Sunday Betsy and I headed up to Chappaqua where Jacques Levy had
invited a nice group to a pool party. Jill Levy met us at the door and
sent us out to the pool. A few folks were already gathered, and there
was a open bottle of awaiting us:

1997 Bouchard Montrachet
Very smooth and very ready, vanilla and butterscotch flavors over a
base of Bosc pear fruit. Enough crispness to make it appropriate for
poolside - big but not heavy. B+

We made our way through an assortment of white Burgundies:

2002 Fevre "Bougros" Chablis Grand Cru
Oak is noticable but not overwhelming (not near as oaky as Fevre's
rep). Great creamy texture, apple and apricot fruit. Smoke and flint.
Needs time, very good. B+/A-

2002 Savary " Fourchaume" Chablis 1er Cru
A Kermit Lynch import, you don't see much Savary on the east coast.
Crisp and clean with no apparent oak, plenty of chalk and minerality.
Probably could use some time,I'll try to put away my remaining couple
bottles, but nice now.A-/B+

1998 Blain-Gagnard "Caillerets" Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Concentrated but surprisingly there's still some (to me) unintegrated
oak. There's intense sweetness to the fruit, PD suggests that there was
some botrytis. I don't get that, but it is slightly unusual. I'm not
enamored of this (I brought) and will put away remaining bottle to see
if oak integrates better (others suggest it's as ready now as its going
to be). B

2001 Bachelet-Ramonet "Le Grande Montagne" Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Competent young Chassagne, this one doesn't especially speak to me. Not
flawed, just a little lost in the shuffle. B

About this time Jacques brought out a couple of remarkable seafood
platters: lobsters, gorgeous scallops, crabmeat, and shrimp, along with
a huge grilled seabass. An assortment of mayonnaisses accompanied-
saffron, curry, truffle, and plain. Delicious. More white Burgs
appeared:

1996 Jadot "Referts" Puligny-Montrachet
Nose of pears and buttered toast. Integrated oak/vanilla flavors, rich
but light. Very good. A-

2000 Drouhin "Clos de la Mouches" Beaune 1er
A bit too oaky for me at the moment. Good mineral base under the fruit
and oak.B/B+

Then a couple of non-Burgs:

1999 Haut-Brion Blanc (Pessac-Leognan)
Pineapple, mango, and lime. Big, full-bodied white. I seldom buy Graves
whites as the ones I like are scary expensive. But I'll happily drink
this on someone else's dime any day (thanks Jackdaw!). A/A-

2002 (Max?) Roger Sancerre
Everyone else seemed to like this more than I (possibly my reaction was
just because it was in a tough spot following the Haut-Brion ). Pungent
gooseberry/tropical nose, this seems more like Kiwi SB than Sancerre to
me. B-

On to the reds:

1988 Robert Chevillon "Les Roncieres" Nuits-St.-Georges
I had gotten this and a bottle of the '88 Perrieres at Park Avenue
recently. The guy at store had told me they had had some returns on the
'88s, and would stand behind if I had problems. The Perrieres had
opened thin, but sang with some air. So we gave this a little time
before trying. Medium-bodied, some mushroom and cherry. Earthy. A
pleasant mature (maybe slightly overmature) Burg but not the
attention-grabber the Perrieres was. B

2002 Radio-Coteau "Hellenthal" Pinot Noir (Sonoma)
Not an in-your-face California pinot. A bit of vanilla, but the cherry
fruit dominates without being kirschy. Some spice and a little earth,
good acidic balance. B+/A-

1999 Panther Creek Pinot Noir
Good acidity, red berry fruit, a bit short on the finish but pleasant.
B

Jacques and Jill announced it was time to head back to the house, and
we all trooped up. Jacques cooked some thick steaks, and we sat down to
a feast. The steaks, a kind of "super-Caprese" salad (ripe tomatoes and
mozzarella, with basil, capers, and anchovies), corn on the cob, and
Gio's marinated mushrooms. A wide assortment of wines circulated:

2004 Muga Rosado
Very pale pink, a nice light crisp wine. B

2002 Hanzell Chardonnay (Russian River Valley)
The spicy oak is well in the background, rich ripe pear fruit with lots
of acidic structure. B+

1997 Mongeard-Mugneret Richebourg
Raspberries and spice. Soft red fruit, seems pretty ready. B/B+

1998 Dujac Clos de la Roche
Good concentration and length, black fruits, lots of Dujac clove/spice.
Nice finish. My favorite red Burg of the night. A

1999 Dujac Clos de la Roche
Not showing as much as the 1998 at the moment, but lots seemingly
lurking underneath. A bit tannic at moment. B+

1999 Pousse d'Or "Clos des 60 Ouvr=E9es Caillerets" Volnay 1er Cru
I expected to like this more than I did. Fairly forward, but with a bit
of greeness under the cherry fruit. B-

1996 Muga Prado Enea Rioja Gran Reserva
A bit more tannic than the 1995 was at this point. Better than some
reports, this looks like balanced, classic Rioja that needs a bit of
time to me. A-/B+

1998 d'Angelo Vigne Casella Aglianico del Vulture Riserva
Too young, but nice Aglianico. Deep red fruit, some tobacco and cedar.
Needs time. B+

1995 Ch. Fleur de *** (Pomerol)
Decanted for a while but still showing a bit tannic. But I have to say
a tannic Pomerol isn't a bad match with a well-marbled piece of beef.
Low-acid and well-fruited, there's wild blackberries and earth on the
palate. B+

2000 Pierre Taupenot "En Reujne" Auxey-Duresses
This one didn't make much of an impression on me. Rather light, easy,
cherry juice. C+

There was also a tasty 1995 Burn Clos St. Imer "Goldert" Vendange
Tardive running around at the end, but palate fatigue had really set
in- all I can say is "sweet and good."

A nice lineup of wines, great food, and nice people, in a gorgeous
setting. Fun day.


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