akeout goat curry, palak paneer
2011 Paris €œGranit 30€� Cornas
Pretty tight on opening, but fleshes out (and drinks well over couple days).. Black cherry with some herb and leather, juicy and pretty friendly with air. No hurry here. B+

Over to friends for Thanksgiving (8-10 feet apart, windows open and fans going. Shrimp , bacon wrapped dates, turkey, dressing, gravy, Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with mustard/creme fraiche sauce, salad, marinated celeriac,

2016 Bzikot Bourgogne Blanc
This seemed a little tired and muted, didnt care for, but never asked when opened. B- for me

2019 Huet Le Mont Vouvray Sec
another great '19 Huet Sec, great acidity, long finish, mineral/rocks galore. A-

2009 Foillard Fleurie
I drink a lot of Foillard Morgon, but not Fleurie. Maybe I should. Plenty of 2009 ripeness here,but integrated and balanced. Larger framer Gamay, black cherry and plum,

1999 Edmunds St John €œWylie-Feanughty€� Syrah
I usually bring Beaujolais to Tgiving, but as host is Syrah fan (he surprised me with Fleurie) I brought this. Medium bodied, good acids, blackberry and black cherry, some Rhone-ish black olives. In a good place. B+/A-

My 20-year Bdx group hasnt met in 10 months, but we caught up by Zoom. I opened the
1985 Pichon Lalande (375). So pretty from half bottle, cassis accented with cedar and a light mushroom/truffle note, elegant and balanced. A-/B+


I turned on the patio heater, set up 2 tables, a couple came over bearing (turkey) shepherds pie.

NV Bremont €œPrestige€� Champagne
A wine I usually love but this wasnt really doing it for me. Muted on both nose and palate, plenty of bubble life, I wondered if this was lightly corked, though I got no obvious TCA notes. B-/C+

1998 Chamonard €œLe Clos de Lys€� Morgon
Red fruit accented with smoked meat (duck?), flowers, herbs. Very popular. B+


Roast monkfish, barley, spinach
2005 Boulay €œComtesse€� Sancerre
Previous bottle corked, but this is what I was hoping for. Big for Sancerre but well balanced, citrus, seashell, wax and flowers. In a great place to me. A-/B+

Some friends invited me for lunch on their boat. In their yard (its a huge fake boat, she runs an afterschool language program - or did till COVID). They sat on the poop deck, I sat on foredeck. Sun was out and just warm enough. Foie gras mousse, fish soup with lobster & rouille, tomato (the last) and burrata, Thai steak salad

2019 Salvard Cheverny
Gooseberry accented with cardboard, was about to gently note when Alex declared corked. Too bad

1990 Laville Haut Brion
Full, ripe, and round, some lanolin over pit fruits and honey, everyone loved. B+/A-

1998 Ogier Cote-Rotie
They loved this as well, I was a little disappointed. Proper dark berry fruit and pepper notes, but seems a bit thin, and finish seems slightly short and disjointed. Just popped and poured, not great service, but will see with the next bottle. For today B-

Pork chops, rice, sauteed greens, salad
1990 Pibaron Bandol
Very tasty, but Im not sure I would have pegged for Bandol, a plush texture and round black plum fruit reminded me of ripe Merlot. Not what I expected but quite tasty. B/B+

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 11/30/20 4:02 PM, wrote:
> akeout goat curry, palak paneer
> 2011 Paris €œGranit 30€� Cornas
> Pretty tight on opening, but fleshes out (and drinks well over couple days). Black cherry with some herb and leather, juicy and pretty friendly with air. No hurry here. B+

I just checked and I have the '14 and '15 editions of this wine. I try
to give my traditional Cornas about 15 years before broaching, but I
ain't getting any younger...

>
> Over to friends for Thanksgiving (8-10 feet apart, windows open and fans going. Shrimp , bacon wrapped dates, turkey, dressing, gravy, Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with mustard/creme fraiche sauce, salad, marinated celeriac,
>
>
> 2019 Huet Le Mont Vouvray Sec
> another great '19 Huet Sec, great acidity, long finish, mineral/rocks galore. A-

Huet's '19 secs seem to be winners all around. How'd it work with the
Thanksgiving fare?

>
> 2009 Foillard Fleurie
> I drink a lot of Foillard Morgon, but not Fleurie. Maybe I should. Plenty of 2009 ripeness here,but integrated and balanced. Larger framer Gamay, black cherry and plum,

You and me both, Dale. Don't think I've ever seen his Fleurie for sale.
I did pick up a Brouilly made by his son Alex as an experiment.

>
> 1998 Ogier Cote-Rotie
> They loved this as well, I was a little disappointed. Proper dark berry fruit and pepper notes, but seems a bit thin, and finish seems slightly short and disjointed. Just popped and poured, not great service, but will see with the next bottle. For today B-

That doesn't sound right. Might this have been heat damaged or
otherwise flawed?


Thanks for the great notes, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Mark Lipton