Had some friends over for dinner tonight. Supposed to be 2 couples,
but one person got sick, so that couple bailed, we ended up with just
4 of us. Which ended up being nice, good friends sharing a lot.

Nancy and Ron brought a couple dozen Bluepoint oysters, we had fun
shucking (once I got back into the groove), with traditional sides
plus a very cool sauce of dashi with pepper-infused daikon. Wine was
the 2005 Pepiere (Marc Olliver) Muscadet. Definite saline/seabreeze
notes, good fruit, but the salinity and mineral notes dominate.
Excellent length and depth for a under-$10 wine, B+.

Betsy had made coq au Riesling as well as a broccoli rabe/pea saute,
we had a couple of Rieslings with it:

2004 Francois Baur "Herrenweg" Riesling
Bigger styled Riesling, some petrol, honey notes (though totally dry),
citrus fruit with floral overnotes. Good acidity, lots of body,
bracing. B+/B

2006 Reichsrat von Buhl "Armand" Riesling Kabinett
Sweet, ripe, peaches, Rainier cherries, and citrus. Tasty, but could
use a little more depth. B

We also had a red, as Ron is primarily a red guy. I haven't had many
Brazilian wines, but enjoyed the 2004 Salton "Desejo" Merlot.
Definitely "internationally" styled, but I have no expectations for
Brazilian reds, so that's ok by me. A bit of toasty oak, round red
berry and plum fruit, ripe but balanced. A nice wine, I'd happily
drink again. B/B+


Good night, good wine, good friends.

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.