Sunday we were in the city for a memorial service for a friend/
employee, when we got back Betsy made a fast dish of chicken, soba,
broccoli rabe, and pepper. I opened the 2007 Hirsch Gruner Veltliner
#1. Nice enough, plum fruit with a hint of pea (because I was looking
for pea or white pepper!), light to medium bodied, just a hint of
sweetness. Fine, though not looking for especially looking to reload.
B/B-

We're hosting Betsy's niece and nephew for a couple days while their
parents are away, so Monday I stayed for part of Little League game
before heading home to throw some Copper River sockeye (very good for
$11 at Costco) along with some squash on the grill, to be accompanied
by baby bok choy, daikon pickles, and rice with furikake. Wine was the
2007 Christian Ducroux Regnie. New producer to me, and I have little
sense of Regnie compared to the more famous crus, but I bought it
just because CSW carried it. I'm actually pretty disappointed at
first, I didn't expect a fruit bomb, but this is pretty close to
fruitless at first - some soil and chalkiness, with just a little
cranky raspberry fruit. By the time the salmon is off grill, some
deeper berry fruit shows up. Not a wine I'd call fruity, but no longer
fruitless. Really gets some character with air, damp earth and a Loire-
like gunflint note. C+ on opening, but B+ after a while (but not the
wine to convert a fan of California PN to the wonders of Gamay!).

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.*