At Christmas (eve) dinner I opened two wines to accompany the prime rib
and salmon. Copious Argyle Brut (and a lone bottle of Domaine Carneros)
had preceded them, so notes are a bit abbreviated:

2009 Doña de Penas Godello
nose: minerals, melon, citrus, sulfur
palate: medium-light, a modicum of oak, clean acidity

1993 Prince Florian de Merode Corton Clos du Roi
nose: fresh raspberry, pencil lead, a hint of meat
palate: medium body, fleshy, fine tannins

Both wines were a big hit with the non-geek crowd and the Merode got
several oohs and aahs from my one winegeek cousin. It's pretty big and
still fairly primary, and I'm glad that I've got more of it.

On our last day in North America for a few months, we celebrated my
mother's 84th birthday early and had a dinner of Dungeness crab with
salad and bread. With that meal, we had:

NV Pierre Peters Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Le Mesnil
nose: modestly toasty, green apples
palate: creamy and rich with a fine mousse

NV Veuve Fourny Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Vertus
nose: minerals, apples
palate: racy, crisp acidity, solid fruit

An interesting contrast exists between these two wines, both very fine
BdB: the Peters seemed downright rich in contrast with the leaner Veuve
Fourny, whereas the non-dosé Veuve Fourny was less leesy and toasty.
Among the non-winegeeks, my mother and her sister (both octagenarians)
went for the non-dosé whereas Jean preferred the Peters. I loved them both.

Mark Lipton

Nice lineup. Especially glad the Merode showed well. Safe travels, and best wiahes to you and all at AFW for a happy 2012.

"Mark Lipton" > wrote in message
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| On our last day in North America for a few months,
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|| Mark Lipton
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Yikes! You still up for shakytown?

Sadly, another bad day there today.
Tough Christmas and New Year so far for those still in residence.


greybeard