Happy Fourth

[William P]

I am smoking eight racks of ribs and bbqing two chickens tomorrow, so I'll be away from the computer. I suspect it will be a beer day as it is expected to surpass 100F. Our block party has been a tradition since we moved onto the court 20 plus years ago. There will be wine but never the type one remembers, still it is great fun. All the kids have grown and left (fled) but my daughter is coming home as is a number of the other 20 something neighbors. It will be interesting to see how our new puppy handles the crowd and fireworks.

All of which is merely a prelude to saying have a fun and be safe fourth. Well back to the chicken marinade.

[DavidG]

Sounds like a nice neighborhood tradition. Have a great holiday, Bill, and everyone else on BWE.

[stefan]

Happy fourth, Bill, and BWEers everywhere.

We'll celebrate with our local wine geek friends and their kids out by our swimming pool with a mag of Gosset, a '93 Amiot 1er Cru, a '98 Drouhin Bonnes Mares, a '99 Ridge Lytton Springs, an '06 St Innocent 7 Springs, and whatever our friends bring. Plus a white which I want them to taste blind. Lucie will grill a salmon and we'll have brisket from a local BBQ joint.

Yesterday it hit 104 (40 C) on our patio. The predicted high for today is 102. Not a big problem with the pool and patio ceiling fans except for keeping the wines at the right temperatures.

stefan

[DavidG]

It's been unseasonably pleasant here with temps in the high 70s to low 80s and not too humid. Should actually be pleasant outdoors today.

[SteveH]

After Fenway Park...

We'll grill four beef tenderloins and serve with couscous, sauteed mushrooms, salad and Susan's traditional 4th of July peach cobbler.
Our non-appreciative-of-Bordeaux friends prefer Cali Cabs, and it's patriotic, so it'll be ' 97 Rodney Strong, Alexander's Crown - wrapped in the fancy toilet paper.

The weather is finally warm, clear and dry.
Wow - That was loud! The Blue Angels just flew over our treetops. I wonder if it's a practice run for a surprise flyover at the Boston Pops festivities later this evening?

Have a fifth (of wine) on the fourth. Have fun.

Steve

[Jay Winton]

We're here in TN visiting my folks and just got back from the 4th of July parade in Sewanee-classic small town version. Now off to to the lake for a dip. We had my uncle and assorted cousins over for dinner a couple of nights ago and drank a couple of 89 Barolos-not bad and a 95 Potensac which was quite good . Last night was an 02 Cinq Cepages which was nothing special. Will pull out a few Bordeaux for the ribeyes tomorrow night. Weather has been perfect-No AC needed. Happy 4th everyone!

[AlexR]

I have been shopping and cooking and preparing a picnic for 75 people tomorrow in honor of Independence Day.

Cold buffet washed down with Clairet de Bordeaux, petit château Bordeaux Supérieur and, don't sneer, Gallo Zinfandel.
Heavily exotic here...

Alex R.

[PappaDoc]

Happy Fourth everyone. Worked at Zachys today, ate Chinese take-out and will watch the Grucci Firework display four blocks from our home. I'll sip on a 94 Uziger Wurzgarten Auslese from Christoffel-Berres.

[jal]

Hope everyone had a great Fourth, we had some friends over for a swim and some grilling. Opened An American wine to honor our Independence Day, a 1997 Caymus. Delicious now, all the oakiness of its youth has fully integrated and the wine is now mature but still vibrant, juicy fruity with enough (barely) acidity to stand up to some steak and finishes on a sweet note.

Another gorgeous day in store this Sunday. Pool is beckoning.

[stefan]

We had a great day with our friends. The '98 Drouhin Bonnes-Mares was the wine highlight. Fortunately there is enough for glass at lunch. Also left over is some '06 Carlisle Carlisle Vineyard Zin and '99 Ridge Geyserville.

