WTN: Easter w'end (Bdx, Burg, Campania, NZ, Champ, etc)

Another couple joined us for dinner Friday.
Smoked mussels, smoked scallops, charcuterie, chips
Nothing new to say about the NV Grongnet Blanc des Blancs Champagne, snappy green apple and citrus, good value at $30ish. B/B+

Portugese style pork and clams, spinach, sourdough

2020 Raul Perez Ultreia St Jacques(Bierzo).
Red and black fruit, peppery spice, touch of coffee. Good acids and supple tannins. B/B+

2016 Jadot (Gagey) Beaune Blanc
New bottling to me. Fair amount of new oak, modest acids, I wouldn’t have called this out if a ringer in a CalChard lineup, but there is solid pear fruit. B-

Saturday we joined a dinner party at a friend’s new home (well, 3 years she has spent doing a gut renov, she’s trained as an architect and it’s amazing space).
Crudites, then ham, asparagus, mashed potatoes, salad, cheese, Opera cake
2024 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc
Grapefruit, tropical fruits, gooseberry. Decent acids, good finish. Better than last Cloudy Bay I had. B

2007 Nikolaihof Vom Stein Riesling Smaragd
Ponderous, dry, clipped finish. Tired and a bit hot C+/C

1995 Ch. Soutard (St. Emilion)
I had double -decanted this,thought I caught a hint of cardboard, so grabbed a Fleurie as backup (and a better ham match anyway). By time I checked at dinner it reeked of TCA.

2011 Vissoux/Chermette “Les Garants” Fleurie
Lovely, red and black cherries, earth, smoke. Firm and balanced, very long. A-/B+

We had planned on ham for Easter, but we we discovered Sat AM that dinner that night was ham, we pivoted to lamb forSunday. A nice full table of friends

Smoked mussels, smoked scallops, charcuterie, deviled eggs (anchovy or oil-cured olives)
NV Ponson 1er Cru Champagne
Pear, peach with a little citrus zest, a little hazelnut. Bright and elegant. B+

Lamb (marinated in yogurt/mint/cardamom/orange zest), asparagus with sauce Gribiche, scalloped potatoes, salad. Then cheese, lemon sponge, and berries
1995. Ch. Soutard
Since other bottle was corked , thought I might as well try this one next day. Black plum, espresso, some rather hard tannin. Life left, but not the most giving wine. B-

2003 Feudi di San Gregorio Serpico (Irpinia)
Dense black fruit, still some tannins, lively acids. Dark soil tones, anise, good finish. 13% abv which is surprisingly moderate for Aglianico in a hot year. B/B+

After the big lunch Betsy and I had a light late dinner , with oysters, scallops, pasta with radish leaves
2008 Fevre Montee de Tonnerre Chablis 1er
Lemon and Granny Smith, oystershell and seaspray, snappy/racy acids at 17. Nice showing. A-

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.

[David M. Bueker]

Excellent showing by that Fevre. That was still natural cork, right?

Bad showing for the Vom Stein. I’ve only had the 2014, which I really liked. Bad bottle or over the hill? Or just not your preferred style?

The Fevre was Diam 5.
Patrick, I liked the wine a lot in its youth, though always a strapping style. Another bottle was a bit better last fall but not at all compelling. I think in riper vintages I like more young. Higher hopes for Steiner Hund.

Bummer about that first bottle of '95 Soutard, Dale, but glad the other one was sound, if not inspiring. And Vissoux makes for a sound backup, no matter what the occasion. Re the '24 CB: from the reports I've seen, '24 in Marlborough (and perhaps more broadly in NZ) produced a small but excellent crop (dry Fall with cool nights), so that may explain part of your reaction. I've found Cloudy Bay in the past 2 decades to produce a decent but unremarkable example of Marlborough SB, certainly not worth the price it commands.