4 wines, all good, none great:

With Betsy away, I've had several solo meals. Wed I did a small strip
steak, with baked potato and salad. Wine was the 2002 Potensac
(Medoc). Moderate black plum and currant fruit, ok acidity, with some
tannins that run a little hard. Pretty good with the steak, less
satisfying on its own. I tried again on Fri, tannins still a little
scratchy, fruit fading. Good with meat, but not looking for more. B/B-

Thursday I skipped wine, but Friday was back in the mood. Threw
together a pasta sauce of mirepoix and then lots of leeks, with some
frozen peas and shrimp added at end. For liquid I used wine, the 2006
Rodney Strong Chardonnay (Sonoma County). This was a host gift that
has been sitting around for a while, I decided to finally open. First
of all, this was nicely bright for a CalChard- maybe not zippy, but a
far cry from say most Napa Chards. Definitely showing some wood, but
not extreme, and more toasty than buttery. Tropical and sweet Fuji
apple fruit. Not bad as an apertif, less successful with dish. Another
glass later in evening was again pleasant on its own. Tonight, wood is
sticking out more, less fun. But night one, B-/B

When Chard didn't appeal with pasta, opened the 2006 Pinon "Cuvee
Tradition" Vouvray. Nice broad-beamed sec-tendre, a little wax over
grapefruit and apple butter fruit. Good acidity, nice length for a $15
wine, quite pleasant. Hasn't budged in a day, we'll see tomorrow. B

Tonight I broiled some onion-marinated shoulder lamb chops, with
potato and broccoli rabe (prepared at a deli). Wine is the 2005 Ch.
Caronne Ste Gemme (Haut-Medoc). Quite ripe cassis fruit, but good
acidity and a solid base of (fine) tannins. Some blackberry cobbler,
kirsch with time. A bit sweeter than my ideal, but tasty and the
tannic/acidic structure makes this a candidate for short term aging. 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.

On Feb 2, 11:30�pm, DaleW > wrote:
> 4 wines, all good, none great:
>
> With Betsy away, I've had several solo meals. Wed I did a small strip
> steak, with baked potato and salad. Wine was the 2002 Potensac
> (Medoc). Moderate black plum and currant fruit, ok acidity, with some
> tannins that run a little hard. Pretty good with the steak, less
> satisfying on its own. I tried again on Fri, tannins still a little
> scratchy, fruit fading. Good with meat, but not looking for more. B/B-
>
> Thursday I skipped wine, but Friday was back in the mood. Threw
> together a pasta sauce of mirepoix and then lots of leeks, with some
> frozen peas and shrimp added at end. For liquid I used wine, the �2006
> Rodney Strong Chardonnay (Sonoma County). This was a host gift that
> has been sitting around for a while, I decided to finally open. First
> of all, this was nicely bright for a CalChard- maybe not zippy, but a
> far cry from say most Napa Chards. Definitely showing some wood, but
> not extreme, and more toasty than buttery. Tropical and sweet Fuji
> apple fruit. Not bad as an apertif, less successful with dish. Another
> glass later in evening was again pleasant on its own. Tonight, wood is
> sticking out more, less fun. But night one, B-/B
>
> When Chard didn't appeal with pasta, opened the 2006 Pinon "Cuvee
> Tradition" Vouvray. Nice broad-beamed sec-tendre, a little wax over
> grapefruit and apple butter fruit. Good acidity, nice length for a $15
> wine, quite pleasant. Hasn't budged in a day, we'll see tomorrow. B
>
> Tonight I broiled some onion-marinated shoulder lamb chops, with
> potato and broccoli rabe (prepared at a deli). Wine is the 2005 Ch.
> Caronne Ste Gemme (Haut-Medoc). Quite ripe cassis fruit, but good
> acidity and a solid base of (fine) tannins. Some blackberry cobbler,
> kirsch with time. A bit sweeter than my ideal, but tasty and the
> tannic/acidic structure makes this a candidate for short term aging. 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.

So I didn't have wine last night (picking up Betsy at LaGuardia about
beginning of 3rd qtr of Superbowl), but resampled 3 tonight:

R. Strong Chard- pretty dead on day 4, just wood and applesauce
oxidized notes

Caronne Ste Gemme- showing well, clearly ripe modern style, but
holding up

Pinon Vouvray- is there any grape that holds up better over time than
Chenin Blanc? Young, bright, tasty on day 4. Good with a feta-stuffed
chicken breast, spinach,and quinoa

DaleW > wrote in news:ecc5117f-ed5e-4741-ade5-
:


>
> So I didn't have wine last night (picking up Betsy at LaGuardia about
> beginning of 3rd qtr of Superbowl), but resampled 3 tonight:
>

Greater love hath no man! so how was the traffic?
>--
Joseph Coulter, cruises and vacations
www.josephcoulter.com

877 832 2021
904 631 8863 cell

On Feb 4, 9:32�pm, Joseph Coulter > wrote:
> DaleW > wrote in news:ecc5117f-ed5e-4741-ade5-
> :
>
>
>
> > So I didn't have wine last night (picking up Betsy at LaGuardia about
> > beginning of 3rd qtr of Superbowl), but resampled 3 tonight:
>
> Greater love hath no man! �so how was the traffic?>--
>
> Joseph Coulter, cruises and vacationswww.josephcoulter.com
>
> 877 832 2021
> 904 631 8863 cell

I much prefer Betsy to either football or wine. Traffic was quite
light (but not non-existent as I would have expected).