Tonight, we were invited over to a good friend's house to help celebrate
the end of the Fall semester and to help inaugurate her dining room,
recently reclaimed from the chaos of a home office. To start, with
assorted appetizers:

NV Veuve Clicquot Champagne (Orange label)
nose: toast, apples
palate: a bit simple, moderately fruity, soft, slightly toasty

NV Möet et Chandon Champagne (White Star)
n: toast
p: a touch drier than the Veuve Clicqout, but also less fruity

Neither of these mass-market Champagnes was very interesting, though
both were pleasant enough. Given the choice, I'd give the nod to the
Veuve Clicqout

With seared scallops with fried scallions in a mustard sauce, we had:

2006 Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc
n: intense, tropical fruit, floral, minerals
p: crisp entry, good fruit, minerals, dry finish

It's been a few years since I've had this wine, and the '06 version was
perhaps one of the best yet. Very similar to a NZ SB, with perhaps
slightly riper fruit. Although I didn't buy it, I'd say that this is a
good QPR choice.

With beef stew:

1997 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
n: cassis, plums, cedar, dilly oak
p: medium body, good balance, fruit, oak

This is a wine that we used to buy frequently in the mid-to-late '80s.
Our tastes have changed, but the wine hasn't. I am sure that this wine
was massively oaky in its youth, but at 10 years of age has absorbed
much of it, leaving only a slightly oaky note to the otherwise appealing
fruit. Not terribly acidic, it still manages to achieve a sort of
balance and the tannins that remain help provide a sense of structure.
The group loved it, and I was not at all sad at having bought this wine
(and brought it to the dinner). My thanks were all the more fervent as
the other red wine (2002 Ridge Paso Robles Zin) was hideously corked.
The 2000 Dow's LBV served with dessert was only slightly less corked, too.

Mark Lipton
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