Betsy's NYC Opera season finished, she has chamber travel coming up, we decided to get a couple dinner parties in this week. So 4 dear friends joined us last night, for a carnivoric carnival.
Betsy made a country pate from recipe in NYT, an ungainly but delicious way to greet the guests. We had a bottle of the NV Lucas Carton "Cuvee Lancel" Brut Champagne (I believe this is a Vranken bottle with a custom label), a medium-bodied bubbly with apple fruit and a bit of bready yeast. A bit short. B/B-
First sitdown course was a fennel, radicchio, and proscuitto salad with anchovy/date vinaigrette, I had a white picked out to ease up into dinner:
2003 Drouhin "Vero" Bourgogne Blanc
This is a wine I liked in 2002, and I thought its rouge sibling did well in 2003. But this suffered from 2003 disease (a bit flabby), and more surprisingly seemed a bit flat and even dilute. Certainly drinkable (and was finished by night's end), but I dashed to cellar for a replacement. B-
C+
2004 Manciat "Franclieu" Macon-Charnay.
Clean apple and pear fruit, nice texture, crisp acidity, minerally finish. In the battle of the $12 white Burgs, the clear champ. B+
Main course was a Venetian braised beef dish, cooked in 3 bottles of red wine* with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, coffee beans, etc. Sides were "party potatoes" (with butter, sour cream, milk, AND cream cheese) and pea/broccoli rabe mix. Three reds made the rounds:
1988 Ch. Le Bon Pasteur (Pomerol)
Opened this one because 2 guests are ministers (though both don't like the term "pastor" - say they don't want a congregation of sheep). I thought corked at first, but it was just under-capsule funk. A bit quiet in decanter. Black cherry and currant fruit, soft texture, tannins mostly (but not totally) resolved. My impression is this might be just a tad past its prime, yet I'm surprised when a final pour (probably 4 hours after decanting is maybe the most open and lively of the night. B+/B
1997 Masi Campofiorin Ripasso (Veronese)
A Veneto wine for the dish. This has that fig meets raisin thing I sometimes get from Amarone, big ripe fruit, surprising acidity. Clear table favorite, but not mine- just not my favorite flavor profile. B
2001 Domaine d'Andezon Cotes du Rhone
Pretty decent lighter bodied Syrah, pretty red and black berry fruit, a little smoke. Fun if not complex. B
We made the switch to cheeses (Purple Haze, Drunken Goat, Cashel Blue, and Zamarano) and a fruit tart. A bottle of the Alvear Solera 1927 Pedro Ximenez that has been opened a couple months makes the rounds, no noticable deterioration after 60-90 days in the fridge! Treacly, caramelly, thick. Some liked a lot!
Fun night with fun people.
Tonight we needed something lighter, Betsy was with her niece for the day so I took care of dinner prep. Lemon sole in a mushroom/butter sauce, leftover pea/rabe, leftover grain salad, and baby bok choy. Wine was the 2005 Terres Dorees (JP Brun) Beaujolais Blanc. A bit riper than some vintages, but with good acidity nonetheless. Chalk, flint, hint of earth around a firm core of pear fruit. Lovely value. B+
*The wine used to make the Venetian beef (Lidia Bastianich recipe) was the 2002 Tore del Moro Morellino di Scansano. Betsy saced me an ounce of bottle #3. Nice cherry fruit, a little oak, a tad short on finish but a fine value as a cooking wine at $4.25 closeout. 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