This morning Lucie and I scrambled on an almost empty golf course. We'll take it easy the rest of the day and hit the pool when it cools off this evening.

stefan

[Jay Winton]

82 Montrose standing up for tonight with a 99 Reserve Comtesse Lalande . 82 Montrose decanted

[RDD]

Well I didn't get drink much wine but did carry on in French way and knocked out this Brevet:
http://bicycleforlife.org/rusa/statesvi ... spkwa.html
Here's a brief writeup on my brother Mike's blog:
http://ncrandonneur.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... eared.html

[Winona Chief]

Rob,

Wow! Sounds like a major effort - boy do I hate those hills. What kind of (and how much) training did you do to prepare yourself?

Chris Bublitz

[RDD]

Brevets are done in a graduating series.
You start at 200K, then 300K, 400K, 600K and 1200K.
I ride twenty miles every day instead of eating lunch.
I also ride longer local club rides on weekends but don't like the skills of most of the riders. They can't handle the bike and are dangerous.
Then I ride a 200K at least once a month.
I should point out these are not races but do have time limits.
My brother Mike is heading over to England in a week or two to do London-Edinburgh-London which is a 1500K.
http://www.londonedinburghlondon.co.uk/
We plan on riding Paris-Brest-Paris together in 2011. But you need to do a 200K,300K,400K in 2010 to apply early as there is a cap and the ACP (Audax Club Parisiene) got pissed so many people DNF'ed in 2007. My Bro said the waether was horrible.

BTW I've dropped 20 pounds since the last time I've been together with you guys.

Finally I try to ride as mny charity events as possible to help out those less fortunate.

Finally most casual riders think we are crazy doing this distance. It evens out as we think most casual riders are poseurs.

If anyone is interested in this style of riding check out www.rusa.org.

[Winona Chief]

Very impressive, Rob.

Back to wines from the July 4th weekend.

After reading a positive review from Mr. Parker in the latest issue of Wine Advocate, I served 1990 Gazin (a BWE long time favorite) on Frday night to go with some beautiful grilled New York strip steaks (fine job, Chris). Oh what a nice combination. The Gazin was really open and singing (I gave it a couple hours air before dinner). This wine is really in its drinking window now and a solid 92-93 points. Glad to have four or five more left for future consumption.

For a small, impromptu July 4th get-together: I opened a celebratory 1996 Gloria Ferrer Carneros Cuvée - Late Disgorged (February 2005 disgorgement) and a 1996 Daniel Rion & Fils Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes. Both wines were quite lively, drinking well and well within their prime drinking windows. I'd score them both at about 89 points but probably provided more psychic benefits than the scores imply. Also, they were a fine match with some nice cheeses and an excellent grilled salmon (great job again, Chris).

On Sunday afternoon I enjoyed an assortment of wines served at a Korean buffet in Virginia. Since this was a private event in a banquet room, bring your own was allowed. The big surprise was the perfectly lovely 1987 Pichon Lalande. An excellent, bold 1988 Lynch Bages and a rich 1987 Caymus Cabernet were also quite good. Can't remember the name but there was also a pretty good 1983 German Mosel Kabinett.

All-in-all, not a bad wine weekend at all.

Chris Bublitz

[PappaDoc]

Chris,

That 1990 Gazin is getting VERY hard to find. I had gotten 6 btls from HDH Auction some four + years back. Last time I checked, it was $175.00 and only available at Dee Vine Wines on Wine-Searcher Pro Version.

Fran Tarkinton (NFL QB) had done an interview with Wine Spectator some 9 or 10 years ago about his love of wine. He said he prefered the 90 Gazin to the 90 Petrus and he had cases of both.

In 1969 Gazin sold 13 Acres of its' vineyard to Petrus. I've never had a pre 1969 Gazin but have had every good vintage sine the 1970 as I really love this "Old School" Pomerol.

Having had both the 90 Gazin and Petrus a few times, I see the similarity of the 90 Gazin with Petrus.
Of course I know the Petrus is superior, but the 90 Gazin is excellent.

I managed to buy two single btls for about $100 each in the past two years. I drank them and four of the 6 from HDH. I've got two left and will bring one to BWE 2010 in Chicago.

Hope to see you there,

John (PD)

John

[Jay Winton]

I went through a case quite happily of the 87 Lalande. Since 87 was a "bad" year, it was inexpensive. Good to see it's still drinking well.