Christmas Eve we had a subdued Feast of the One Fish. David and
Betsy's parents joined us for lemon sole, bok choy, and rice. I was
driving a van into city after a late church service, so only had one
glass. Wine was the 2007 Domaine and Selection "Les Blanchots" Chablis
GC. Lemony, crisp, medium bodied, a nice Chardonnay, enough chalky/
flinty notes to be a nice Chablis, maybe lacking in Grand Cru
distinction, but since it was priced like a village wine, I'm not
upset it doesn't scream Blanchots. B

Only a couple hours sleep, then off to office to set up things for
Christmas Eve, then home to prepare for a small crowd - Betsy's
parents, Dave's paternal grandparents, some other local friends, and a
retired colleague of Betsy's from city. Only one person other than
myself really interested in wine, but I took the opportunity to just
open whatever I thought was interesting, no trophy wines, things that
might or might not be good.

Betsy made some really tasty sardine/anchovy/whitebean toasts, Nancy
had brought along some artisanal salume, and we started with 2
bubblies

NV Chidaine Montlouis Brut
Very appley, light bodied, some earth, fully petillant. B

NV Gosset "Excellence" Champagne Brut
Totally different style, very full, apple and creamsicle wirh a bit of
yeast, good acdity, nice length. B+

Main course was a huge (24 rib) crown pork roast, with an apple/pecan
stuffing (we did a separate casserole for the vegetarian, the one with
the meat juices killed it in competition), with a wild mushroom
lasagna for those not having meat (and a side for those that were).
Plus roasted kale, golden beets and celeriac with goat butter,
assorted breads, etc.

1988 Bricco del Drago (Vino de Tavola, Piedmont)
Dave always enjoys birthyear wines, so I decided to give this Dolcetto/
Nebbiolo blend a shot. Good cork, good color. Cherry fruit, a little
barnyard, still a little hint of tannin. I'd have bet 3:1 this was
dead, but it's got plenty of fruit. It's low acid and a little
plodding. It's certainly survived (and couple people quite liked), but
for me it's a surprisingly youthful version of a wine that I don't
especially like. C+/B-

1976 Jadot Gevrey Chambertin
Saturated cork, but came out cleanly with AhSo. Another wine that
should be dead, when I opened seemed well on the way, with more forest
floor, leather, and ashtray than fruit. But each time I retried I
liked better, and by time cheese was out it was showing quite nicely
indeed. The forest floor, mushroom, smoke was still there, but the
ashtray had faded, and some solid black cherry fruit was providing
underpinning. Tangy acids, fairly light, but a satisfying fully mature
village wine that by all rights should have been dead. B+

1979 Ch. du Tertre (Margaux)
ok, somehow I thought I had set up a '79 DDC (labels look nothing
alike). I got ready to decant and realized mistake, but decided to go
with bottle that had been upright for couple days. Showing a bit more
advanced than some bottles, but drinking nicely. Cassis and dark
berries, resolved tannins, cedar, and leather. Classic mature Margaux.
B+

2005 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Kabinett
I thought Riesling was a more classic match with pork/apple, but since
most folks were red drinkers, this was only one I opened (had an
Austrian and CFE ready, but decided not to go trocken as one person
always prefers some sugar), Young, plenty sweet, but with really zippy
acidity. Electric, white fruits with a little lime and cherry, long
finish. Quite nice, B+/A-

Finished with cheeses (Ossau Iraty, a Chalet du Jura), two
Linzertortes (who'd have guessed), and a tarte tatin. Food was great,
wines were good, but main thing as always was spending time with good
folks.

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.*