Friday we had some old friends come down from Beacon for dinner.
Smoked salmon and baba ganoush canapes
Sourdough Korean pancake
Ribs, potato salad, green beans

NV Bremont Rose Champagne
Pale. cherry and strawberry, some chalky minerality but the dosage on this seems a bit high to me. B/B-

2011 Knoll: Pfaffenberg Steiner Riesling (Wachau)
Dry and crisp, white pit fruit with a touch of ginger, lively, holds well for several days (this was auction buy, carton marked from Gotham Bar and Grill, sad to see it close). B+

1996 Ca Rome €œRapet€� Barolo
Plenty of fruit left, but while I convinced myself I found a little tar, there wasnt a lot of complexity or typicity here. Some tannin, black cherry fruit, moderate length, guests enjoyed. B

Saturday was a summer favorite, lobster/corn/tomato salad, with the 2010 G. Boulay €œLa Comtesse€� Sancerre. Out of our Zoom group final total was 2 bottles gone, 1 bottle a bit advanced, 5 bottles fine. Add another to the fine category,. Lemon and apple, chalky and seashell, quite long. A-/B+

Sunday grilled Berkshire pork chops, corn, caprese, & potato salad
The 2005 Cret de Ruyere (Gauthier) Cuvee des Anges only has Chiroubles on back , as appellation was denied. Their loss. Cranberry and cherry, nicely herbal, bright and ready. B+

Lamb chops, grilled peppers, maitake mushrooms, prosciutto with honeydew, potato salad (we talked about Patatas a la riojana but we had so much potato salad, with the 2007 Lopez de Heredia Tondonia Reserva I had decanted several hours in advance, great nose at that time, a bit more reserved at Zoom time. Fairly firm tannins, though the lamb chops help with that. Black cherry and black raspberry, a light hint of coconut, some cedary/cigarbox notes with time. Joe had decanted his 8 hours in advance and was pleased, mine was at best at end of night (7 hours after opening). Hold B+/B
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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.