Betsy was supposed to go to Boston yesterday afternoon, but when we
got an invite to a birthday dinner for Mark, she rearranged plans. I
had a couple of work disasters that kept me late, left me about 5
minutes to run into house, do a quick double decant of an old red, and
we were still a little late getting to Central Seafood. But then a
nice evening ensued:

Menu was a full banquet, with jalapeno shrimp, salt and pepper
shrimp , heads on shrimp, 3 or 4 kinds of juicy buns or shu mai, ribs,
duck, lobster, halibut with scallions, pea shoots, baby bok choy,
fried rice, chicken - I might have missed a few. Wines were mostly
bubbly:

NV Taittinger "La Francaise" Brut Champagne
Fresh, light, crisp, appealing but a bit less depth than I remembered.
B/B-

NV Ayala Rose Champagne
Very pale, light strawberry flavors, dry, nice lighter styled rose. B

NV Bernard Bremont "Cuvee Prestige" Brut Champagne
Full, long, I really liked this (as always). Apple blossoms,. full
white fruit, baking bread. B+/A-

2001 Huet Vouvray Petillant
One of mine. Sharp, minerally, less gas, nice but maybe needs time. I
liked the '02 (either release) better. B for now.

2004 Aubry "Le Nombre d'Or Campanae Veteres Vites"Brut Champagne
I brought this as the official geeky wine. It has all the legal grapes
in Champagne- in addition to the normal 3, it has Fromenteau, Pinot
Blanc, Petit Meslier, and Arbanne, the historical grapes that are
seldom used. It's actually quite good, not just a curiosity. Medium
bodied, good length, crisp, mineral and a bit of yeast. B+

1981 Bonnaire “Cuvee Anniversaire” Champagne
Craig had bought this because Juhlin likes house, and rated some '81
from there highly. This seems to be a special bottling for Sherry-
Lehmann, and unfortunately it's last bon anniversaire must have been a
dozen+ years ago- sherrylike with a little fish note on nose. C/C-

1999 Donnhoff Auslese Riesling
I think this was the Hermannshohle , but couldn't swear to it. Really
quite tasty, full, softer acidity than most Donnhoffs (I think '99
tends towards softness), white and tropical fruits, petrol, slate.
Really nice, but I'd say drink up. B+

1956 Contratto Barbaresco
OK, so we know that '56 is a bad year pretty much everywhere, but I
thought it would be fun to show how much better Mark had aged than
wines of the same year. Cork came out cleanly when I decanted,
madierized notes but the fruit is there underneath, and the color
surprisingly strong. At the restaurant it is about the same-
maderization over plummy fruit and some earth/tar, on the palate it is
not as interesting, but while this is OTH, there's enough body to make
me think it might have been nice at 30, a shocker given the vintage
rep. This was a gag gift, but it didn't actually make me gag. About 2
ounces of dregs I had poured into a glass was actually fairly static
when we got home. OK, so this was a C-, but still enjoyed pouring for
an A+ guy.

Fun night.

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.