by Dale Williams » Mon Feb 19, 2018 4:48 pm
Friday was sous vide tandoori-ish chicken thighs, arugula salad, & brown basmati
2014 Ziereisen Steingruble
Chasselas from Baden. Moderate acids, apple and white peach, a little dilute to me. B-/C+
2013 Ziereisen Schulen Spatburgunder
Tart, bright red fruit, herby. Interesting and fresh. B/B+
While Friday was quiet, we decided to have a couple of lunar new year dinner parties on Sat and Sunday. Saturday Cal brought sesame noodles, Betsy did the rest of the banquet- scallop/shrimp dumplings, bok choy/shitakes, whole sea bass with black bean sauce, and cumin lamb.
NV Andre Beaufort Grand Cru Rose Champagne
A touch sweeter than my ideal, cherries and raspberries, nice mousse. B
2016 Keller “Von Der Fels” Riesling Trocken
Nice vintage of this- bright acids, rocky minerality, pear and peach. Lively and food friendly. Good value at $24. B++
2004 Donnhoff Riesling QbA.
Moderately sweet, ripe mango and nectarine. Quite alive though a touch simple B/B-
1988 Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape
OK, I usually find this a fine vintage of Beau, but not this bottle. Not sure where I sourced- not in my CT listings, and no auction sticker. But I think this saw some warmth at some point, though fill and cork look good. Looks ok, only a little bricking, and nose isn’t bad, but palate is disappointing. It shows some VA and some horse on nose, but the fruit is weak and the finish clipped. C+for this bottle.
2001 Doisy-Vedrines (from half)
Apricot, orange marmalade,and vanilla. Nice balance of sweetness and acids. B+/A-
Sunday was shishitos stuffed with turkey and shiso, rice noodles in a shrimp/dashi broth with scallop and shrimp, char siu pork, rice, bok choy with mushrooms., the Mission Chinese red cabbage/beet slaw with a tahini/miso dressing, citrus salad, and a triple creme cheese/
2001 Remi Jobard “ Le Poruzot-Dessus” Meursault 1er Cru
Pear and hazelnut with a little citrus note, modest acids, no too long. B-
1997 Edmunds St. John “Parmalee Hill” Syrah
A winebid bottle. You know, I’ve drunk a lot of ESJ, but I think only one bottle of Parmalee, an ‘05. I should up that, this is a very nice wine. Some tannic structure still, full black fruits, coffee, smoke. This could be a good ringer in a Cornas tasting. A-/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.