Sunday Betsy made some "club steaks" (she stopped by the supermarket
and that's what they had in the Coleman natural beef, though the steaks
looked like they were cut by a 7 year old with a butter knife) in a
red wine sauce. I served the 1999 Sebastiani Cabernet Sauvignon
(Sonoma). More red than black fruit, a little vanilla touch on top of
the red plum fruit. Medium-bodied, soft tannins , not especially long.
OK at normal retail, a deal at $5 I paid, but not really exciting. B/B-

Monday some friends who had recently given up a dog (biter) came over
to console themselves with our hound. We started off with some pate,
olives, and canapes of smoked mackerel with a lemon/dill creme
fraiche, accompanied by the 2004 Paul Pernot Bourgogne blanc. Ripe
apple and pear fruit is backed by a fresh acidity. There's an almost
Pulignyesque mineral note to the finish. Excellent for a simple
Bourgogne. B+

Jim had brought some tuna steaks with a ginger-lime marinade, we
grilled those along with some squash. Tried with both some open whites
and a red, the 1999 Wild Horse Merlot (Paso Robles). Soft forgettable
Merlot, Jim liked more than I. Seemed to have a little brett, but that
doesn't really bother me. Flabbiness, premature tiredness and short
finish do however. Too bad, I've enjoyed Wild Horse wines before. C+

As we say on patio we ran out of reds. I brought up the 2004 D'Andezon
Cotes du Rhone. This seemed acidic and out of balance. As a fan of past
vintages of this wine, I was disappointed. Luckily I didn't dump in
vinegar crock, but tried again last night with some thawed skirt steak
(Betsy was working). What a change some air made! Rounder, fuller, with
blackberry fruit and a hint of pepper (think this is all Syrah, at
least in past). A C+ on night one transformed into a B/B+

After dinner I had a couple glasses of the 2002 Deletang "Les
Batisses" Montlouis Demi-sec. That kind of applesauce Chenin fruit with
a little waxy note, I'm not really enamored of this - sweetness seems
to have the edge on the acidity, and it seems to lack some
concentration as well as not having much on the finish. As a huge fan
of 2002 Loires, this is a disappointment (though I realize this might
just be an awkward point). B-

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.