As Dale has noted in passing, the wine importer Joe Dressner died
earlier this week after a 3-year long battle with brain cancer. Over
the years I have interacted with Mr. Dressner on a few occasions, but I
would never characterize him as a friend. Regardless, I have great
respect for the wines he brought into this country, so over the past few
nights we have toasted his memory with a few of his imports.

2004 Luneau-Papin Muscadet SeM L d'Or
nose: minerals, lemons, salt
palate: rounded, medium body, firm acidity, lush

This wine was opened on Andrew's 7th birthday as a birthyear wine. It's
great now, but I'll be interested to see where it's going.
Thankfully, no hint of oxidation yet as that's very offputting for Jean.

Tonight we celebrated high-profile publications from both our groups
with a bottle of bubbly:

NV Pinon Vouvray Brut non-dosé
nose: modestly yeasty, tart apple fruit
palate: crisp, clean, fine mousse

Just as appealing as our previous bottle, this wine puts many nominally
Brut Champagnes to shame. Great QPR.

Mark Lipton