WTN: Wines on a summer eve (Gavi, PG, SB, Bdx, Zin)

Last night we were invited to some friends for dinner; best part of the evening was when we saw other guests, friends we just don't see enough of. Lovely evening on the wide old porch looking out at the river and Palisades, and food was great: gazpacho, watermelon/feta salad, corn, and lobster rolls. I tried several wines:

2007 Maso Canali Pinot Grigio
Overripe apples, a weird ripe banana note on finish, I avoided this rest of evening. C

2007 Principessa Gavi
Of the whites, I had the lowest expectations of this, but it was my fave for the night. Very light, crisp acidity, lemony fruit. Not a lot of depth or length, but good with the food. B/B-

2007 Franciscan Sauvignon Blanc
Honeydew, a little hint of vanilla, broader style of SB. Don't think I would have gotten variety blind. Seems heavy, maybe because it wasn't really chilled. B-

2005 La Vieille Cure (Fronsac)
Decanted for 2 hours before going back in bottle. I really intended to wait on these, but one was sitting out handy when I went downstairs looking for big ripe red (knowing host's tastes). Firm tannins, chocolate notes over ripe currant and black plum fruit, plenty of wood, good grip. Quite modern, but tasty. B+

2007 Cline Zinfandel
Blackberries, black cherry, a little toasty note. Light to medium bodied, fairly fresh with a nice acidic zip. A bit short on the finish, but a pretty nice little Zin for what I assume is an $8-10 tag. B/B-

Lovely night with lovely friends.

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. 

 

I've had a couple of the 2005 La Vieille Cure from a case that I bought at, imho, very good price of $21 each.

The first time, I opened the bottle and had with leftover steak lunch and it was closed tight that I decided to cork it back into the refrigerator. That same night, I took the remainder to the local Cantonese BYOB (Phoenix Garden) and it was still shut tight.

Last Saturday, I splash decanted a bottle early in the morning and drank over dinner. The wine was much more accessible with that grip that you also mentioned, with the very evident oak. I think it's a pretty good wine for the price and I’m happy with keeping the rest in storage.

Dale, as I think about your menu, I wonder if this wine paired well with any of the dish?

Did you get yours from Max? I had ordered during first wave of that price (May), but never got around to picking up till couple weeks ago.

Sure it would have been terrible with any of the dishes, I just had a glass with some aged Gouda they had out on arrival. The host is one of the "red only" crowd (and like most red only folks, the bigger/riper the better) so I had chosen the LVC for his tastes.

Sorry you didn't do 11 Mad last night, food was great (and bubbles not too shabby either!)

Dale,

Yes, got the 05 LVC from Wine Connection. I'm happy with the wine, especially for the price.

Sounds like you had another good time at 11 Mad last night. Marina and I had pre-planned work/extra curricular stuff that finished well into the night, and so had to miss the dinner. We look forward to the next one .. hopeful one that our schedule will allow.