Friday we had friends over for dinner, they were supposed to bring their standard poodle, but Lucy is wearing an “Elizabethan collar” and felt too embarrassed. So just the people came, bearing appetizers of sopressata and Bocconcini. We opened the NV Laurent Dauphin Brut Champagne. Round and soft with a sweet edge, acceptable for under $25 Champagne. Others liked more than I did. B-

Dinner was a salad nicoise variant with a lemon/anchovy dressing- belly tuna, potatoes. heirloom tomatoes, green beans, eggs with anchovy, black olives, radishes, and basil, perfect for summer on patio. A couple of roses:

2012 Bedrock “Ode to Lulu” rose
New to me, quite nice. No indication of cepage, but says vines planted between 1880s and 1920s. Very pale, good crispness, a crunchy ferric note over strawberry fruit. Nice! B++

2012 Costes (Bergerac )rose
Also refreshing, light, I prefer the California but this is a good pink for $10. B

I think Ron would stroke out if I did a whole meal without a red, so:
2009 Domaine des Coutures Saumur-Champigny
this light chillable CF is just the ticket. Fresh and bright, black raspberry fruit, light tannins, easygoing. B/B+

Saturday was a friend’s 50th bday party. Nice crowd, good food (salads, grilled meats, grilled veggies, etc), asst wines:

2012 la Colombe ( Coteaux Varois) rose
Strawberry, simple, inoffensive. B-

2012 Ravines Riesling
Smooth, pretty dry with ginger, citrus peel, Granny Smith. Nice. B

2012 Roagna Dolcetto d’Alba
I’m not a big Dolcetto drinker, but this was really quite nice- I’d buy this. Modest tannins, balanced acids, plenty of black plum and raspberry fruit, a nice earthy edge. B+

2010 Pure Cabernet Sauvignon (VdP d’Oc)
blackberry, currant, round, coarse, a bit short. B-/C+

1963 Warre’s Vintage Port
Decanted in afternoon, then returned to rinsed bottle (minus about 3 heaping tablespoons of sediment). Showed very well- dried dates and fig, nutty, spice, lighter styled but quite charming. B+/A-

Fun couple of nights.

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.