Sunday we were invited to a friend's 50th birthday party. Her husband
had invited 4 couples to join them for dinner at a local restaurant,
with drinks and appetizers beforehand. I had volunteered to make the
appetizers, and dropped off some pickled shrimp and some
chutney-cheeseballs earlier. Once Betsy made it home from matinee, we
ran over, scarfed down a few samples of the appetizers, as well as a
couple glasses of bubbly:

NV Billecarte-Salmon Brut Champagne
Nice yeasty Champagne with a creamy texture. Light but not without
power, a pleasant surprise for me. B+/A-

NV Gruet Blanc de Noir Brut (New Mexico)
Nice lightweight sparkler, granny smith fruit with a light biscuit
note. B

On to the restaurant. Ron had said the crowd was pretty much red
drinkers. He had arranged for corkage, so I brought one bottle:

1996 Punset Barbaresco
Man, was this tight on opening. I said set aside and open something
else. When we revisited during main course, this was really beginning
to show it's stuff. Medium-bodied and elegant, some tar on the deep
cherry fruit. Glass at the end of the night was even better- tar,
roses, and leather blending with the rich red fruit. Alas, last one.
A-

2003 St. Innocent Temperance Hill Pinot Noir
Ripe red fruit, this seems more like a CA PN than an Oregon (at least
not a St Innocent Oregon!). Still, a nice medium bodied wine with warm
cherry flavors. A little tannic. B

2000 Behrens and Hitchcock Claret
I've not been a big B & H fan, but this was actually a pretty nicely
styled wine. Some oak, but not overwhelming. Medium-bodied, good
acidity, nice cassis fruit and a little coffee and cedar. Some floral
notes after while. B/B+

2001 Beringer Knight's Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
This seemed a little musty at first, but it didn't seemed cork- just
some bottle funk that mostly blew off. Bigger, richer, a fair dose of
oak countered by some deep black plum fruit. A return to the quality of
the '91-'94 Knight's Valleys, now if they could just return the
price........B/B+

2002 Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon
I'd heard good things re this one, but this could have been any $12
oak-chip special. Red and black flabby fruit, vanilla extract, heh. C+

Fun night, with nice people. Most were jazz musicians, lots of funny
road tales.

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.

Gruet is always a surprise.



"DaleW" wrote in message
ups.com...
Sunday we were invited to a friend's 50th birthday party. Her husband
had invited 4 couples to join them for dinner at a local restaurant,
with drinks and appetizers beforehand. I had volunteered to make the
appetizers, and dropped off some pickled shrimp and some
chutney-cheeseballs earlier. Once Betsy made it home from matinee, we
ran over, scarfed down a few samples of the appetizers, as well as a
couple glasses of bubbly:

NV Billecarte-Salmon Brut Champagne
Nice yeasty Champagne with a creamy texture. Light but not without
power, a pleasant surprise for me. B+/A-

NV Gruet Blanc de Noir Brut (New Mexico)
Nice lightweight sparkler, granny smith fruit with a light biscuit
note. B

On to the restaurant. Ron had said the crowd was pretty much red
drinkers. He had arranged for corkage, so I brought one bottle:

1996 Punset Barbaresco
Man, was this tight on opening. I said set aside and open something
else. When we revisited during main course, this was really beginning
to show it's stuff. Medium-bodied and elegant, some tar on the deep
cherry fruit. Glass at the end of the night was even better- tar,
roses, and leather blending with the rich red fruit. Alas, last one.
A-

2003 St. Innocent Temperance Hill Pinot Noir
Ripe red fruit, this seems more like a CA PN than an Oregon (at least
not a St Innocent Oregon!). Still, a nice medium bodied wine with warm
cherry flavors. A little tannic. B

2000 Behrens and Hitchcock Claret
I've not been a big B & H fan, but this was actually a pretty nicely
styled wine. Some oak, but not overwhelming. Medium-bodied, good
acidity, nice cassis fruit and a little coffee and cedar. Some floral
notes after while. B/B+

2001 Beringer Knight's Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
This seemed a little musty at first, but it didn't seemed cork- just
some bottle funk that mostly blew off. Bigger, richer, a fair dose of
oak countered by some deep black plum fruit. A return to the quality of
the '91-'94 Knight's Valleys, now if they could just return the
price........B/B+

2002 Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon
I'd heard good things re this one, but this could have been any $12
oak-chip special. Red and black flabby fruit, vanilla extract, heh. C+

Fun night, with nice people. Most were jazz musicians, lots of funny
road tales.

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.

2001 Beringer Knight's Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
This seemed a little musty at first, but it didn't seemed cork- just
some bottle funk that mostly blew off. Bigger, richer, a fair dose of
oak countered by some deep black plum fruit. A return to the quality of
the '91-'94 Knight's Valleys, now if they could just return the
price........B/B+

Your note on the 2001 KV has me thinking about the two '94's I have in the
cellar. I think Thanksgiving weekend would be a nice time to enjoy one of
them. I'll be sure to post my notes (along with the '91 Eileen Hardy
Shiraz, '94 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz, '90 Lamborn Family Autumnal Harvest
Zinfandel, and many more...)

2002 Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon
I'd heard good things re this one, but this could have been any $12
oak-chip special. Red and black flabby fruit, vanilla extract, heh. C+

Now we're talking! This certainly sounds worth trying! I'll give it go
this weekend while the wife and I are out of town and post my thoughts on
this one as well. Seriously...

"Your note on the 2001 KV has me thinking about the two '94's I have in
the
cellar."

The '91 to '94 KVs were my go-to CalCabs. Then price seemed to spiral,
yet quality seemed to suffer (expanded production?). Mine are all gone,
look forward to hearing how they've held up.

2002 Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon
"Now we're talking! This certainly sounds worth trying! I'll give it
go
this weekend while the wife and I are out of town and post my thoughts
on
this one as well. Seriously... "

This was a surprise to me. I've liked this in the past, heard good
things re the 2002, and actually had suggested to the organizer. Look
forward to your thoughts.