No wine Mon (tofu, or Tues (Chinese takeout before a board meeting). Happy to pop a cork on Wednesday, opened the 2015 Gros Nore Bandol rose with sausage and squash on the grill. Fuller style of rose, though pale in color. Beefy, strawberry and melon fruit, big. Good with food. . B/B+

Thursday grilled a spicy Cornish game hen , with pac choi, brown rice, and the 2014 Christophe Pacalet Chenas. Raspberry, cranberry, flowers. A bit of low sulphur hint-o-spritz. OK. B/B-

Some friends and their pup came to dinner Friday. Started with shrimp cocktail and almonds, and the NV Laherte Ultradition Extra Brut. Apples, biscuit, flowers. Lots of fizz, moderately fine mousse. Theres a a sweet edge, I comment its rather rounded for Extra Brut. Couple days later I read back label as I put in recycling. Dec 2014 disgorgement, bottle says Extra Brut on front, Brut on back. Not sure which I drank! B/B+

Main was some bavette, served with squash, eggplant, quinoa, tomato with anchovy. Couple of reds

2000 Ch. Mazeyres (Pomerol)
Tannins mostly resolved, black plum fruit with some overlays of spice and leather. Moderate length, nice mouthfeel, showing well. B+

2013 Chevillon Nuits St George VV
Young but tasty, tangy black cherry, smoke, a bit of reserved new oak. B+

Saturday I had a speech, just threw together leftovers (chicken, tofu, pac choi, rice). Opened the
2014 Fuligni €œGinestreto€� Rosso di Montalcino. Medium bodied, tart red fruits, surprising tannins, a bit clipped on finish. I didnt love, and drank leftover Champagne instead, B-/C+

Betsy got back from Texas, we walked over hill for dinner with friends. They greeted us with home smoked salmon and hummus with smoked oysters. I had carried a bubbly. The NV Beaufort Rose Grand Cru Brut . Tasty, red fruits and citrus zest, but not the most complex rose around. B

Dinner was grilled tuna , bok choy, caesar, rice, & cheese

2003 Lopez de Heredia €œGravonia€� Rioja
Lovely old school wine Rioja, just a hint of nutty/oxidative notes, white fruits, coconut, tangy. Fun stuff. B+/A-

2005 Ch. Bernadotte
Still young, still some tannin, but nice black currant and black plum fruit, some incipient cigarbox. I have a couple of these and will still hold off.. B for now

2015 Fattoria del Cerro Chianti Colli Senesi
Red fruit, an interesting leather note, but thin, tart, and rather short. C+


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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 Monday, September 26, 2016 at 12:19:19 PM UTC-4, DaleW wrote:
> No wine Mon (tofu, or Tues (Chinese takeout before a board meeting). Happy to pop a cork on Wednesday, opened the 2015 Gros Nore Bandol rose with sausage and squash on the grill. Fuller style of rose, though pale in color. Beefy, strawberry and melon fruit, big. Good with food. . B/B+
>
> Thursday grilled a spicy Cornish game hen , with pac choi, brown rice, and the 2014 Christophe Pacalet Chenas. Raspberry, cranberry, flowers. A bit of low sulphur hint-o-spritz. OK. B/B-
>
> Some friends and their pup came to dinner Friday. Started with shrimp cocktail and almonds, and the NV Laherte Ultradition Extra Brut. Apples, biscuit, flowers. Lots of fizz, moderately fine mousse. Theres a a sweet edge, I comment its rather rounded for Extra Brut. Couple days later I read back label as I put in recycling. Dec 2014 disgorgement, bottle says Extra Brut on front, Brut on back. Not sure which I drank! B/B+
>
> Main was some bavette, served with squash, eggplant, quinoa, tomato with anchovy. Couple of reds
>
> 2000 Ch. Mazeyres (Pomerol)
> Tannins mostly resolved, black plum fruit with some overlays of spice and leather. Moderate length, nice mouthfeel, showing well. B+
>
> 2013 Chevillon Nuits St George VV
> Young but tasty, tangy black cherry, smoke, a bit of reserved new oak. B+
>
> Saturday I had a speech, just threw together leftovers (chicken, tofu, pac choi, rice). Opened the
> 2014 Fuligni €œGinestreto€� Rosso di Montalcino. Medium bodied, tart red fruits, surprising tannins, a bit clipped on finish. I didnt love, and drank leftover Champagne instead, B-/C+
>
> Betsy got back from Texas, we walked over hill for dinner with friends. They greeted us with home smoked salmon and hummus with smoked oysters. I had carried a bubbly. The NV Beaufort Rose Grand Cru Brut . Tasty, red fruits and citrus zest, but not the most complex rose around. B
>
> Dinner was grilled tuna , bok choy, caesar, rice, & cheese
>
> 2003 Lopez de Heredia €œGravonia€� Rioja
> Lovely old school wine Rioja, just a hint of nutty/oxidative notes, white fruits, coconut, tangy. Fun stuff. B+/A-
>
> 2005 Ch. Bernadotte
> Still young, still some tannin, but nice black currant and black plum fruit, some incipient cigarbox. I have a couple of these and will still hold off. B for now
>
> 2015 Fattoria del Cerro Chianti Colli Senesi
> Red fruit, an interesting leather note, but thin, tart, and rather short. C+
>
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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.

