TN: weekend wines Baudry, Loosen, Anselmi, Las Rocas, etc

With a chicken salad (a blue cheese mayo dressing, supposed to be Roquefort but Betsy used Great Hill Blue from MA) we had the 2004 Bernard Baudry Chinon Ros=E9. Lovely wine for the patio in summer- dry but with sweet strawberry fruit, overlays of floral blooms and a little herb, good stuff. B+

Saturday we had chicken with figs. Recipe needed some white wine, I opened the 2003 Anselmi San Vincenzo (Veneto). Some orange zest over a pear and apple fruit base, a bit of flint. But the white fruit is the dominant factor, with a sweet ripe edge to it. B

We also tried the 2004 Loosen "Dr. L." QbA (MSR). Easy, fun, and likable, crisp but fruity, lively and lithe. A bit dose of lime over the white pit fruit. Good stuff. Screwcap is a bonus. B+

The Riesling was the better match with the chicken with figs.

Today went to a pre-holiday party. My friend Jonathan had burgers and hot dogs on his new grill. Betsy had made some baby-back ribs with a bourbon sauce, mostly cooked earlier than day but finished on the grill. The wines I tried:

2003 Kanu Chenin Blanc (Stellenbosch) Pleasantly crisp, some citrus fruit. I probably would nail this blind as S. African Chenin (if I had 122 guesses). Reasonably tasty wine if you aren't looking for any regional-varietal character. B-B-

2003 Paringa "Individual" Shiraz Blackberry and blueberry fruit, rather thick. Not my style, but ok with a burger. More acid than I would have anticipated. B

2004 Mas de la Dame Ros=E9 (Baux de Provence) A bit light, actually really light, but nice flavors. Strawberry, cherry, and chalk aromas, decent finish. B-B+

2003 Las Rocas de San Alejandro Garnacha Ripe approaching overripe- no, wait, this IS overripe, this is like Bing cherries left outside on a hot day. Red fruit, hintm of prunes, big wine but not one I want. C+

Nice party.

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