In article
>,
DaleW > wrote:

> Last night Betsy's sister had a surprise 50th birthday party for her
> husband. Despite it being 2 weeks before actual birthday, I think he
> was suspicous when his quartet insisted on a long rehearsal right
> before leaving this AM for some concerts in Bogota. Still, I think he
> was mostly surprised to come home to couple dozen friends and some
> "boats" of sushi. Rather than have Katherine rummage through his wine,
> I had volunteered to be the wine supplier:
>
> NV Sciarpa Prosecco
> This was a blowout sale buy, and at $7.50/bottle I was happy to bring
> over several. Light, citric, a little leesy, fine as an inexpensive
> way to have bubbles, and decent match with sushi. B-/B
>
> 2007 Pernot Bourgogne Blanc
> Once again, just lovely, a midweight Burg with clean pear fruit,
> excellent length for the level, wet rock finish. I bought a bunch but
> should have bought more. B+
>
> 2008 Geil "Bechtheimer Heiligkreuz" Scheurebe Kabinett (Rheinhessen)
> (front label just Scheurebe Kab, back has vineyard)
> Exotic fruit cocktail of a wine, sweet oranges, mangoes, a limey note
> from the excellent acids. Not very long, but very good for $12-13 I
> paid for this. B+/B
>
> 2008 Willi Schaefer Riesling QbA
> Wow, what a QbA! Just a hint of CO2, pretty Granny Smith and lime
> fruit, very light, slatey/flinty. Brighter than sunshine acidity.
> Floral, refreshing, delicious. B++
>
> 2008 Pepiere Muscadet de Sevre et Maine Sur Lie
> Initially a little austere after the Scheurebe, but as I adjust the
> typical Ollivier style winner, saline minerality under clean lemony
> fruit. She sells seashells by the seashore. B+
>
> NV (I think, didn't see vintage) Anselme "La Fiole du Pape"
> Chateauneuf du Pape
> We've all seen this. The weird distorted bottle, the dusty/gritty fake
> aged surface, the "torn" label. This was brought to my house recently
> by a non-geek. You know, it's actually not that bad. Red fruits, some
> herbs, a little leathery note, decent length. If it was in a normal
> bottle that said 2001 Cotes du Rhone I'd have nodded wisely as if it
> was just what I expected. As it is, certainly better than I
> anticipated. B
>
> 2000 Ch. Pericou (Bdx Sup)
> For anonymous red wine, ok. For 2000 Bordeaux, rather poor. Red plum
> and a little currant, a green/weedy note in background, a little
> tannic rasp. Not very long. C+
>
> 1959 Antonio Ferrari Solaria Jonica (Puglia) (500 ml)
> I was holding this for Betsy's birthday in December, but she said take
> it over (I have a couple other 59s in reserve). So this was released
> about 5 years ago. The story is a Piedmont producer originally from
> Puglia trucked a load of very ripe Primitivo to make a big wine. But
> the fermentation stuck at 14%, leaving lots of RS. Wine then spent 10
> years in botti, and then 35 years in concrete. OK, so I open it. Dark
> color, but lively aromas. Toffee, figs, raisins. Some cocoa and ripe
> berries. Kind of Madeira meets Amarone. It's sweet, but not full-
> fledged dessert sweet. Powerful wine, thick. Pretty good, I'll give a B
> + for quality, but an A for making people happy on occasion.
>
> Fun evening, highlighted by a parody of S&G's "America" by a couple of
> 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.

Just as long as the birthday wasn't a surprise to him. Finding myself
that many birthdays after 50 are a total surprise. I bought two bottles
of the Ferrari Solaria on a whim but haven't opened them yet. How long
do you think this will hold.