Saturday we went over to friends to admire their beautifully
landscaped backyard, and to have dinner. A fun group gathered on the
terrace (hot day, but lots of shade and greenery made the evening
comfortable), and had much food and wine.

with grilled scallops, gorgonzola/onion pizza, charcuterie:

2006 Martin Codax Albariño (Rias Baixas)
Lighter styled, crisp, nice on a warm night. Pear and peach fruit, but
more dominated by the spine of acidity, and with some chalky minerals
on finish. I like, but a little more midpalate verve would help, just
a tad dilute. B

2006 Pepiere Muscadet
My first try of the '06, whew, I can drink my '05s with peace of mind,
knowing I like replacement. Beautifully evocative of the seashore, a
touch of salinity and a mineral core of seashell and limestone.
Retried later in evening after the reds, more fruit emerges. I like. B
+/A-

with skirt steak, sausages, grilled vegetables, potato salad, green
beans:

1994 Beausejour Duffau (St Emilion)
I decanted this about an hour before we went over, it was probably
back in the bottle for a couple hours before serving. I've had mixed
experiences with this wine, this wasn't one of the better showings. At
first it was all tannins, with some thin red fruit and a slight off-
aroma- not corked, not brett, but a slightly medicinal aroma that
danced around edges, eventually fading away. I wish the tannins would
have faded away, this seemed rough all night. But the fruit flavors
did amplify, with blackcurrant and plums; the secondary aromas morphed
into an attractive mix of leather and tobacco. If the tannins were
less aggressive I would have really liked this after some time, as it
was a B (C+ on opening).

2004 Alaia (Castilla y Leon)
This is one dirty wine. I consider myself pretty brett-tolerant, but
this has more chickenshit than my grandfather's barnyard. Some dark
fruit and a little vanilla-oak note. Revisited later, still too
bretty, fruit profile seems ripe yet there is a little vegetal green
note. This is not a buy, even under $10. C+

2004 La Brasserie Syrah (I think this was VdP d'Oc)
Hey, a competitor for the Alaia. Thin, sharp, with no Syrah character.
This tastes like overcropped and underripe Merlot. C

I went back to the whites, and enjoyed them (and the evening)
immensely.

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