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. 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