Fred's turn to host our non-serious local group, he chose Piedmont as
the theme. Roger gave me a ride over (he only stayed a bit for food,
not drinking due to recent surgery), Fred had made white bean soup,
plus had an assortment of cheeses, sausages,and tapenades out. While
we waited for the rest of the European contingent to arrive, we
sampled a couple of whites, one on theme, one off:

2005 Giovanni Almondo "Bricco delle Ciliegie" Roero Arneis
Medium acids, round citrus and apple fruit, sweet edge good finish,
but showing a bit of age. B

2007 Marca "Le Blanc" (VDP Cotes Catalanes)
Lemon pledge, somewhat short, not very appealing C+

OK, on to the blind Piedmont reds:

Wine #1 - not blind for me, my offering. Rich red fruits, smoke,
leather. Decanted a few hours, but still showing some tannins. Still
young but with a sense of elegance. 1999 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco B+/
A-

Wine #2- low acids, quite tannic, plummy fruit. I guessed Dolcetto,
but was quite wrong. Showed better/more Nebbiolo-ish later (of course,
then I knew what it was) 2005 Adriano Marco e Vittorio " Basarin"
Barbaresco. B

Wine #3 - bretty funk, moderate acids, some tannins, dark fruit. I
initially thought Barbera but converted to Dolcetto. 2007 Flovio
Roddolo Dolcetto d'Alba. B

Wine #4 - some obvious vanillin oak notes, firm tannins, medium
bodied, spice, ripe red fruits. I'm pretty confident when I say modern
Nebbiolo, I'm told no, but it turns out it's the 2001 Stefano Farina
Barolo (hey, the guy's Belgian, he didn't know Barolo is Nebbiolo). B+

Wine #5 -dark color, high acids, violents, red fruit, good length, I
go back and forth between Barbera and Nebbiolo before going for later.
Way off, it's the 2006 Cavalotto Langhe Freisa. B+

Wine #6 - no chance to guess on this one, once he says it's a co-op
wine I'm pretty sure. Red fruit, moderate tannins (in decanter for a
while), smoky/tarry notes. Needs time but pretty good. 2005 Produttori
del Barbaresco Barbaresco B++

Wine #7 - Alex revealed early, he hadn't had time to go to store and
brought the only Italian wine he owned, the 1998 Pacenti Rosso di
Montalcino, showing some age, but better than I'd expect for a 11 year
old RdM. Cherries, dried cherries, earth, and a bit of decay. B

Out of blind wines, we sampled a couple of Fred's samples (opened that
day). My favorite was the 2007 Guillot Broux Macon-Cruzilles - good
acids, herby, nice length. B/B+

Plus there was the 1990 Prince Poniatowski “Aigle Blanc- Vin de Tris”
Vouvray . Young, waxy, honied apples, sweet. Good length, but like
most PP wines I've had more correct than exciting or complex. B/B+

About 12:45 I took the looooonnnggg walk home, fun night

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.