Wed night rack of lamb (mustard/anchovy), smashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts in sake lees vinaigrette, salad. Cant let a couple of disappointing clarets (89 Clerc Milon and 06 de Sales) keep me off the Bordeaux horse, back in the saddle with the 1970 Ch. Beychevelle. HS fill, but this was in excellent shape. Round black fruit, mushrooms, cedar, tobacco. Balanced acids, resolved tannin. Good finish, with a bit of iron filings. A-

With Sichuan takeout from Xian Famous (cumin lamb noodles, spinach dumpling in soup, pork dumplings, spicy tofu, spicy cucumber) the 2008 von Schubert (Maximin Grunhäuser) Abtsberg Riesling Spatlese.OK, this isnt in my CT, and unsure where sourced. Color is a deeper gold than Id expect from 13 year old Grunhauser, and it tastes more mature than I expect, with a lot of petrol and smoke. Fairly sweet, apple and tropical fruits, nice underlying acidity, but not so long. Is this a representative bottle? Cork looked fine but wonder if this saw some moderate heat? B-/C+ for this bottle


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C
drinkable. 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.