Got home from work Monday, walked the dog, ran into dear neighbor who was readying for moving truck following day (bought house near her daughter). She's a vegetarian which worked out well since we were doing meatless Monday, invited her for dinner. Grilled tofu (kecap manis marinade), herbed tomatoes, kale, broccoli, and the 2014 La Lunotte "Bulotte". Light sweetness, plenty of bubbles, sweet raspberries and black cherries. Fun, frothy, franc-y. B/B+

Tuesday grilled chicken breast (coriander, brown sugar, cayenne) and bonita squash, along with couscous and sauteed redleaf amaranth. Wine was the 2014 Baudry Chinon rose. I'm not sure what was going on here- bottle was very tight and ungiving. You can sense that the normal crisp minerally Baudry is there, but it seemed quite muted. I liked bottle couple weeks ago. I'm wondering if this was corked under my sensitivity. ???

Betsy's roommate from Eastman and her husband visited from Seattle Wednesday, Betsy's sister (also an old friend) and nephew joined us. I had sausage, smoked mackerel, and dolmades out for appetizers

2011 Breton "La Ritournelle"
Another pet nat pink, similar to the Bulotte but a bit drier and with darker fruit. Run stuff. B+/B

2002 Montaudon Reserve Premiere Brut Champagne
Somewhat plodding, somewhat short, somewhat glad I don't have more of this, though others liked. B-/C+

Main course was lobster rolls, accompanied by a great kale/feta salad

2002 Beringer "Sbragia Limited Release" Chardonnay
OK, I think I bought this thinking I'd serve to my other sister-in-law (partial to CalChard) or with lobster (one time I think oaky/buttery chard can work). But didn't really mean to hang on to it a decade. So let's try. OK, good news is that it is actually holding on well, younger than I expected. Bad news is that it still tasted like new oak, really unbelievable how un-integrated that oak is. Sawdust and margarine, with apple cider and banana fruit.. C

1999 Stony Hill Chardonnay
on the other hand, this is a lovely classic Chardonnay. Bright pear fruit, mineral and honey, orange zest. Full, long, deep. This was so good I upped my bids on some SH auction lots! A-


2010 Hirsch Lamm Gruner Veltliner Reserve
Dry but with sweet peach flavors, very big, minerals and peppery spice. Intense and full, but without the grace of the SH chardonnay. B+/B

Last night I had leftover lobster, tried each of the leftover whites. Still hated the Beringer, Stony Hill was good but not as bright, I quite liked the Hirsch on day 2, bump up to B+


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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.