With grey sole in a caper butter sauce, sauteed tomatoes, potatoes, and a salad with figs, the 2011 Bosco Falconeria Cataratto. Deep golden color, lemony on both nose and palate,
good freshness. Will buy again. B+/B

With teriyaki salmon, pasta with tomatoes, sauteed mizuna, 1991 Jadot “Clos des Couchereaux“ Beaune 1er Cru. A little ashy at first, fruit came out with some air, red fruit with some sandalwood, but a little short and probably tiring. B/B-
With chicken sausage, squash, & caprese, the 2011 Leitz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Riesling Spatlese. Pear and lime, sweet with a mineral core, needs a bit more nerviness. B

My birthday was coming up but Betsy can’t cook that night, so we invited 3 couple of old friends for dinner Sunday night. Half of them are avoiding gluten (!!!) so I was thinking about rice, and we came up with a rather Asian accented menu. Nobody is a winegeek but me, but they gamely tried everything.

While Betsy was prepping for sitdown courses I greeted people on patio. I pulled some
teriyaki chicken wings off grill and shucked couple dozen oysters while we tried a bubbly and a Chablis

NV Bernard Bremont “Cuvee Prestige” Champagne Brut
Full, classy, sassy. Big with bread dough, honey and citrus, plenty of acid backbone here. A-

2008 Brocard “Valmur” Chablis GC
Quite tight, though with the oysters you could get some of the saline/seashell mineral notes. Full bodied, good acids, shy. Better on day 2. On day 1, B-, day 2, B+

We move inside for spinach/tofu/miso Napoleans, with a couple more wines

2002 Huet Vouvray Petillant
No premOx here, very fresh. ,Apples and lemon zest, baked bread, soft petillance, good length. A-/B+.

2002 Remi Jobard “Les Charmes” Meursault 1er cru
Full, hazelnut, ripe pears, not as good a match with the slightly spicy dish as the Huet. B+

Main course was bo ssam with all the fixings (Koreanstyle pulled pork with sauces, rice, etc in lettuce wrapes) and, Brussels sprouts with kimchee and bacon

2001 Edmunds St John “Bassetti” Syrah
The day before the hound had her birthday tea party, but only 4 dogs attended this year, and it was too early for wine. So this night we toasted Lucy (after blacking out the “ti” in Bassetti). Drinking quite well, with a nose of smoke and bacon. Deep dark berry fruit, nice balance, in the groove.. A-
1992 Jadot “Chouacheux“ Beaune 1er
Clipped, pruney with some maderized notes, not sure if this is cooked (drop of seepage at top edge of cork) or just OTH. C-

1996 Chevillon Nuits St George VV
Lots of soil notes on top of a base of dark fruit, some tea and herbs, medium bodied, mature and giving. B+

1994 Zillliken Saarburger Rausch Kabinett Riesling
This really IS a Kabinett. Light sweetness, good acids, time has brought a pleasant smooth mouthfeel. Ginger, apples, peach blossoms. Good finish. B++

One of my gifts was a puffball mushroom the size of my (big) head.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9YV...it?usp=sharing

Monday grilled slices to make base of some “pizzas”, with various toppings (broccoli/olive/feta, gorgonzola/tomato/onion, and tomato/basil). The reds all showed oxidation, but the Huet, Zilliken, & Brocard showed well.

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.