A few years back I was in Tuscany with friends and we had an appointment to visit Fuligni late in the afternoon. When we arrived we were greeted by the three elderly Fuligni sisters and their husbands all in their late 70's-early 80's. Their son, who is fluent in English, was called away on an emergency and could not be there to translate so one of the sisters attempted to translate to no avail but we discovered that we both spoke a little French. It's a small family owned estate and we spoke no Italian nor they any English so we stumbled through in French as poor as my French was, Senora Fuligni was no better but we made it work. We tasted through the wines (they opened an incredible bottle of Merlot that was unlabeled and we enjoyed all of their red wine offerings. As we were in the cave under the house we noticed that the sisters and husbands were pulling bottles from racks, affixing self adhesive labels and putting them in cardboard boxes, I asked what was going on and she explained that there was a wedding in the village and the bride's family was due any moment to pick up the wine but their son was unable to get it labelled and packaged before getting called away (he was either a doctor or a lawyer...still not sure which) so we volunteered to help. With our help they managed to label and package 20 cases of wine before the family arrived to pick them up. As a reward for our help they sent us each off with a magnum of their 2001 Riserva Brunello. I still have mine and will drink in a few weeks with those same friends.

On Tuesday, September 27, 2016 at 10:09:11 AM UTC-4, Bi!! wrote:
> On Monday, September 26, 2016 at 12:19:19 PM UTC-4, DaleW wrote:
> > No wine Mon (tofu, or Tues (Chinese takeout before a board meeting). Happy to pop a cork on Wednesday, opened the 2015 Gros Nore Bandol rose with sausage and squash on the grill. Fuller style of rose, though pale in color. Beefy, strawberry and melon fruit, big. Good with food. . B/B+
> >
> > Thursday grilled a spicy Cornish game hen , with pac choi, brown rice, and the 2014 Christophe Pacalet Chenas. Raspberry, cranberry, flowers. A bit of low sulphur hint-o-spritz. OK. B/B-
> >
> > Some friends and their pup came to dinner Friday. Started with shrimp cocktail and almonds, and the NV Laherte Ultradition Extra Brut. Apples, biscuit, flowers. Lots of fizz, moderately fine mousse. Theres a a sweet edge, I comment its rather rounded for Extra Brut. Couple days later I read back label as I put in recycling. Dec 2014 disgorgement, bottle says Extra Brut on front, Brut on back. Not sure which I drank! B/B+
> >
> > Main was some bavette, served with squash, eggplant, quinoa, tomato with anchovy. Couple of reds
> >
> > 2000 Ch. Mazeyres (Pomerol)
> > Tannins mostly resolved, black plum fruit with some overlays of spice and leather. Moderate length, nice mouthfeel, showing well. B+
> >
> > 2013 Chevillon Nuits St George VV
> > Young but tasty, tangy black cherry, smoke, a bit of reserved new oak. B+
> >
> > Saturday I had a speech, just threw together leftovers (chicken, tofu, pac choi, rice). Opened the
> > 2014 Fuligni €œGinestreto€� Rosso di Montalcino. Medium bodied, tart red fruits, surprising tannins, a bit clipped on finish. I didnt love, and drank leftover Champagne instead, B-/C+
> >
> > Betsy got back from Texas, we walked over hill for dinner with friends. They greeted us with home smoked salmon and hummus with smoked oysters. I had carried a bubbly. The NV Beaufort Rose Grand Cru Brut . Tasty, red fruits and citrus zest, but not the most complex rose around. B
> >
> > Dinner was grilled tuna , bok choy, caesar, rice, & cheese
> >
> > 2003 Lopez de Heredia €œGravonia€� Rioja
> > Lovely old school wine Rioja, just a hint of nutty/oxidative notes, white fruits, coconut, tangy. Fun stuff. B+/A-
> >
> > 2005 Ch. Bernadotte
> > Still young, still some tannin, but nice black currant and black plum fruit, some incipient cigarbox. I have a couple of these and will still hold off. B for now
> >
> > 2015 Fattoria del Cerro Chianti Colli Senesi
> > Red fruit, an interesting leather note, but thin, tart, and rather short. C+
> >
> >
> > Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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.
>
> A few years back I was in Tuscany with friends and we had an appointment to visit Fuligni late in the afternoon. When we arrived we were greeted by the three elderly Fuligni sisters and their husbands all in their late 70's-early 80's. Their son, who is fluent in English, was called away on an emergency and could not be there to translate so one of the sisters attempted to translate to no avail but we discovered that we both spoke a little French. It's a small family owned estate and we spoke no Italian nor they any English so we stumbled through in French as poor as my French was, Senora Fuligni was no better but we made it work. We tasted through the wines (they opened an incredible bottle of Merlot that was unlabeled and we enjoyed all of their red wine offerings. As we were in the cave under the house we noticed that the sisters and husbands were pulling bottles from racks, affixing self adhesive labels and putting them in cardboard boxes, I asked what was going on and she explained that there was a wedding in the village and the bride's family was due any moment to pick up the wine but their son was unable to get it labelled and packaged before getting called away (he was either a doctor or a lawyer...still not sure which) so we volunteered to help. With our help they managed to label and package 20 cases of wine before the family arrived to pick them up. As a reward for our help they sent us each off with a magnum of their 2001 Riserva Brunello. I still have mine and will drink in a few weeks with those same friends.

