New Year's Eve we had house to ourselves after a period of guests.
Betsy made pasta (I think *mostaccioli) with scallops, clams, and
broccoli -just a great dish. Wine was the 2007 JP Brun/Terres Dorees
"Vinification Bourguignonne" Beaujolais Blanc. Floral nose, white
fruit on the palate, mineral, fairly rich. B

We relaxed a bit, then I prepared a couple of plates of hors d'oeuvres-
smoked salmon with a dill sauce and proscuitto/pear/Crater Lake Blue
rolls. Traveled to Betsy's sister, where party was already going. A
variety of foods- crab dip, tuna tapenade, mac and cheese, more. I
tried a few reds

1997 Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva
Cherries, leather, medium acids, a bit short and clipped. This seemed
somwhat pretty tired, but I think cellaring wasn't ideal (brother in
law has racks in basement, below grade but I'd guess in low 70s in
summers, probably stretching it for 10 year storage). This bottle, B-/C
+

1998 Ridge Paso Robles Zinfandel
Well, despite cellaring, this was actually doing quite well. Ripe
Zinberrry fruit, big, a little tannin remaining. I wouldn't think of
this as the Ridge to age, but except for a little heat on finish it
has done fairly well. B+/B

2007 Artner "Rubin Carnuntum" Zweigelt
Light to midweight, red fruit, a bit of spice, some non-obtrusive oak
tones. B

At midnight a few glasses of bubbly were raised. Several people had
brought some, 2 got opened that I tasted:

St.-Hilaire Brut (Blanquette de Limoux)
Didn't note vintage (I think this is vintage dated?). Light, a weird
apple cider meets applesauce meets chemical note, nutty, maybe cooked
(I'm wondering if this is something someone was gifted that sat around
a year at room temp). This bottle, C

NV Nicolas Feuillatte Brut
My reactions to these co-op wines has been all across the board over
last few years, this was one of the better showings. Midweight, soft,
apple, citrus, a hint of dinner roll. Not really complex, but solid
and typical. 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.*