Since leftovers killed meatless Monday we went with tofu Tuesday, though it was actually a red lentil/coconut soup with broccoli. I opened a 375 of the 2000 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile to find it totally oxidized - premOx of Burgundy is bad enough, but CFE? Sob.

The replacement was the 2010 Donnhoff QbA Riesling. As previously noted, I especially like this vintage- great acids, citrus meets mineral, a crispy crunchy fun wine. Great value. B+

Wed was shrimp/fennel risotto, with a bit of truffle salt for fun. Wine was the 2009 Luneau-Papin "Terre de Pierre" Muscadet. Not your grandmother's Muscadet. Rich, full, deep. Ripe apples and lemon, not as acidic as most Muscadets but still with a backbone, wet rocks. Won't win points for typicity, but lovely full-bodied wine. B+/A-

Thursday Dave and Mary Kate joined us for capon with a mushroom/cognac sauce, parsleyed potatoes with more truffle salt, and a salad.

1986 Meyney
a particularly good bottle of one my all time fave QPR clarets. For an '86 Bdx, it's not especially big or tannic. Just a midweight claret, tannins mostly resolved, sweet blackcurrant and black plum fruit, lead pencil and cedar, a touch of herbs. A-

2009 Coulaine "Bonnaventure" Chinon
Juicy, ripe, red plums and cocoa. Quite a shock after the St Estephe, seemed modern and confected. I was surprised as producer has good rep. But tasted a while later (and today, 24 hours later), I liked better- not overtly slutty fruit anymore, just clean black fruit with an herb and tobacco edge. Probably a bit of change in the wine, and more importantly my not comparing it to the Bordeaux (I am not a physically gifted taster, and I think that can be magnified drinking 2 wines side by side). But I would have said C+ with dinner, but B/B+ afterwards.
(a good lesson in how much trust to put in single tastes)

2009 Pepiere Muscadet
Used about a half-bottle of this as cooking wine for the mushrooms, the rest made for a nice change of pace while washing dishes. Not the most vervy vintage of this, but still plenty of acid, good fruit, limestone and seashell on finish. B+/B

Tonight we were supposed to go to a party, but the host got sick. So dinner for two, never a bad thing. Betsy did flounder in a panko crust, pasta with a tomato/caper/olive sauce, and broccoli, wine was the 2009 Chidaine "Clos Baudoin" Vouvray. Yippee yi yo, I like this. Sec to sec-tendre, citrus fruit, wet rocks and wool, full-bodied, just lovely, find more. A--

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.