With assorted leftovers, the 2013 Raimbault “Apud Sariacum” Sancerre rose. Medium bodied, medium acids, medium interest. Cherry fruit, a little hint of earth, this is no Cotat or Boulay Sancerre rose, but pleasant enough. B-
After a long day (board meeting) I had the remnants of a tofu/broccoli dish with the
2001 Burklin-Wolf “Burklin Estate” Riesling QbA. This was a recent $5 purchase (they only had the one bottle, I just added to an order in the interest of science), so expectations were limited. Even more limited when the cork turned out to be totally crumbly/dried out. Too late for Durand, so I just bored a hole and decanted through a screen. Well, whaddayaknow, this has a pretty light yellow color. And a floral nose. And it’s not dead at all. Just a little sugar, white pit fruits, ginger, just a little petrol to show its age. . Good length. Not super complex, but my at $5 QPR of the month. B+
Next up, grilled salmon, with Asian slaw and beans. Wine was the 2012 Yves Leccia (Domaine d'E Croce) Cuvee YL (Ile de Beaute) . 80% Grenache and 20% Nielluccio (which I’m told is actually Sangiovese). A hint of spritz, raspberry fruit with earth and herbs, no sign of oak, a bit of smoke and spice. Midbodied, nice length. B+
Bachelor night with grilled skirt steak, corn, squash, eggplant, and salad. Opening wine was the 2002 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling. Thanks David for the tip- indeed, these are drinking very well. Pit fruit and citrus, stony minerality, nice acids. long finish. A-
The 1975 Malescot St. Exupery surprised me by being basically tannin-free, and it still had some black plum fruit. But it didn’t have much depth or complexity, and the finish was quite clipped. Maybe just too old, but I’m not sure there was much there to start with. C+
Backup bottle was the 2010 Pasquale Pelissero “Bricco San Giuliano’ Barbaresco. Usually I find inexpensive Barolo and Barbarescos to be modern styled, but this wasn’t showing any oak, though it was fairly fruit forward. Cherries, flowers, and tar if you searched for it. Moderate tannins, decent length, very acceptable for $20. 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.