With swordfish piccata, the 2020 Paquet Bourgogne Blanc. Clean apple and citrus, straightforward, not much complexity,but tasty enough. Not beefy enough for the dish. B-

With friends and cheese, the 2018 Coste Dei Fre “ 499 “ Freisa (Langhe). Bright, raspberry touched with a (pleasant) kirsch note, more body and tannin than my previous Freisa experiences, but very nice wine. B/B+

Sunday I went back to office (with Betsy and Ruby) , after last year’shiatus the return of the downtown village trick or treating for Halloween. We gave out about 4,000 pieces of candy (probably 1500 Trick ot Treaters) then a brief stop at home before going to St George in HAsting for a friends’ 70th birthday. I think I was one of only 2 nonmusicians out of 13 (though Betsy was also an outlier as a jazz crowd). St George did a great job- family style charcuterie, pickles, salad, mussels in a curry cream, fries. I had coq au vin, Betsy had trout with chanterelles and lemon beurre blanc, the steak frites looked good too. Dessert was chocolate mousse and mango sorbet, plus a cake that Nancy brought.

We started with a good prosecco, crisp with just a hint of sweetness, but I didn’t see label.

I had supplied 3 magnums in advance

2018 Vattan “Argile” Sancerre (mag)
Riper style of SB that I thought would appeal to birthday boy, pear and a hint of grass, easy food wine. B

1996 Ch. Lagrange (St Julien) (mag)
Seriously good showing from mag, youthful cassis fruit but overlaid with herb, vanilla, and tobacco. Tannins in balance, juicy acids, good length. A-

1997 Jadot “Clos des Couchereaux” Beaune 1er (mag)
I was looking forward to this with my cog au vin. I got first pour, and called back manager before he poured for other- CORKED! :(
Plus a couple of wines Ron had brought
2006 Clos St Jean Chateauneuf du Pape
Some liked, but I found roasted and hot (I looked to see if it was 2007). Kirsch, prune, and coughdrop. I quickly emptied my glass into an empty flute and got a pour of Chinon. C

2006 Olga Raffault “Picasses” Chinon
Really quite good, ready to go. Red fruits, herbs, green tobacco leaf. Integrated tannin, balanced bright acids. B+

Plus one off the list
2018 Peyredon Lagravette Haut-Médoc Red)
New one to me, I enjoyed more than expected. Ripe plum, earth, a hint of leather. Hey, a Bordeaux that tastes like Bordeaux! B/B+

Fun night with good people

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.