Last night we went to some friends' house for dinner, joining
hostess's sister, her husband, and 2 other guests. Very pleasant
evening, with good company and good food. Salami and olives, followed
by Betsy's sundried tomato and basil palmiers, then salad, spicy but
not hot lamb vindaloo, couscous, and green beans. Lots of wines
sampled:

NV Sciarpa Prosecco
light, crisp, easy. B-

NV Gruet Brut
a little yeasty/doughy note, flowers, ripe apple. .B*

NV Gloria Ferrer Brut
This seemed short and sharp, apple cider with a touch of maple. I
remember liking this better. A non-wine-person brought this, and I
wonder if it had seen some warmth. This bottle, C/C+

2008 Drouhin "Laforet" Bourgogne Blanc
Green apples, clean, but maybe a little too green/tart. A little on
the thin side, but hey it's cheap. B-/C+

2006 Montes Alpha Syrah
Big, thick, oaky, with blueberries and black plums. Very popular,
except with me, C+/B-

2002 Cep Syrah (Sonoma)
Medium bodied, black raspberries and blackberries, earth, mushrooms
(maybe I'm influenced by name!), resolved tannins. Not real long, but
satisfying. B

2003 La Rasina Brunello di Montalcino
Ron got this from Pat Carey as a winner in our Haiti raffle, I'm lucky
enough to be here for this! Ron said it was tight at opening, but
after 2-3 hours in a decanter this was showing nicely. OK, maybe a bit
round for BdM, but in the context of the vintage good acidity. Ripe
black cherries, a touch of vanilla, some 5-spice and leather. Modern,
but not over the top. Nice lusher style of BdM, my WOTN. B+/B

2005 Lavia
I believe this was Spanish, but I didn't see from where. Low acid,
ultra ripe, jammy red fruits. Comes across heavy and ponderous to me,
but fairly short finish. C+

Fun night with fun people

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.**