Great story
I got one bottle of the 2011 Brunello at same time, look forward to trying

On Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 1:58:11 PM UTC-4, DaleW wrote:
> On Tuesday, September 27, 2016 at 10:09:11 AM UTC-4, Bi!! wrote:
> > On Monday, September 26, 2016 at 12:19:19 PM UTC-4, DaleW wrote:
> > > No wine Mon (tofu, or Tues (Chinese takeout before a board meeting). Happy to pop a cork on Wednesday, opened the 2015 Gros Nore Bandol rose with sausage and squash on the grill. Fuller style of rose, though pale in color. Beefy, strawberry and melon fruit, big. Good with food. . B/B+
> > >
> > > Thursday grilled a spicy Cornish game hen , with pac choi, brown rice, and the 2014 Christophe Pacalet Chenas. Raspberry, cranberry, flowers. A bit of low sulphur hint-o-spritz. OK. B/B-
> > >
> > > Some friends and their pup came to dinner Friday. Started with shrimp cocktail and almonds, and the NV Laherte Ultradition Extra Brut. Apples, biscuit, flowers. Lots of fizz, moderately fine mousse. Theres a a sweet edge, I comment its rather rounded for Extra Brut. Couple days later I read back label as I put in recycling. Dec 2014 disgorgement, bottle says Extra Brut on front, Brut on back. Not sure which I drank! B/B+
> > >
> > > Main was some bavette, served with squash, eggplant, quinoa, tomato with anchovy. Couple of reds
> > >
> > > 2000 Ch. Mazeyres (Pomerol)
> > > Tannins mostly resolved, black plum fruit with some overlays of spice and leather. Moderate length, nice mouthfeel, showing well. B+
> > >
> > > 2013 Chevillon Nuits St George VV
> > > Young but tasty, tangy black cherry, smoke, a bit of reserved new oak. B+
> > >
> > > Saturday I had a speech, just threw together leftovers (chicken, tofu, pac choi, rice). Opened the
> > > 2014 Fuligni €œGinestreto€� Rosso di Montalcino. Medium bodied, tart red fruits, surprising tannins, a bit clipped on finish. I didnt love, and drank leftover Champagne instead, B-/C+
> > >
> > > Betsy got back from Texas, we walked over hill for dinner with friends. They greeted us with home smoked salmon and hummus with smoked oysters. I had carried a bubbly. The NV Beaufort Rose Grand Cru Brut . Tasty, red fruits and citrus zest, but not the most complex rose around. B
> > >
> > > Dinner was grilled tuna , bok choy, caesar, rice, & cheese
> > >
> > > 2003 Lopez de Heredia €œGravonia€� Rioja
> > > Lovely old school wine Rioja, just a hint of nutty/oxidative notes, white fruits, coconut, tangy. Fun stuff. B+/A-
> > >
> > > 2005 Ch. Bernadotte
> > > Still young, still some tannin, but nice black currant and black plum fruit, some incipient cigarbox. I have a couple of these and will still hold off. B for now
> > >
> > > 2015 Fattoria del Cerro Chianti Colli Senesi
> > > Red fruit, an interesting leather note, but thin, tart, and rather short. C+
> > >
> > >
> > > Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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.
> >
> > A few years back I was in Tuscany with friends and we had an appointment to visit Fuligni late in the afternoon. When we arrived we were greeted by the three elderly Fuligni sisters and their husbands all in their late 70's-early 80's. Their son, who is fluent in English, was called away on an emergency and could not be there to translate so one of the sisters attempted to translate to no avail but we discovered that we both spoke a little French. It's a small family owned estate and we spoke no Italian nor they any English so we stumbled through in French as poor as my French was, Senora Fuligni was no better but we made it work. We tasted through the wines (they opened an incredible bottle of Merlot that was unlabeled and we enjoyed all of their red wine offerings. As we were in the cave under the house we noticed that the sisters and husbands were pulling bottles from racks, affixing self adhesive labels and putting them in cardboard boxes, I asked what was going on and she explained that there was a wedding in the village and the bride's family was due any moment to pick up the wine but their son was unable to get it labelled and packaged before getting called away (he was either a doctor or a lawyer...still not sure which) so we volunteered to help. With our help they managed to label and package 20 cases of wine before the family arrived to pick them up. As a reward for our help they sent us each off with a magnum of their 2001 Riserva Brunello. I still have mine and will drink in a few weeks with those same friends.
>
> Great story
> I got one bottle of the 2011 Brunello at same time, look forward to trying

Don't rush it.