So Saturday night a few friends gathered for a bit of a communal
dinner. I had volunteered for main course duty, Dana had requested
seafood, so when Anne and Al picked me up, I had made my Veracruz
sauce and had the dressed snappers in a pan. We arrived, and fish were
sauced and went into oven. I kept my mouth shut as the white intended
for the Huachinango Veracruz* was opened and disappeared before we sat
down. OK, I confess, I did my part of making the 2006 Bruna Riviera*
"Le Russeghine" Pigato (Ligure di Ponente) disappear (if you can't
beat em, join em). Citrus fruits, herbs, some minerally notes. Medium
weight, good acidity, long finish. A delightful bottle, even if not
intended as an apertif (with a good liver mousse and a truly terrible
vegan pate). B+/A-

A bottle of Liberty School Chardonnay came my way, but I think it had
been open for a while. I hope so, while I like funky cheese, I don't
like funky cheese smells in my Chardonnay, let's assume this was due
to being open a while. Flawed, NR

The replacement was the 2007 Ch. St Jean Chardonnay (Sonoma). Vanilla
and toasty oak, sweet pear fruit, a little movie theater "butter", not
my style of Chardonnay, and definitely not what I would want with the
snapper. C+

My red did ok with the snapper, the 2002 Gabriel Billard Bourgogne.
Red cherry and raspberry fruit, moderate acidity, a little earth. Not
especially long or complex, but much better for my tastes than the
Chardonnays! B/B-

My WOTN however was the 2007 Donnhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Riesling
Kabinett (opened when I got home). I know some regard this as a bit of
a weak link in the Donnhoff line, but I usually really like, and this
is one of my all-time favorites. Racy, green apples and citrus, an
intense slately minerality, a Nahe for MSR fans. Excellent length and
concentration for a Kabinett, I'm quite happy to have bought a case (a
rarity for me). Even better on Sunday night, the acids providing vivid
counterpoint to the bright sugars. A-

While Betsy was gone, my job was to try and clean out some things she
would never cook. I'm not sure exactly how we ended up with a "dirty
rice mix" (just add meat), but I stopped her from throwing out last
week. Made it Sunday and had with some leftover veggies. Everyone know
the only thing to have with dirty rice is pink just off-dry frizzante,
right? Well, maybe not, but with summer gone I wanted to drink up the
Zucchi Lambrusco di Sorbara (Rosato), Billed as a rosato, but color of
a light red. There's just a hint of RS, bright cranberry and raspberry
fruit, light bubbles. A little Angostura bitters meets anise herby
note. Interesting wine. B

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.
*

I'd only consider the Leistenberg Kabinett a ''weaker'' link in the
Donnhoff lineup when relative to the other wines in his lineup. On its
own the Leistenberg makes some stunning wines - but it just seems to
pale in contrast with Brucke, Hermannshohle, Felsenberg, Kirschheck,
Krotenpfuhl, Kupfergrube and Dellchen (then again, that also happens
to a whole lot of other fine Rieslings).

Glad you enjoyed the 07. Although given the pricing on that (and a lot
of the other 07 Donnhoffs), I may probably have to pass. Not a great
loss though, I've got a bottle of the '02 Leistenberg Kab in my cellar
and I'm of the opinion that the 02s are starting to drink really well
now.