Memorial Day weekend brought gorgeous weather to NY. Sunday I went to
a lovely lawn party where I talked to winegeeks while drinking beer,
then went home to my bride who was returning from Maine. She carved
up some double lamb chops, I grilled and we enjoyed with the 1996
Cantemerle. Solid cassis fruit with some plummy notes, cedar shavings.
mostly resolved tannins. Very solid and typical claret, if not
especially exciting. B

Monday we hosted a large cohort of friends, neighbors, colleagues, and
families (if my count is correct, 56 adults, 18 kids/teens, and 3
dogs). I made chipotle-accented flank steak, teriyaki salmon, mango
salsa; Betsy made a colorful slaw; Dave a cheesecake. Plus we
purchasded some franks and sausages, and others brought a huge
assortment of food: grass fed beef, more sausages, salads, dips,
cakes, and pies. Weather couldn't have been nicer, lots of juiceboxes,
water, and beer was consumed, but also some wine:

White
2007 Matrot Bourgogne
Some babyfat, ripe Bosc pear, earth. B

2007 Drouhin St Veran
Just lovely Chardonnay , white and citrus fruits, clean, long for
level. B+

2009 Pepiere Muscadet
Seashore, lemons, underripe apricots (I had one recently and liked
it), tasty. B+/A-

2008 Brocard "Kimmeridgian" Bourgogne
Grapefruit, chalk, maybe a bit short but tasty. B/B-

2007 Germain/Roche Neuves "L'Insolite" Saumur blanc
Wax, pears, chalk, honey, a little vanilla. Interesting and complex. B
+

2008 Kris Pinot Grigio
Clean, peach and melon, medium acidity, maybe a little dilute. B-

2007 Casa Lapostolle Chardonnay
Sweet canned pears, rancid butter, A . Not sure if this just sucked or
maybe some heat. C

A 2009 Clos Roche Blanche Sauvignon #2 was empty before I grabbed it.
Damn!

Pink

2009 Edmunds St John Bone Jolly rose
Strawberrries, melon, flowers, a hint of bitter herb. Tasty and
quickly drained.. B+

2009 Cantalupo "Il Mimo" rosato
Fairly ripe, cherries and strawberries with a hint of Nebbiolo tar. B/B
+

Taft Street Rose of Pinot Noir
No contemporaneous notes, but I thought this decent, just needed a tad
more zip. B-

Red

1985 Jaboulet "Thalabert" Crozes-Hermitage
Meat, sweet black fruits, smoke, leather. Evolves quickly, some
peppery spice and a little tarry note. Maybe a tad tired but nice
showing for first 30 minutes or so, though after a while it began to
fall apart and exhibit some dirty ashtray notes. But for first half
hour, A-/B+

1999 Chandon de Briailles "aux Fourneaux" Savigny-les-Beaune 1er
Young, a bit tight, black cherries with lots of smoke and a little
mushroom/earth. Good, but I should have waited on this. B/B+ with
potential


2007 Puzelat " Pouille" Gamay "Touraine"
I get just a hint of the geranium notes I often get from Loire gamay,
but not so much it bothers me. Raspberries, damp earth, green tobacco
leaf. Good acids, very light tannins. B/B+

2006 Domaine des Croix "Bressandes" Beaune 1er
Pretty open, pretty black cherry fruit, a little oak, nice balance of
ripeness and acidity. B+

2007 Rosenblum "Vintner's Cuvee" Zinfandel
Sweet candied, maybe a bit empty but quite popular. B-/C+

There was a 2008 d'Oupia Minervois drained in my absence, but I heard
good things. I also missed the 2007 Delas "Esprit" Cotes du Rhone,but
have had several times, no huge regret there.


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.