TN: Memorial Day weekend mostly cheapies, plus Hug Bbuttetti

Sunday some good friends came over for a dinner. Lovely May night on the patio, Betsy have made a Southeast Asian feast: spring rolls with pork, shrimp, herbs, jicama, noodles, sprouts, etc. chicken satay with an incredible peanut sauce straw mushrooms with Chinese broccoli Our friends brought berries for desserts.

The best match with the food was the leftover Christoffel kab. But we also had: 2003 Roucaillat Blanc (Coteaux Du Languedoc) A recommendation from a local store. Perfumed nose, a bit herby, with quince and pear fruit and mineral finish. Unfortunately, not enough acidic zip for me. Actually, this $15 wine would probably do ok in a tasting to whte Chateauneufs. On the other hand, I really don't care for CdP blanc.:( B

2002 Hug Cellars "Bbuttetti Vineyard" (San Luis Obispo) OK, no sane person would match this with the menu. But my friend Joe prefers red,and big New World Syrahs-Shirazes are his fave. So I served this and saved mine for after meal (the perfect situation for this wine). Big, in your face blackberry and blueberry fruit. Lots of vanilla-ey oak, long intense finish with black pepper and flint. Not a style I generally favor, but in the context (as dessert, on a lovely night with friends, watching my friend be wowwed by the wine) I really enjoyed this. If you served it to me with dinner I'd probably go high C to B-, but Sunday night a B+-A- . =20 Saturday AM we had decided to throw a last minute Memorial Day party. Sent out some emails, and wondered how many folks would come. Marinated some skirt and hanger steaks on Sunday. Monday AM we attended our little village's Memorial Day parade (I love the small town parades- fire trucks, HS marching band, scout troops, and the veterans (WW2 riding in convertibles, more recent vets marching). Then came home to see who would show. A decent crowd showed up, and 6 dogs to boot. A pleasant warm afternoon with dogs (both hot dogs and barking dogs), croquet, beef, corn, watermelon, Japanese eggplant with leftover peanut sauce, mango salsa and chips, sesame noodles and desserts. More beer and seltzer was consumed than wine, but I did sample a few bottles: =20 2005 Chivite "Gran Fuedo" rosado (Navarra) This was a big favorite of mine several years ago, but then I didn't see for a couple of vintages. A Chivite rep buttured me at an offline that it was coming back. No longer $5.xx, but with the weak dollar $9 seems reasonable. Bright wild strawberry fruit with a hint of black raspberry, there's a little white pepper and chalk note to the finish. Is this "serious" wine? No, but a lovely refreshing ros=E9 that's perfect served very cold. B, but A- for value.

2004 Loosen "Dr. L." Riesling QbA As noted before, this is quite the deal at $9. Lime and peach fruit, clean finish, lively and not too-sweet. B-B+

2002 Wyndham Estate "Bin 444" Cabernet Sauvignon (South Eastern Australia) This was a bottle someone had left at a previous party. I thought too warm for CS, but there's always someone who wants a red from a variety they recognize, and indeed this was one of the first bottles opened. I sampled later, found it a bit grapey. To its credit, it was recognizably Cabernet Sauvignon, with blackcurrant fruit and a hint of mint. There's a bit of sweet oak, but it seems sweet overall anyway, and with a very short finish. Pbutt. C+ =20 =20 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. =20