprouts and steak as well.
2015 Fathers & Daughters Sauvignon Blanc Ferrington Vineyard
Slightly musky canteloupe notes, round, florl, not quite zippy enough for me, but pleasant and popular. B/B-
2014 Lula Pinot Noir
Unsure of any vineyard designation, just had a tiny taste Ripe, cola and kirsch, not really my style , others liked. B-/C+
2001 d’Angerville “Champans” Volnay 1er
I had brought this as our anniversary is this week. A little miscommunication with (nice) waitstaff, I had asked it to be chilled for a few minutes, then opened and out at room temp. When I asked for it to be brought out with our mains, the cold bottle (they had taken out of ice, and put into fridge) was then uncorked. Pretty tight and tart at first. Opened towards end, black cherry with a little coffee and earth. Pretty tasty by end (from a hail year). B/B+
Monday we went to Mendocino cafe, dinner was shrimp/cabbage dumpling, sauteed calamari, petrale sole, rockfish. 3 WBTG (vintages unknown)
Navarro Rose- soft, strawberries, a little flat, I wondered if this had been opened a while (or was older vintage)
Scharffenberger Brut -crisp, tart , a little thin, but good with food
Hendry Albarino - interesting, though I’d not have picked as Albarino blind, not the saline minerality I get in Galician Albarino. Peach, green apple, clean.
On way from Mendocino to Sacramento we stopped at Navarro. Nice tasting, knowledgable guy. Discussed smoke taint, filtering, etc. I bought the 2014 l’ancienne PN (unfiltered version), which I thought nicely balanced. Also enjoyed the 2017 Edelzwicker (Gewurz PG Riesling) which was soft but with a nice spicy note, off dry. The 2017 SB was good in a round sort of way, but the Pinot Gris left me cold. The Navarrouge (Zin/PN I think) was ok fro $18 tag,
No wine Tuesday at a sushi place in Sac.
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.