riday Betsy fried some panko-coated pork chops and served under a
tomato-arugula salad, with green beans on the side. The wine was the
2003 Domäne Wachau "Terrassen" Grüner Veltliner Federspiel. Not as
crisp as some vintages (duh!), but neither is this a flabby 2003. White
peach and apple fruit with a little lemon zest, nice minerality to the
finish - not really showing much pepper, pea, or GV typicity. Still, a
pleasant food-friendly white at a good price ($10). B

Saturday was working,and I was going to a housewarming/50th bday party
for a friend. On the way I stopped to drop a bow at Betsy's bowmaker
(she was playing principal at Turandot Th night, and it came apart
during first act-- luckily after soloes!). Yung is a wine collector,
and invited me for a glass. Who am I to say no? The wine was a 2000
Marcel Deiss "Burg" that a friend had brought Yung from Europe. Now, I
didn't see a varietal designation on the label (and assumed this was an
edelzwicker blend), but today a little webbing shows a lot of
references to a Burg Riesling. Maybe I missed Riesling on the label,
but I also missed it on the palate. There was some Riesling petrol on
the nose, but I would have guessed this wine was Gewurztraminer.
Tropical/lychee fruit, off-dry with a clear mineral finish. Some honied
spice and honeysuckle blossom on the nose as the glass warms a bit.
Nice wine, even if I don't know what it is. B+

Then I continued on to Bedford. I figured with driving I would only
have sips, but as the birthday boy's wife had asked me for advice I
figured I'd know all the wines anyway (I had suggested mixed cases of
2-3 whites and 2-3 red, from a list of Basa Rueda, Drouhin
Macon-Villages, Cairnbrae SB, Boniface Apremont, Borsao ,
Castle Rock Pinot Noir, Cline Zinfandel, Guigal CdR -all available at a
store she knew. But when I went in, the table had couple Yellowtails
and some assorted others. Turned out she never got my email (spam
blocker, probably). Oh well, in the name of science a small pour of
those I haven't tried recently:

2003 Kunde Chardonnay
Typical CalChard, tropical fruit and some oak. But the oak isn't
overdone, the fruit has some crispness, and the acidic balance is
decent, so in its price category I'd call this pretty decent. B/B-

On my next trip, a friendly stranger was pouring himself a Bolla
Chardonnay, and offered me some. Now, I don't usually like Bolla
wines, nor Italian Chardonnay. But I was doing this for science, and
said "sure, a small pour." Wandered back into room and was in
conversation as I took the first sip. What the hell is this? Oxidized
and musty, with a nasty overcooked applesauce note to the fruit. I
managed not to spit it over my conversation partner, wandered back
eventually to table, where same guy was pouring himself more (there
were many other options on table). Turns out this was the 1993 Bolla
Chardonnay. There was only one bottle of this, someone obviously
brought it as a....hostess gift. D-

After a hiatus with soda water, I tried the 2002 Palandri Merlot
(Western Australia) with my dinner (typical caterer fare -chicken
marbella, eggplant parmesan, etc). Actually not bad - medium bodied
with black plum and raspberry fruit, a little vanilla oak. I probably
wouldn't buy this, but a welcome relief after 12 year old Bolla chard.
B-

Nice party for a nice guy, despite the Bolla incident.

Also, over 3 nights, my first bottle of 2003 CdP, the 2003 Saint-
Benoit "Grande Garde" Chateauneuf-du-Pape. A little tight night one,
but this opened considerably after that. Lots of underbrush and herb on
the nose, spicy red fruits and some smoke. A bit tannic till last
night, a decent plush ripe CdP that might show better in a few years
(though not over long term IMHO), but is ok now. B/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.