On Dec 27, 10:13*am, DaleW > wrote:
> Christmas Day we had dinner for 10. We had the rest of the gravlax I
> had made as a starter, plus Marcy brought cherry tomatoes stuffed with
> herbed chevre. Wine was the 1995 Pommery Grand Cru Brut Champagne.
> Quiet mousse, mature, applepie with a little cinnamon. Soft acidity,
> light yeast notes. B-
>
> One guest had brought several bottles, I opened one for the red-
> centrics as we mingled before sitting down. The 2005 Ch. Olivier
> (Pessac-Leognan) had pretty decent dark berry fruit, but currently
> it's buried under a wall of toasty oak. Others really liked, but I
> found this hard to drink now, though maybe it'll integrate. C+/C for
> now.
>
> We had a 2 bird dinner- roast goose with bramble gravy, parsnips,
> carrots, and turnips, plus capon. Sides included apple sauce, mashed
> potatoes, and a pomegranite and persimmon salad. Betsy did a great
> job, everything delicious, and we had some wine, too:
>
> 1990 Ch. La Louviere (Pessac-Louviere)
> (since I was opening an '88, Dave's birthyear, I decided to also open
> BY wines for the *2 under-30 guests) A lovely showing for this classic
> non-trophy Graves. Red and black currants, a little leather, a lot of
> tobacco. Earthy, mid-bodied, very pretty yet sturdy wine. A-
>
> 2000 Bouchard "Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus" Beaune-Greves 1er
> What better time than Christmas to open a baby Jesus? Drinking well,
> light to midbodied Pinot, clean cherry fruit, earth, some vanilla.
> It's the latter that is a bit much, this is showing a bit more oak
> than fruit can comfortably sustain.B/B-
>
> 1988 Ch. Lagrange (St. Julien)
> Benefits from some decanter time, still showing a bit of the 88
> tannin. Cassis, pencil shavings, damp earth. Medium bodied, good
> length, showing well once it has some air. B+/A-
>
> 1970 Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre (Margaux)
> Not a great wine but solid example of old Bordeaux. Red fruit with a
> bit of a pruney edge (but not extreme), tobacco, ash. Resolved
> tannins, not very long, but hanging on. B-/B
>
> There was also a sadly corked bottle of 1986 Talbot
>
> There was also a Yule Log from the bakery where David works, and a
> Derby Pie (pecan), plus a cheese tray with Mahon and Muenster
> d'Alsace. Was originally planning the 75 Fonseca, but when the Talbot
> was corked my *backup (for Jenny's birthyear), was the 1986 Graham
> Malvedos Port, so we switched to that. *Big, raisiny, running *a bit
> hot (even for port). Sweet, aromatic, long. B
>
> Really nice Christmas-especially the food!
>
> 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.**

oops, that should be a re the Talbot!