Some friends and their dog came to visit last night. Betsy had a meeting in city, but set up a crock pot with chicken, celeriac, parsnips and carrots before she left. When she got back, she made broccoli, I had made whitefish canapes, and our friends brought a kale/cherry/chevre salad.

2002 Huet Vouvray Petillant Brut
Damn. I think I jinxed myself telling someone last Sat that I've had good luck with these (lot of reports of overaging). This has little petillance left, tastes like a slightly OTH sec-tendre Vouvray. OK to drink but not what I wanted. B-/C+
(actually, resampled last night I liked a bit more, surprisingly fresher, with just a hint of spritz)

NV Andre Jacquart "Experience" Blanc de Blanc Champagne
Good acids, modest mousse, appley, definitely on the simple side for BdB. B-/C+

2012 Remi Jeanniard Morey St. Denis VV
Cranberry, black cherry, fairly full. A bit sappy, good length. Nice young Morey, if not especially complex. B+/B

2004 Biondi "Outis" Etna Rosso
Tart cherry, baking spices, good acids, tannins mostly resolved. Some smokiness with air. This is pretty good but I'm not sure how much was gained by aging- it was pretty good on release as well. B+

Last night I did pork chops (using up some Mng Tsai rib rub), long beans with peppers & hoisin, and asparagus with miso butter. Something like Riesling would have been a better match, but I wanted to try the 2006 Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet. Always fearful of the pox, opened with trepidation, but color good and nose is fresh. Mediumbodied, good acids for '06, bosc pear and mineral notes. Good length, fully mature, what I want in white Burgundy but usually forego these days out of caution. 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.