TN: French and Italian wines
 

Betsy was in Brooklyn playing “Anna Nicole” at BAM, but Lucy and I were invited to some friends for dinner. Lucy and Jaja got 7 inch marrow bones to occupy them, the people got food and wine.

NV Phillipe Herard Blanc des Blancs (just says France and meth. trad., not sure from where). Crisp verging on acidic, a bit thin. B-/C+
(to be fair, I had carried along my new favorite spread of miso/peanuts as a canape topping, delicious but terrible for the wine)

With grilled baby octopus, the 2012 Terre Nere Etna Bianco. Good acids, no obvious oak but with a creamy note. Lighter and less “serious” than the 100% Carricante, but excellent seafood wine. B+

With grass fed skirt steak, the 2004 Ch. La Confession (St. Emilion). Moderate tannins, rather low acid, nice plummy flavors, ready to go. Decent mid-modern RBer. B/B-

With roast chicken, mizuna salad, and butternut squash with a miso glaze, the 2011 Bosco Falconeria Nero d’Avola. Plenty of ripeness, but some balancing acidity, no jamminess, cherries and pomegranate, no apparent oak. Nice length. I enjoyed this. B/B+
(another disclaimer, I got this because my stepson and his girlfriend just spent 2 weeks picking grapes at the estate, so I was biased to like)

With grilled tofu (with leftover miso sauce), corn, caprese, & quick Momofuko pickles, the
2009 Huet Clos du Bourg Vouvray Sec. This is tasty, but one can feel the tensile energy underneath, and this is really infanticide. Wax/lanolin, honey, citrus. A beauty in the making, though pretty delicious now, especially with couple hours air. Need to force self to leave alone. A-

With quick-braised (pressure cooker) pork in wine sauce and assorted leftovers, the NV (but 2010) Brulees “ L’Erebe”. Yum, just fun and juicy, sweet crushed berry fruit with an overlay of dirt. B/B+

After a wake I had a quick dinner of a supermarket chicken, with potatoes and a mizuna salad. Wine was the 2009 Aurelien Verdet “en Luteniere” Bourgogne Rouge . Whoa, what happened here- I liked this before. This seemed volatile and acidic, thin, with some funky notes I didn’t note before. Not a fan this time. C+

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.