TN: Oregon, Jumilla, Chablis
 

Thursday I was taking a group from Germany around the city, as I would
be driving later in evening I limited my dinner intake to a half-glass
frrom a 375 of the 2004 Patricia Green Pinot Noir (Oregon). Seemed a
bit thin and hard, with more oak than character. However, on Fri we
went to my sister-in-law's for dinner (my MIL was in town to see Betsy
perform). I carried the remaining 10 ounces along. Much nicer- ripe
dark berry/cherry fruit, a bit of spiciness, good acidity to help it
cut through the broiled salmon. Nice wine for the "base model", B/B+

Cal also served the 2004 Luzon (Jumilla). Pretty modern, with very ripe
fruit and a bit of oak. But shows more complexity than a lot of the
inexpensive modern Spanish wines, with notes of tar and smoked meat
mingling with the black plum and vanilla notes. A bit much for the
salmon, but good QPR. B

With the cheese course, we tried a 2004 Brocard "Montmains" Chablis 1er
I had carried along. Pretty forward, with good bright apple and lemon
fruit, a core of minerality, and a nice balance between the fruit and
acids. There's a chalk-meets-oystershell mineral note that becomes more
prominent with time. This can probably age, but seems very tasty now.
B+/A-

There was also an open bottle of 2002 Ch. de Camarsac (Bordeaux
Superieur) out, but too oxidized to really say anything but "yuck"
(unsure how long it had been open, but I would guess several days)

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.